Möhkö

(post number 4 of camp school in Ilomantsi, to find out more read 3 previous posts)

If you ever go to Ilomantsi you must visit Möhkö! And that's what we did. In Möhkö is a unique Pytinki Iron Mill Museum. The museum shows how the iron was processed from lake ore in Möhkö since 1849. It's a large area in where are indoors museums showing the life at that age and outdoors you can see renewed canals, locks, blast furnace and other buildings etc. See the map of the area here.

At the top is the picture of the rapids of Möhkö. Here is a Picture of the main building of the museum called Pytinki. The factory owners used to live in there. Other pictures are from inside the Pytinki.

In the side buolding there is a museum which shows the life of the living in logging site cabins. I really liked the museum a lot. Somehow the hard living at those times is very interesting and I can't stop wondering how on earth did people survive on those days. Must admire them! I have hard time if I loose my cell phone...

I really love these handcrafts made by men in their logging cabins. I should by something like that home to remind me of the works of my ancesters.

Outside you can see canals, locks (still operating) and factory buildings, but the loveliest thing is the love path. One factory owner had it made for her wife while living for a rich lady in a factory area can be very boring. As a child walking on the path set my imagination to fly. I imagined how the people had arrenged secret meetings on the path, walked there hand in hand and maybe changed a kiss. The truth is more boring while it was only to the rich lady who very seldom had her busy husband with her there. Anyway I would even imagine that someday I will go to the love path with my loved one. For some reason I haven't done that yet. One more reason to go back to Ilomantsi one day!!

















There is a Manta cafe boat in the area too. Manta used to inhabit men that where on logging business in the middle of nowhere. It was a convienent thing while you could move the cabin when the logging business changed place. In Manta there are also museum rooms. And I heard that it has a rental sauna! Well, where in Finland isn't a sauna? They also have large variety of other services including tours to the middle of wildlife (even with wheel chairs).

















Lastly I want to share a very special moment that I had on the bridge you can see above. When I listened the sounds of the rapids I understood very deeply a song called Suomen laulu. It tells us to listen how Finland sings or sounds and I could here it in the rapids. I remember first hearing this song when I was a little child. My father was a member of a men's choir and they performed it. It impressed me already then and has been one of my top favourite songs ever since. I taught it to my pupils and had them fall in love with it too. Well, not all but many. When we were asked to performe they many times suggested the very same Suomen laulu. So we have song it several times. One of the finest moments was when we got to sing it in Olavin linna on our way back from camp school. The echo was something very different and so was the setting!

So if you visit Möhkö you might end up experiencing Finland very deeply. In the meantime go and listen Suomen laulu composed by Fredric Pacius the same man who composed our national hymn.