Museums in kainuu

MUSEUMS IN KAINUU

2 MUSEUMS IN KAINUU 1.

Kainuu Museum | PAGE 4

2.

Kajaani Art Museum | PAGE 5

3.

Riihipiha | PAGE 6

4.

Kaunislehto | PAGE 7

5.

Winter War Museum | PAGE 8

6.

Tuupala Museum | PAGE 9

7.

Paltamo Museum

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PUOLANKA

of Local History | PAGE 10 8.

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Puolanka Museum

HYRYNSALMI

of Local History | PAGE 11 9.

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White Guard and

RISTIJÄRVI

Lotta sister exhibition | PAGE 12 10. Sotkamo Museum | PAGE 13 7

11. Tervajärvi house museum | PAGE 14

PALTAMO

12. Raate Frontier Guard Museum | PAGE 15 2

13. Winter War Exhibition | PAGE 16 14. Suomussalmi House Museum | PAGE 17 15. Turjanlinna | PAGE 18

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VUOLIJOKI

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KAJAANI 10

SOTKAMO

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KUHMO 5

MUSEUMS IN KAINUU 3

PROLOGUE

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rom the window of a grey log house, between the linen curtains, you can see a view of the Kainuu fells stretching out in front of you. In the dusky light of the log house, you only hear the creaking of the timber floor and the faint sound of birds warbling outside. You could imagine yourself in a 1920’s Kainuu farmhouse – but far from it! Most probably you have found your way in one of the idyllic local museums of Kainuu where you can truly sense the atmosphere of a world gone by.

Kainuu museums are waiting to be discovered.

Most of the local museums are open only in the summer. Please remember to check the exact opening hours on the particular museum’s own website.

4 KAJAANI

Asemakatu 4, 87100 Kajaani

KAINUU MUSEUM

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ainuu Museum is a gateway to the history of Kainuu region. This provincial museum is located in the former Kesko wholesale and office building built in the 1930’s and just a stone’s throw away from the railway station of Kajaani.

In the permanent exhibition you can become dazzled by the one thousandyear-old silver rings found in Puolanka and learn about the daggers and canon balls found in the ruins of the Kajaani castle.

Through the fascinating tar kilns and tar boats you can learn about the history of tar production in Kainuu. A minutely detailed miniature model of the city of Kajaani in 1939 demonstrates the way the bombings during Winter War changed the structure and the buildings of the city. There are also two showrooms for temporary exhibitions in the museum.

KAJAANI 5

K KAJAANI ART MUSEUM

Linnankatu 14, 87100 Kajaani

ajaani Art Museum offers you a high-quality serving of interesting art both on the national and on the international level. In addition to visual arts, the arena is given to dance and theatre performances, lectures and conferences.

The visitors are guided to the fascinating world of arts through free-of-charge guided tours. In the workshops visitors of different ages are able to participate in the making of art – and sometimes the produced works of art remain on display in the exhibition as parts of the community art projects. The extra bonus for visiting the functionalist building, which was designed by architect Eino Pitkänen and opened in 1936 to serve as a police station, is a visit to the old police cell (the nick).

6 VUOLIJOKI

Kuusirannantie 67, 88270 Vuolijoki

RIIHIPIHA

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he museum area of Riihipiha represents the typical farmyard and its activities in Kainuu countryside as they used to be before the electrical equipment became more commonplace.

Over thirty buildings have been transferred and built in the area. The museum was founded at the initiative of Community Counsellor Iikka Alasalmi in 1991 to commemorate the past, veritable recession and hunger years. The museum area started to take its shape when Alasalmi wanted to save a hay storage barn built of pine logs peeled in the 1920’s. The bast layer of the logs was ground into coarse flour called ‘pettu’ which was used as nourishment during the years of famine caused by crop failure in 1917–1918.

In the museum area you can find, among other things, agricultural advise department, bank museum, the White Guard- and the Lotta sister museum, forestry department and general store

museum. In addition to many buildings on the site visitors can marvel numerous historical objects and items. In the general store museum you can see old products, which were sold in the village stores in the olden days. The oldest of these are the official post cards dating back to the Tsarist Empire. Coffee substitute, paper shoes with wooden soles and cigarette packs sold with the authorisation of the intendant of the Headquarters are reminders of the war and rationing periods.

The most prominent landmark of Riihipiha is the windmill. The museum area also includes ‘Kekkos-aitta’, a storage barn, which was brought at the site from the farm estate of Hina in Vuolijoki. Urho Kekkonen, a former president of Finland was the owner of Hina farm. The Kekkonen family lived on the estate of Hina in Ojanperä, Vuolijoki and cultivated the land during the years 1940–1945.

HYRYNSALMI 7 Vanhatie 89, 89400 Hyrynsalmi

KAUNISLEHTO

former buildings of the farmyard and thus the building plan of the yard is still similar to the original one. The museum area also includes a tar kiln, a number of Hyrynsalmi boats and a smithy with a forge (hearth).

Surprisingly enough, in Kaunislehto the visitor can find the most complete set of equipment used for retrieving fresh water pearls in Finland. Pearls have been hunted in Kainuu since the Middle Ages due to the travelling salesmen arriving from Viena area in Karelia. In the past Hyrynsalmi and the Emäjoki -river which runs through it used to be the centres of pearl hunting in Kainuu.

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aunislehto represents a typical Hyrynsalmi farmyard and its surroundings at the turn of the 20th century. The main building and the sauna are in their original condition. Other buildings on the farmyard have been brought from different parts of the county and they are placed on the places of the

In the museum area it is also possible to see signs of the slash-and-burn tactics used in the past to create farming land. A beautiful broad-leaf forest has grown on the site of the area last cleared by using the slash-andburn tactics in the beginning of 1800’s. First the entire landscape and later the pelting farm built in the area were named after this forest Kaunislehto, meaning a beautiful broad-leaf forest.

8 KUHMO

WINTER WAR MUSEUM

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n the Winter War Museum you can find out information about the Kuhmo area during the period of the Winter War in 1939–1940. At the museum the visitor can learn about the everyday life of the Finnish and Russian soldiers as well as the destinies of the evacuated civilians.

The battles continued in Kuhmo during the entire Winter War. The fiercest fighting took place in Kilpelänkangas in Saunajärvi and in Löytövaara where the most eastern front lines of the Finnish army were situated.

The exhibition demonstrates the evacuation of the civilians, Kuhmo parish, the front line provisioning services, combats and the life after the signing of the peace treaty.

Miniature models of Luvelahti pocket in Saunajärvi, two airplanes and Korpilinna White Guard Headquarters are also on display at the exhibition.

Väinämöinen 11, 88900 Kuhmo

KUHMO 9

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uupala Residential Museum depicts the life of a family living in Kuhmo from the 1880’s till the 1960’s. The farm estate Tuupala was cultivated by the family Tuupainen in the 1600’s and the estate was named after the family.

The current main building was built in the mid 1800’s. Since the 1880’s family Kainulainen cultivated the farm and they lived in the house till the 1960’s. Among other things a guesthouse, a pharmacy, a general store and a post office were located in the premises during the reign of the Kainulainen family. In addition to the owners (the gentle folks) also the farm hands and the servant girls resided in the building.

A guesthouse was located in Tuupala for a very long period of time, up until the beginning of the Winter War. At the guesthouse, the visitor could ask for lodging, food and drink as well as a transport to be organised to the next

guesthouse. There were also horses and a passenger car in Tuupala. The maximum number of guest rooms was four at a time, and some of the rooms were in the ancillary buildings.

The museum area includes the main building, ancillary building, small farmhouse and a storage barn all built in the mid 1800’s. The museum site also includes a tar boat with its shed and the storage barns situated on the other side of the Tar Road. The interiors of the rooms in the main building, the Old Tuupala, have been decorated according to the styles of 1800’s and 1900’s. In the small farmhouse you can learn about the living circumstances of the hired help in Tuupala. The farm hands used the small farmhouse for sleeping and doing hobby crafts in the dusk. The bread was baked in the big oven of the farmhouse.

The milkmaid and her family lived in the adjacent bedchamber of the small farmhouse.

TUUPALA MUSEUM

Tervatie 1, 88900 Kuhmo

10 PALTAMO

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he museum is situated in a threestorey granary built in 1910. Former storage bins of the granary now function as exhibition rooms. The items on display consist of widely used, everyday objects, which were connected with traditional livelihoods at the beginning of 1900’s. The museum also has a rare exhibit; a storage chest, which was used in the Kajaani castle in the 1600’s–1700’s.

There is a wide range of ecclesiastical items on display reminding the visitor of the leading position of the Paltamo parish.

There are, for instance, exhibits from the Paltamo old church, i.e. the Paltamo pictorial church, such as the filing chest, roofing shingles and a pulley block.

A traditional Paltamo farmhouse room from the beginning of 1900’s has been created on the third floor of the museum and here you can truly feel the atmosphere of a time gone by. An interior of a mobile school from 1925 is also on display.

Lepikontie 11, 88300 Paltamo

PALTAMO MUSEUM OF LOCAL HISTORY

PUOLANKA 11

PUOLANKA MUSEUM OF LOCAL HISTORY Koskikatu 3, 89200 Puolanka

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uolanka-Pirtti which functions as the museum of local history and culture in Puolanka was transferred at its current place from Pellonpää in Lylykylä village. The house was built for the use of the family Oikarinen in 1910’s and at the time two brothers, Heikki and Lauri, shared the quarters between the two families. A school operated in the farmhouse living room in the 1930’s, the pupils having their lunch in Heikki’s chamber and sleeping on the living room floor. A dormitory and a post office also operated in the premises previously.

At the museum you can learn about the items and utensils used in a typical Puolanka farmhouse as well as the tools used for making skis. The ski industry was an important livelihood in Puolanka and Puolanka was the leading ski county of Kainuu from the end of the 1800’s till the first decades of 1900’s. The second chamber and partly the farmhouse living room as well have been furnished with items dating from the beginning of the 1900’s. There are also two storage barns in the fenced farmyard.

12 RISTIJÄRVI

Kirkkotie 5, 88400 Ristijärvi

T WHITE GUARD AND LOTTA SISTER EXHIBITION

he exhibition demonstrating the White Guard and Lotta sister activities in Ristijärvi is located in the oldest school building of Ristijärvi called Katvela. The building, which has local historical value dates back from 1896.

Uutela building, in front of which the Ristijärvi White Guard soldiers gathered in order to leave for the Winter War and which functioned as a war time hospital, is also situated in the same courtyard.

The exhibition illustrates a particularly strong patriotic feeling sensed by the Ristijärvi inhabitants: the time of the independence, White Guard and Lotta sister activities and the soldier boy and little Lotta sister activities. In Ristijärvi sports played an important role in the White Guard activities.

There are numerous personal prizes and itinerant trophies including their honorary certificates as well as other items connected with sports on display at the exhibition.

There is also a 1950’s museum classroom in Katvela. The first elementary school of Ristijärvi started operating in 1896 in the school building, which had just been completed. The museum classroom has been decorated with typical equipment found in a 1950’s handicrafts class.

Sopalantie 1, 88600 Sotkamo

SOTKAMO 13

T SOTKAMO MUSEUM

wo old granaries now function as the museum of local history and culture in Sotkamo. The exhibition rooms are located in the former granary belonging to the Crown. The county granary beside it is the only granary in Kainuu the interior of which has remained in its original state.

The importance of granaries was significant especially in the 1700’s and the 1800’s.

During good crop years the grains were collected in the form of taxes in the crown granaries and the county granaries from which it then could be lent out to people during the crop failures.

The museum has, among other things, a large collection composed of prehistoric discoveries from the area of Sotkamo, objects from the tar period as well as tools belonging to ancient cobblers and copper smiths. A slightly humorous peculiarity of the collection is the wooden toilet seat from the bishop’s chamber in the old vicarage of Sotkamo, which was saved in 1962 when the old vicarage was demolished. There is also a wide range of items connected with schoolwork on display. A traditional Sotkamo farmhouse living room has also been furnished at the museum.

14 SOTKAMO

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ervajärvi is a traditional Kainuu farmhouse. The museum includes an old main building dating back to 1866, a loft and two small storage barns.

Along the road leading to the museum, there is an exhibition building displaying objects and items previously used in the rural community. Tervajärvi farmhouse museum has been decorated with furniture and items depicting the life of the house at the beginning of the 1950’s. The farm has been in the possession of the Heikkinen family since the 1600’s.

During the 1940’s and the 1950’s Tervajärvi people lived in relative peace and quiet because the road leading to the house was not built until 1958. For this reason, many novel influences reached Tervajärvi fairly slowly. Although the Tervajärvi people continued cultivating the land in the old way for a long time, the inhabitants were otherwise active folks. The residents of the farmhouse followed closely the news on radio and the newspapers, they acquired further education after primary school and they were eager to play music and to listen to it. The fact that joint pre-Christmas parties for all the villagers were organised in Tervajärvi after the war times clearly shows the significance of the household for the entire village.

TERVAJÄRVI HOUSE MUSEUM

Tervajärventie 16, 88600 Sotkamo

SUOMUSSALMI 15

Raatteentie 183, 89800 Suomussalmi

RAATE FRONTIER GUARD MUSEUM

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rontier guard duties were commenced in Suomussalmi after Finland became independent and it was considered necessary to guard the eastern border of the land. Raate Road was used as a border crossing point between the two states by, among others, the itinerant salesmen and the Karelian refugees who escaped the unrest in Karelia at the beginning of 1920’s. The field post, which originally operated in hired quarters, received its designated premises in 1923, when the log house, which now functions as the Frontier Guard Museum was built for the purpose. The house consists of a crew room, office, kitchen and the guard commander’s quarters.

The Frontier Guard Museum is the only

guardhouse in Finland, which was built before the WW II and which still remains today. The Finnish fled the attack of the Russian army in 1939 in such a rush that they did not have the time to burn the building. During the Interim Peace period (1940‒1941) some renovation work was done to the building, which had suffered damages in the war. At the time, there were no civilians in the areas surrounding the frontier guard posts, the landscape was scarred by battles and the houses along the Raate Road were in ruins.

The Frontier Guard Museum depicts the life at the guard post before the WW II. The old frontier guard post has been restored to its former state of 1939.

16 SUOMUSSALMI

WINTER WAR EXHIBITION

Raatteentie 2, 89800 Suomussalmi

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inter War in Suomussalmi exhibition is located in Raatteen Portti (Raate Gate), which was built as a memorial for the Finnish and the Russian soldiers in 1992. The Winter War exhibition describes the Suomussalmi area before the war, the effects of the extreme cold to the course of the war, the spoils of war extracted from Raate Road and the circumstances in which the Suomussalmi people returned after the war.

Beside the Raatteen Portti there is a Winter War Monument erected to the memory of the victims of war. The monument covers an area of 300 square meters and it consists of circa 17 000 large boulders of rock. The boulders visualise the number of casualties and the amount of suffering caused by the war. A forest torn by the artillery surrounds the field of boulders.

In the exhibition building you can find coffee shop and restaurant Lotta Kanttiini.

Raatteen Portti is located on the legendary Raate Road and thus the battle sites of the Winter War are in the imminent vicinity of the exhibition. The visitors can, for instance, visit the restored defence line of Purasjoki and several other memorials.

SUOMUSSALMI 17

Kirkkotie 35, 89800 Suomussalmi

SUOMUSSALMI HOUSE MUSEUM

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uomussalmi museum of local history and culture stands by the beautiful lake Kiantajärvi in Kirkkoniemi. The role of the museum, which was founded in 1967, is to cherish the local collective spirit and to pass on the traditional knowledge concerning the area. A wide range of objects and items on display as well as the spacious farmhouse yard with its buildings depict the life style of a time gone by in Kainuu in the 1800’s and the 1900’s. You can have a peek in the history through different functional activity courses, listen to the stories told by the museum staff and enjoy the beautiful nature and peaceful surroundings of the museum site. The activity courses including traditional knowledge allow you to familiarise yourself with the exhibits and the history of the museum. There are several different activity courses and they are suitable for visitors of all ages. During the summer there are also various animals

living in the courtyard of the museum.

The log buildings located at the museum site have been brought from different parts of the county. The main building of the museum, Alanne farmhouse, was originally built by the lake Alanteenjärvi. Alanne was one of the oldest taxed houses round the area of lake Kiantajärvi during the reign of the Swedish Crown in Finland. An old water route up to Viena in Karelia went past the farmhouse. At the museum area there is also an old chimneyless farmhouse of Alanne, built at the end of 1700’s and the mid- 1800’s. In the living room of the old chimneyless farmhouse you can immerse yourself in the historical atmosphere dating back several hundred years. Come and visit our museum with an open mind and your ears propped and throw yourself wholeheartedly in the world of the olden days.

18 SUOMUSSALMI

Kiantajärvi, Hulkonniemi

TURJANLINNA

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urjanlinna was the home of author Ilmari Kianto. Both the Old Turjanlinna and the New Turjanlinna have stood on the location but they were both destroyed in a fire. The first Turjanlinna, built in 1912, consisted of four rooms: on the first floor there was a large living room, a parlour i.e. the room of the lady of the house and the back room i.e. the Blue parlour. On the second floor there was the writer’s study i.e. ‘the Paradise’. In addition to these, the building consisted of an entrance hall and the boys’ room plus an upstairs balcony for viewing the scenery.

When the Winter War broke out in 1939 the Finnish troops burned Turjanlinna and its ancillary buildings as they retreated before the advancing Russian troops. The only buildings that remained were the sauna by the lake and the lichen kiln where the lichen used for feeding the reindeers was stored.

The second Turjanlinna was built in 1949.

However, during the same year the building was again destroyed in a fire caused by a building error. The fire consumed all of Kianto’s possessions, his belongings and his clothes and the only more valuable item to be salvaged from the fire was the author’s typewriter.

Currently a small building called Kohtalon korsu (Dug-out of Destiny), which was constructed from the logs of an ancient fisherman’s cottage, is located on the site and in connection with it there is a cottage called Ikin Tupa in which the author lived in the summer. The lakeside sauna, the root cellar and the shed for drying out fishing nets are the buildings remaining from the old Turjanlinna. Ilmari Kianto was buried on the island of Niettussaari, which is located in the lake within sight of Turjanlinna. It is possible to visit Turjanlinna on guided cruises, which are organised in the summer.

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Photographs: Liisa Louhela * Ilmari Kianto: Kainuu Museum

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