Historical Attractions in Finland

Did you know that there are seven World Heritage Sites in Finland?
These are Suomenlinna, Old Rauma, Petäjävesi Old Church, Verla Groundwood and Board Mill, Sammallahdenmäki Bronze Age Burial Site, Struve Geodetic Arc and Kvarken Archipelago. Kvarken Archipelago is the only natural heritage site, all the others are cultural heritage sites.

World Heritage Sites in Finland

1. Suomenlinna Sea Fortress

Suomenlinna sea fortress is sometimes called the “Gibraltar of the North”. Construction of this mighty sea fortress began in 1748. Built on group of islands, there are about 200 buildings in an area of 80 hectares. The total lenght of the defensive walls is about six kilometres. Suomenlinna became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991.

Visit the Suomenlinna website for more information

2. Verla Groundwood and Board Mill

The Verla Groundwood and Board Mill (Verlan puuhiomo ja pahvitehdas in Finnish) is a well-preserved example of small-scale rural industrial settlement. The Groundwood Mill was established in 1872 and the Board Mill in 1882. Production ended at the mill in 1964, and in 1972 the Verla Mill became Finland’s first factory museum. It became a World Heritage Site in 1996.

Visit the Verla Mill Museum website for more information.

3. Petäjävesi Old Church

Petäjävesi Old Church (Petäjäveden Vanha Kirkko in Finnish) is a representative of the architectural tradition of wooden churches in northern Europe. The church was built between 1763 and 1765 and has been preserved as a monument since the 1950s. It was added to the World Heritage List in 1994. You can visit this unique building in Petäjävesi, about 30 kilometres from Jyväskylä.

Visit the Petäjävesi Old Church website for more information.

4. Old Rauma

Old Rauma is a typical Scandinavian wooden town. It forms a unified area of historical, single-storey buildings, a partly medieval street network and a viable urban community. Old Rauma became a World Heritage Site in 1996.

Visit Old Rauma website for more information.

5. Sammallahdenmäki Bronze Age Burial Site

About 20 km from Old Rauma is located another World Heritage Site. The Sammallahdenmäki Bronze Age Burial Site (Sammallahdenmäen pronssikautinen hautaröykkiöalue in Finnish) forms the largest and most varied burial site on the Gulf of Bothnia. In the area there are 36 burial cairns at the rugged and rocky World Heritage Site.

Visit the Sammallahdenmäki website for more information.

6. Struve Geodetic Arc

The Struve Geodetic Arc is a chain of survey triangulations stretching 2820 km from Norway to the Black Sea. They were laid between 1816 and 1855 under the direction of German astronomer Friedrich Georg Wilhelm Struve, with the aim of determining the size and shape of the Earth. This marked an important step in the development of earth sciences and topographic mapping. In Finland there are six station points. These are located in Pyhtää, Lapinjärvi, Korpilahti, Tornio, Ylitornio and Enontekiö.

7. Kvarken Archipelago

The Kvarken Archipelago is the only natural heritage site in Finland. As the land uplift in the Kvarken is very intense, the archipelago is constantly changing shape. This is the best place in the world to experience and understand the land uplift phenomenon caused by the last Ice Age.

For more info about the World Heritage Sites in Finland
visit Finnish Heritage Agency’s website
Image of Suomenlinna by Jussi Hellsten / Visit Finland

What life was like on a Finnish farm a hundred years ago? Visit Korteniemi Heritage Farm to find out!

Korteniemi Heritage Farm is a former forest ranger’s estate. What makes Korteniemi quite unique is that it’s the only forest ranger estate in Southern Finland which has remained almost unchanged for over a hundred years. The grounds and the buildings on the estate are almost the same as they were in 1910s.

Story of Korteniemi

History of Korteniemi can be traced back to 1880s. After Finnish government bought the forest lands, the district forest surveyors needed a place to stay during their inspection trips. The secluded farm in Korteniemi was a perfect for this purpose.

In the late 1800s the main house got an extra room. Also, the additional buildings, including the sauna, shed, stable, livestock barn and the woodshed were built around the same time period between 1880-1900. The government took part in construction expenses and monitored the quality of the buildings, but other than that, there were no instructions or blueprints. Houses were built mainly just by following traditional construction methods. Because of this the buildings have a real cultural value.

Who were the Forest Rangers ?

So why forest rangers were needed? The main duties of the forest rangers were to monitor and to protect the crown-owned forests. Their job was to prevent forest fires and illegal logging, assist foresters, and sometimes arrange hunts of the large carnivore. Forest rangers usually lived on the secluded farms with their families. They took care of the farm and the livestock, while taking care of their forest ranger duties.

At first forest rangers worked part time, but as they got more tasks, it slowly became a full time job. And often sons took over their father’s job. At the Korteniemi farm, the men from the Lönngren family held the forest ranger’s position for over a hundred years.

Korteniemi Heritage Farm

Nowadays, buildings on the Korteniemi farm are protected and maintained by Metsähallitus, the same goverment organization which manages Finnish national parks. Metsähallitus has restored the farm buildings and created a unique destination.

At the farm old Finnish crops are farmed in both the estates gardens and fields by traditional methods. Rye is cut with scythes, dried on racks and threshed with flails in the drying barn. Farm is also home to indigenous Finnish farm animals like horses, cows, sheep, chickens and of course a rooster.

Korteniemi can be visited during summer, and like Finnish national park, there is no entry fee. Korteniemi is located in Liesjärvi National Park, so if you want an authentic forest ranger experience, why not taking a hiking trip on one of the trails in the national park.

Address to the farm is Korteniementie 270, Tammela, Finland.