Expect the Unexpected - A story from 1607

by Susmita Mukhopadhyay (India)

I didn't expect to find Sweden

When I was in Swedish Lapland last year and I cocooned myself for 4/5 days in Kiruna by the side of the river Torne, I never expected to discover something which is beyond my imagination. Well, by saying discovering means discovering a world from 1607 to myself. That afternoon 8th July, it was a bright pleasant and a sunny day and I was strolling in the Kiruna highway and I slowly walked down till the end corner of the city and found a little Church known to be Jukkasjärvi Kyrka. I am always fascinated by the ancient church, it's history and it's ancient architectural beauty. No wonder seeing this church I promptly felt the desire to step inside and to look around. I slowly, opened the door and inside the church no one was seen and a divine silence was prevailing all across. I was stunned by the internal beauty and about the storytelling of the church. The painting was something different than the usual painting seen in such churches. I was bit curious and started looking here and there and then I found some old, very old diary and some other written documents. Here come the surprise! As I was leafing through the pages I realized that I am standing right in-front of a living history. Or say, past and present silently merging into each other. I found the write-up where it was clearly mention that Jukkasjärvi Kyrka is one of the oldest churches in Lappland which date back from 1607. This charming wooden church is not only an wonder to see but it's carrying a very strong history along with itself which is one of the oldest church from the region. With more investigation I came to know that underneath the church floor there lie the mummified remains of villagers who died here in the 18th century. Apart from all of these the most enticing part to discover this church for myself was truly rewarding as the place was remarkable due to the visit of many travelers from various parts of the world. In the coat of arms there are memoirs of long-distance travelers who have written their experiences on paper with ink or cut and burnt the letters on wooden boards. For example, I am citing some details directly from Church's details: "In 1681, three Frenchmen, Jean-Francois Regnard, de Fercourt and de Coeberon, came to erect a monument at the end of the world. They left behind the church's oldest tablet, which has the shape of the back cover of a trunk. Regnard's travel impressions are translated into Swedish entitled "Travel to Lapland". In 1718, Frenchman Aubry de la Motraye visited the church. His tablet, half of a thin lid, is written on hexameter in Latin and he burned the letters into a wooden eleven. Final lines of his Latin hymn reads: "North Pole last now wrecked me seen. Lapland now wrecked me showed the never setting sun. Food and drinks are prepared myself in the meat and milk of REINDEER Like before Tartatiet gave me drink of mare's milk. This was written in the Jukkasjärvi on the return journey from Torneträsk AUBRY DE LA MOTRAYE UK's subject June 13, 1718 " This is probably not a great discovery for the entire world but knowing about this church from 1607 is genuinely a great discovery for me. In future as I wish to continue to my travel journey in various places and I hope to see many such hidden historical gems awaiting for me to unvail.