Photo location: Petäjävesi Old Church, Petäjävesi

Uniqueness and Unesco in the Jyväskylä Region!

Education and culture
– and some unique masterpieces

The Jyväskylä Region can rightly claim to be the birthplace of Finnish-language education. Here earlier generations have laboured for the benefit of Finnish culture where both the educational system and culture proper are concerned. The Jyväskylä Region contains numerous examples of Alvar Aalto’s architecture, providing a fascinating cross-section of his different styles and periods. Aalto’s skill can be admired in a total of 15 locations. In addition to top-class architecture the region is able to offer culture lovers an impressive variety of museums and exhibitions, as well as some superb churches.

Muuratsalo experimental house, Säynätsalo, Jyväskylä

The Jyväskylä Region and Unesco

1) Petäjävesi Old Church – masterpiece of construction in wood
Added to Unesco’s world heritage list in 1994 as a prime example of Nordic wooden architecture, Petäjävesi Old Church was completed in 1765. The church is a masterful demonstration of durable construction in wood. Legend has it that the church, like the chapel that stood earlier on the same spot, was built without permission. Small farmers in the area were not prepared to wait for approval from the Stockholm cathedral chapter and erected the cruciform church in 1763 in just 35 days.

2) Oravivuori triangulation tower – 19th century research station
In Korpilahti, at the top of Oravivuori, lies Oravivuori triangulation tower, one of Finland’s six points in the Struve chain. This is a triangulation chain extending from the Black Sea to the Arctic Ocean that was used in the 19th century to establish the shape of the earth. On this spot a triangulation tower has been erected to commemorate the importance of the Oravavuori (or Puolakka) measuring station to the mapping of Finland. Struve’s chain gained inclusion on the UNESCO world heritage list in 2005. Further information on Oravuori tel. +358 40 582 5105.

This you need to know!
Inclusion in the Unesco world heritage list requires that the site is a masterpiece of human creativity or exceptionally important evidence of a previous or existing culture. The number of world heritage sites currently stands at 890.

University campus, Jyväskylä