Along with its surrounding neighborhood, the church is a part of the Helsingin pitäjän kirkonkylä district, which is one of the best preserved historical parishes in all of Finland.

[3] The Church of St. Lawrence was built around the year 1450, though records suggest that a wooden equivalent stood in its position as early as 1401.

Reconstruction was overseen by the renowned Finnish architect Theodor Höijer, who opted to alter the appearance of the church by increasing the sizes of its windows and tending toward a Gothic Revival style.

The reconstruction, or as it was referred to, the restoration, was influenced by the cultural context of the late 1800s, during which Medieval architecture was gaining newfound respect in Finland.

The reason for the similarity is that many churches from that time period in southern Finland were designed by the same person, the anonymous Pernajan mestari, who is presumed to be a German architect.

The church has, however, been redesigned to some extent following the fire of 1893, leading to the current design being a mixture of Medieval and Gothic Revival architecture.

[3] The façade features a biblical excerpt (from Psalms 84:10) in Swedish: "En dag i dina gårdar är bättre än eljest de tusende" (English: "For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand elsewhere").

[5] Eddie Boyd, an American blues pianist, singer and songwriter, best known for his recordings in the early 1950s, is also buried in the graveyard.