Architect Georg Grotenfelt wrote that the archetypical Finnish landscape – the one originally, and still most commonly, associated with Finland – is an inland lake viewed from a hilltop. The Finnish birch-pine forest is not dense, so a lake can be seen through a screen of trees from quite some distance. One is reminded of paintings by Gallen-Kallela such as "View of Lake Jamajärvi" and "Kullervo Cursing."
The Punkaharju ridge carried a road as early as the 15th century. The stone walls alongside the old road were built in the 18th century, when Finland was part of Sweden. Automotive traffic is carried on a modern road that parallels the old Swedish road.
The local Parikkala-Savonlinna train also runs along the ridge. I arrived at the Lusto station, in the north, and walked along the ridge south to the (even smaller) Punkaharju station.
Lusto is itself a museum devoted to Finnish forestry. Designed by Kaira-Lahdelma-Mahlamäki, it is a wood and concrete building whose cylindrical form gives some organization to the labyrinthine interior plan. One temporary exhibit focused on the Suomenhevonen, which was important in Finnish forestry. About forty Finnish lumberjacks still rely on this breed of horse rather than trucks. Another exhibit showcased famous Finnish wood products. Here is the largest Artek "stool 60" I have ever seen.
Birches and lupine near the Punkaharju station. The birch is one of Finland's six national nature symbols. The lily of the valley is another, but it was just a few weeks too late for the "kielo." Each week in the spring seems to be marked by the emergence of a different flower.
(posted 24 July)
