History

The roots of Marjoniemi Vicarage reach back to the early 1800s, when in 1816 the farmer Matti Juhonpoika Pirkkala transferred his inherited estate to the Minkilä prayer community in exchange for compensation. At that time, housing was needed for the preacher, and the first vicarage was built in 1817. In 1819, a road was constructed between the vicarage and the church.

A fire in 1854 destroyed the vicarage’s main building, barn, stable, and feed shed, after which new structures were built on the estate. The prayer community was granted chapel rights in 1856, and the independent parish received its first vicar in 1887. The current main building of Marjoniemi Vicarage was completed in 1888 during the time of vicar Johan Fredrik Silvander, designed in the Swiss style typical of the era. The master builder for the project was Samuli Rantanen.

The Vicarage courtyard in 1897 included a Workers’ cottage, carriage shed, stable, equipment shed, feed barn, cowshed with a dairy kitchen, sheepfold, pigsty, woodshed, sauna, laundry house, a three-part barn, a vaulted grey stone cellar, a two-story grain storehouse, a straw barn, a drying barn (riihi), and an outhouse.

Marjoniemi served as a clergy residence (virkatalo) until 1963. The Workers’ cottage housed tenant farmers, whose duties included agricultural work on the estate and transportation for the clergy.

During a bishop’s inspection, the parish was advised to sell the vicarage due to its inconvenient location and poor condition. The matter was discussed by the parish council in 1961, and the vicarage was put up for sale in 1962. The then-vicar, Nuutinen, lived in the vicarage until a new one was completed in 1963.

Since then, the vicarage has served various functions, including a machine shop and a camp center, during which times the property's upkeep has fluctuated. After several ownership changes, the estate was purchased from the Uurainen parish by the current owner in early 2016. Following extensive renovations and construction work, Marjoniementila Oy began its operations at the vicarage.