The old cemetery by the church was inaugurated in 1833. The residents of Malax have often together – through volunteer work – filled the cemetery with soil, most recently in the 1920s. Because of this, the church seems to be situated lower compared to the surrounding cemetery grounds. Bishop Max von Bonsdorff inaugurated the Grävna cemetery during the church’s 100th anniversary in 1929. Grävna is located about 2 kilometers south of the church. In the fall of 2000, the parish needed an urn site. Therefore, the old cemetery’s stone wall facing the river was dug away and turned into an area for urns. In 2007, a new section was inaugurated, named Hoppet (Hope). At the same time, a statue created by the artist Thea Helenelund was unveiled. The old mortuary represents the same style and era as the church. Until the 1800s, it was customary to keep the deceased in the mortuary over the winter until they were buried in the spring after the ground thawed. The mortuary was renovated in 1964 and torn down at the end of 2005. The current mortuary was completed in 2006.

Source: Compiled by Gunvor Holmlund. Pictures by Jenna Matintupa.