Viilu Jyväskylä

I think we did the right thing. Using the rainy day to drive through the „storm” Ulla towards better weather and arrive in Jyväskylä just when the sun reappeared.

It felt good being back in an urban environment and we enjoyed a 2 hour walk along the lake.

***** Jyväskylä and Alvar Aalto

My blip today is the Viilu. Viilu is a Sauna-Restaurant combination in the port of Jyväskylä, which opened in June 2022. A boat designed by Alvar Aalto, Nemo propheta in patria, is permanently on display at Jyväskylä’s Lutakko Harbour in a shelter built expressly for the craft (on the left). The name means “Nobody is a prophet in their own land”.
Alvar Aalto designed the boat to travel along with his wife Elissa Aalto to their summer villa at Muuratsalo Experimental House. The wooden craft is 10 metres long and 2.5 metres wide and was built in Säynätsalo between 1954 and 1955 by boatwright Lauri Kosola and woodworker Väinö Jokinen. The craft was completed in 1955, and its features include painted black sides, mahogany covers, and brass fittings. Shopping trips were also made with the boat and guests were hosted on board.

https://visitjyvaskyla.fi/en/attractions/alvar-aalto-boat/

In Jyväskylä, the city of lakes and hills in the heart of the Finnish Lakeland, you’ll find the largest number of masterful buildings in the whole world designed by the world-famous architect and academician Alvar Aalto. These locations also form part of the Alvar Aalto Route – 20th Century Architecture and Design – a cultural route which the Council of Europe singled out in 2021 for inclusion in the highly regarded Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe network.

The impressive portfolio of 30 locations includes, for instance, the Alvar Aalto Museum (now part of the Aalto2 museum centre), Muurame Church and Säynätsalo Town Hall, which is regarded as one of Aalto’s finest works.