Take a trip to Järvenpää in the footsteps of artists
Järvenpää lies around 25 miles north of Helsinki. Various events and concerts are held at Järvenpää House, which is only a short distance from the station. Nearby is Järvenpää Art Museum, which includes works by Finnish artist Eero Järnefelt. Järvenpää is a popular destination for art and music lovers.
If you are interested in architecture, be sure to visit Järvenpää Church. The building, an example of brutalist architecture, was once voted the ugliest church in Finland, and is both despised and loved passionately.
There are several interesting sites to visit. Many of the most significant Finnish artists lived along the beach boulevard of Rantatie. The author, Juhani Aho lived in the villa now known as Ahola. Inspired by their example, Jean and Aino Sibelius also moved to the beaches of Lake Tuusula. You can also see the modest cabin in which Finnish national author Aleksis Kivi died.
The best-known attraction on Lake Tuusula is surely Ainola, the home of Jean and Aino Sibelius from1904. Ainola is now a museum, which attracts over 20,000 visitors every year from around the world. Close to Ainola lies Ahola, which includes publications by Juhani Aho as well as sketches and illustrations by his wife, artist Venny Soldan-Brofeldt.
Continue your holiday in Järvenpää by touring other artist homes. Halosenniemi, for instance, is an impressive ensemble on the shores of Lake Tuusula. The “wilderness atelier” of artist Pekka Halonen is a fabulous timber castle which was carefully restored in the 1980s and nowadays functions as a museum. While you are there, take a stroll in the old garden of Pekka and Maija Halonen and visit Erkkola, the home of poet J. H. Erkko. The house is also used as a concert venue.
Järvenpää belongs to the metropolitan area of Helsinki, so it is easily reached by local trains once you’ve landed at the airport. Travellers interested in the artist society of Lake Tuusula should leave the train at the Ainola stop. Järvenpää has excellent road connections, as two major highways run just past it.
