Download - Landmarks 1912
Mikkeli CiTY HAll • NAiSVUORi TOWeR
MARkeT HAll • HARBOUR PAVilliON • GRANiTe HOUSe
LANDMARKS 1912
SiSällyS
A stroke of luck And A
cAtAstrophy 4
Moderni suunnittelijA – Arkkitehti seliM A. lindqvist 4
Mikkelin kAupungintAlo - skotlAntilAisen jA itävAltA- lAisen Art nouveAun jäljillä 5
teräsbetonin lyriikkAA – nAisvuoren torni 20
kAuppAhAlli 22
sAtAMApAviljonki 24
kAuppAneuvos jA lääninArkkitehti 28
grAniittitAlostA tAideMuseo 28
lähteet 31
CONTENTS
foreWord 3
A stroke of luck And A cAtAstrophy 4
Architect seliM A. lindqvist – A Modern designer (1867-1939) 4
Mikkeli’s city hAll - in seArch for scottish And AustriAn Art nouveAu 5
poetry in reinforced concreter – nAisvuori toWer 20
MArket hAll 22
hArbour pAvillion 25
titulAr coMMerciAl counsellor And county Architect 28
froM grAnite house to Art MuseuM 28
FOREWORD
the city of Mikkeli was awarded the living city centre of finland prize for 2012. A
hundred years ago the city was experiencing a practically similar period of active
development. the city environment was being improved and new commercial buildings
erected. this booklet introduces a few buildings that have become significant for
Mikkeli over the past century. they tell a story of Mikkeli’s history and its present-day
life, an interpretation of how Mikkeli became Mikkeli.
A hundred years ago Mikkeli was a beehive of
construction activity: a water distribution system
and the naisvuori water tower were completed
in 1911-12, timber-built vending stalls that had
served since the city was founded in 1838 were
replaced by a new market hall and the city got its first
real city hall. Around the same time businessmen
built stately stone houses. one of them is now the
Mikkeli Art Museum.
Mikkeli’s century-old city hall stands on the south side of the market square surrounded
by lindens and oak trees, slightly hidden as it were. two sets of buildings are always
mentioned in connection with Mikkeli’s beautiful market square: the state provincial
office designed by C.l. Engel and, on the north side of the square, the symbols of
the whole city, two gatehouses flanked by 1940s functionalistic buildings. the Art
nouveau city hall is often forgotten. it is high time to give the city’s own hall a voice
of its own.
i wish you a very enjoyable read in the company of our hundred-year-olds.
KimmO miKaNDERMAyor
a STROKE OF luCK aND a
CaTaSTROphy
the city of Mikkeli met with a stroke of luck in 1910
– if you can call the situation in the grand duchy
of finland during the second era of russification
lucky. An impressive barracks complex for the 6th
sharpshooter battalion had been erected outside
the city centre some thirty years earlier. A national
conscript army, small and insufficient to defend the
country as it was, had raised nationalistic spirits.
the joy was short-lived though. the grand duchy
of finland and the russian empire reached a
compromise in 1901 – as the finns were unwilling
to let their young men join the imperial army the
”old army” was disbanded and replaced by a
russian detachment, the 5th finnish sharpshooter
battalion.
the city of Mikkeli had given the area for the ”old
army” barracks to the government free of charge
”to use for as long as need be”. A national army
unit yielded tax income to the city but the new
residents did not pay up – so the city began to
demand compensation for the barrack area. in
1910 the governor decided that the area was to be
regarded as expropriated and the city was paid
346,750 marks, the equivalent of four years’ tax
income. the compensation was paid from finnish
government funds.
the most part of the the sum was put into a fund
for the construction of the city hall and a water
distribution system and a smaller sum into a suburb
fund for future land purchases. the following two
years saw unprecedented constructional growth
in Mikkeli – the city obtained a water distribution
network and waterworks, a city hall, a market hall
and a harbour pavilion.
the year of the stroke of luck was also a year of a
catastrophy – a huge city fire. the fire spread from
shopkeeper halttunen’s kitchen and eventually
burnt down a whole quarter below the church
stairs. the smoke could be seen as far as ristiina
and juva. one of the buildings destroyed by the fire
was a wooden house owned by titular commercial
counsellor David pulkkinen. it was replaced in 1913
by a handsome Art nouveau castle.
aRChiTECT SElim a. liNDqviST
– a mODERN DESigNER (1867-1939)
Architect Selim a. lindqvist from helsinki was
in charge of Mikkeli’s great construction rush. he
came from a modest background, his father was a
sergeant major and his mother had a bakery shop.
lindqvist studied architechture at the polytechnic
institute 1884-88. After his studies the young
architect opened a studio his own in helsinki.
lindqvist was a hard-working, productive architect
with an ability to adapt artistic design to the
character and site of the project at hand as well as
the construction solutions chosen. contemporary
evaluations described his work as elegant, stylish
and practical. his designs were exceptionally
good examples of the architectural tastes and
techniques of his own time. one of the most
significant influences on lindqvist’s philosophy and
production was a study trip to italy via germany,
Austria and hungary. After the excursion he spent
a year working with an architectural firm in berlin.
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from early on selim A. lindqvist harboured an
interest in everything new in the field of building
techniques. contrary to the national romanticism
of the turn of the century his architechture
represented the rationalistic school right from
the beginning. he was the first to implement
many new techniques in finland: a horizontal
concrete slab supported by concrete beams, iron
rod in concrete reinforcement, asphalt felt on top
of concrete as waterproofing, composition floors
and refuse chutes in residential buildings. julius
tallberg and the city of helsinki were some of his
biggest employers. he designed mainly industrial
and commercial buildings for them. new technical
inventions were often first used in these types of
buildings.
lindqvist designed several commercial buildings
for helsinki’s growing centre. one of them was
Aleksanterinkatu 13 – still known as department
store Aleksi 13 - finland’s first building constructed
solely for commercial purposes.
miKKEli’S CiTy hall - iN SEaRCh
FOR SCOTTiSh aND auSTRiaN aRT
NOuvEau
the construction of a city hall appeared on the city
council’s agenda for the first time in 1886. A design
was commissioned from architect Werner polón
and the decision to build was made three years
later. however, the plan was never carried out as
an independent city parish and building a church
for it were prioritized. the city hall was again back
on the agenda some twenty years later.
A building lot for the city hall had been reserved
and waiting by the market place ever since the
founding of the city. A city council meeting decided
in january 1910 that the future hall should house
the magistrate’s office and city court, treasury,
bailiff, councillors, library and reading room, health
care and poor relief administration, custom house
and two porters’ flats. Whether there would still be
room for the Mikkelin säästöpankki savings bank
and an assembly hall seating five hundred people
was to be looked into.
Mikkeli’s city hall designed by lindqvist was
completed in 1912. the general lay-out of the
AM
building was symmetrical and it was adapted to the
empire buildings in its vicinity while its detailing
was reminiscent of scottish and Austrian Art
nouveau. the early 20th century style had several
names: people talked about national romanticism,
jugend, Art nouveau. Mikkeli’s city hall became
a complete work of art as selim A. lindqvist also
designed its decor and movable furnishings. the
furniture was manufactured by huonekalutehdas
evert invenius of tampere and the chandaliers by
taidetakomo koru, all to the designs of lindqvist.
the helsinki-based taidetakomo koru
manufactured all sorts of arts and crafts forge
items, such as light fixtures for private and public
spaces. the company had its own designers but
they also made products to the commissioners’
designs. Around the same time as the lamps for
the Mikkeli city hall they also produced the light
fixtures for the stock exchange, kaivohuone and
theatre Maxim.
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the first meeting of city council in the new building was held in october 1912.
the photograph is from the centennial celebration gathering in spring 1938. MMA
the plans to find room for the savings bank and
an assembly hall were abandoned and in the end
the building housed the city administration, library,
city court and magistrate’s office. the library was
located on the east wing ground floor towards the
market place while the custom house’s three rooms
and a porter’s flat faced the courtyard. the west
wing housed the offices for the bailiff, city treasury
and cashier as well as construction office and
vaccination room where the mayor’s office now is.
upstairs were the council hall, smoking and service
room and facilities for the magistrate’s office and
the city court. What is today the city board’s
meeting room was then the court chambers and
opposite them were the rooms for the detained,
lawyers and court clerks and a waiting room. there
was another, bigger porter’s flat behind the council
chambers. the basement had two large archives
rooms, several storage rooms for firewood and a
boiler room.
the building was damaged in winter war bombings
in 1940. the roof and attick with their insulations
burned, practically all the windows and interior and
exterior paint coats and floors suffered. some of
the inner and outer plastering was destroyed by
fire and shrapnel. explosions and heat also caused
brick walls to crack, reinforced concrete ceilings to
collapse and damaged the central heating system.
While the winter war was still going on a new roof
was built and windows were covered with planks.
the city hall obtained its present facade in 1947
when the attick floor was turned into offices and
work spaces to the plans of Eero Jokilehto, Mikkeli’s
first city architect. changes were also made inside
the building. the library was extended through the
entire east wing except for the porter’s flat.
the mayor’s office found its present location in the
west wing and the registry office, chief secretary
and typists worked next door. the wing also housed
the city engineer and building engineers as well as
the treasury facing the courtyard. the city council’s
service room on the first floor was turned into a
meeting room for the city board. the magistrate’s
office and the city court stayed put on the first
floor of the west wing. five offices were built on
the second floor facade side and a drawing and
mapping studio for the city architect, city geodetist
and cartographers found a place in the west wing.
the porter’s flat in the first floor’s southeast corner
was turned into the construction office in 1954. At
the same time a wider staircase was designed for
the second floor and the building inspector’s former
office was turned into a photocopying room. three
years later city architect martti Riihelä changed the
council’s chambers by enlarging the gallery, cutting
off the facade’s gallery doors at the height of forty
centimetres and installed a threshold containing
a radiator, etc. the ceiling’s acoustics were also
improved.
the city hall’s facade saw its most recent alterations
in 1976-77. they were initiated by the construction
of a new library building next door. the greatest
change was the elevation of the courtyard side to
its third and present height. offices could now be
built into the yard side attick space. the outer walls
were painted ”corn-ear yellow” and the rest in ”
lily white”. compared with older colour schemes
the amount of yellow surface increased and the
contrast between white decorations and the walls
became more prominent. the alterations were
designed by hilkka vattulainen, city architect at
the time.
the interior of the city hall got its present-day (2012)
form in connection with these alterations. the east
wing library was replaced by offices: the deputy
mayor for technology and his secretary faced the
market square and the planning department staff
faced the courtyard.
MkM
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the magistrate’s office and the city court moved to
the granite house and so the city hall was in the sole
use of the city. the former court chambers were
turned into a space for the city board. the room
next to the council chambers was reserved for the
various boards. the council foyer with its cloakroom
and spiral staircase got its present form. the rest of
the first floor was dedicated to the city geodetist
and surveying
department. the
second floor was
taken over by the
city architect and his
staff: city planning,
traffic and building
design, all had
their own offices.
the basement was
taken into use as
well: in addition
to the archives it
now housed the
photocopying,
surveying department’s photographing facilities
and a staff refectory with kitchen.
As far as space goes a new era began for the city
administration in 1986 when a new office building
was constructed behind the city hall on the same
block. An architectural competition was arranged
and it was won by hannele Storgårds. the new
building had an effect on the lay-out of the old
hall’s basement. the photocopying and refectory
spaces became meeting rooms for council groups.
over the past twenty years Mikkeli city hall has
only seen minor changes. Activities have come
and gone and some
new space solutions
have come up, but
the city’s central
administration, the
city council and
the city board have
always had their
premises at the city
hall.
the city hall exhibits
several works
from the city’s art
collection. the
council chambers are dominated by portraits
of council chairmen by Emil Rautala while the
city board’s meeting room boasts views of 19th
century Mikkeli by Johan Knutson and Thorsten
Waenerberg.
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victoria Åberg (1824-92) spent summers in puntala, ristiina, where her sister lived with her
finnish nationalist husband, circuit judge karl ferdinand forsström. Ms. Åberg was one of the
first finnish women artists to have a long career. ”Maisema” (”landscape) from 1881 depicts a
mountain view from italy.
MkM/timo kilpeläinen
Thorsten Waenerberg’s ”Maisema
Mikkelistä” (”A view from Mikkeli)
from 1873 shows a small town with
the state provincial office, hospital
and prison buildings. the pink
kenkävero vicarage can be seen to
the left. the painting is a donation
by hanna and märtha hällström.
MkM/timo kilpeläinen
headmaster, city councillor martti Rafael Jauhiainen chaired the city
council in 1929-45, 1948-56 and 1960-64. emil rautala’s painting is
from 1941.
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pOETRy iN REiNFORCED CONCRETE –
NaiSvuORi TOWER
the high naisvuori hill originally stood on the
outskirts but by the early 20th century it had
become a green belt within the growing city.
instead of residential houses public buildings
typical of city centres were erected around it. A
building to house the Mikkelin telefooniyhdistys
telephone company was completed in Mikonkatu
in 1903 right next to naisvuori and the Mikkelin
työväenyhdistys workers’ association had already
bought a hill-side villa in 1900 for its headquarters.
At the beginning of the 20th century finnish cities
were busy building water distribution systems to
meet the needs of the growing cities. that became
actual in Mikkeli at the turn of the century. since
1900 the profits of alcohol sales were transferred
into a base fund for the waterworks. the actual
planning commenced in autumn 1908. the
necessary ground-water inventory took two years
and in the autumn of 1910 the council commissioned
a plan for the waterworks from engineer a. Skog.
the same council meeting decided to commission
a water tower for naisvuori from selim A. lindqvist,
the architect who was designing the city hall at
the time. A pavilion-cum-fire lookout tower would
have to be demolished to make room for the new
water tower. the pavilion was not just part of the
outlook tower but also a place for the locals to relax
built with funds donated by doctor R. Salingren. it
was therefore decided that water tower’s ground
floor should have a restaurant.
the design for the water tower was approved in
february 1911 and construction work began in july
the same year. lindqvist’s design showed none
of the references to Mediaeval towers so popular
at the time. you might just detect some hints of
the architechture of Austrian Otto Wagner in
lindqvist’s completely modern form language.
the water tower in reinforced concrete was
constructed by viipurin sementtivalimo oy under
the leadership of engineer taavi siltanen. the tower
was 29,4 metres high and the water tank held
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300,000 liters of water. the top of the tower stands
about 64 metres above the level of lake saimaa.
the tower top housed an electrically operated
alarm siren and signal lights that indicated in which
part of town there was a fire.
the old pavilion was torn down in winter 1912.
All reusable building material was shipped to
lamposaari were a new pavilion was erected to
designs by lindqvist and city engineer lennart von
Fieandt. this rhyme documents the event:
”Where pekka pietiläinen used to fish
now stands old naisvuori pavilion like a niche”.
during the second world war the top of the tower
was removed and replaced by air surveillance
facilities. the tower top got its present profile in
1946 when eero jokilehto designed a new roof to
cover the formerly open-air lookout terrace. the
naisvuori tower remained a point of interest and a
tourist sight in the early 1950s when a new water
tower was built on kirjala hill. the glazing of the
lower terrace of naisvuori tower in 1969 greatly
improved the restaurant services. naisvuori tower
is one of the most photographed spots in Mikkeli
and a symbol for the whole city.
MkM
maRKET hall
timber-built market stalls and plank-construction
shops built later on ”kauppamiehenkuja”
(tradesman’s alley) on the block between
hallitustori and kirkkotori squares were the first
commercial buildings in Mikkeli. the area grew
into kauppatori, Market square, later to be called
pikkutori, little Market. in 1898 the public health
board suggested that the plank-constructed stalls
be demolished as rainwater gathered under them
and the shopkeepers were forced to stand in
puddles. this started
a complicated, ten-
year-long process
that ended in the
inauguration of the
new Market hall on
january 2, 1913.
building committees
appointed by the
city council came
and went and plans
were drawn up, until
in 1908 it was decided that the plans ”should be
commissioned from a professional man who has
drawn them before and who is a specialist in the
field”. selim A. lindqvist was chosen as that
professional. his designs for hagnäs Market halls
in siltasaarenkatu, helsinki, had served as a model
for the planners in Mikkeli from 1898 on. since then
he had designed market halls for hietalahdentori
(1903) and kaartintori (1906) in helsinki and one
for hanko as well (1909).
in March 1909 the city council decided to build a
market hall where the eastern timber stalls stood.
the decision was appealed and construction work
was delayed by three years. in january 1912 a
complete set of plans were commissioned from
lindqvist – they now included an end part with
facilities for four shops. the basic plan with its
24 shops was kept as it was but some changes
were made to the facade – either for local financial
reasons or because lindqvist’s production was
moving increasingly
towards the more
rationalistic Wiener
jugend.
in 1929 a draper’s shop
and new end shops
were added to the
Mikkeli market halls, i.e,
Mikkeli’s future symbols,
the two gatehouses
we re e re c te d .
lindqvist’s market hall
was destroyed in the winter war, only the end part
survived. A temporary market hall was soon built.
it served until 2011 when Mikkeli’s third market
hall was opened on pikkutori in connection with
shopping centre stella – the same spot where it
had been planned ever since 1898.
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haRbOuR pavilliON
the thrust to develop the city also
included harbour services – boat
traffic had increased and it was
time to do something about the
harbour. A harbour committee ”to
plan for order and cleanness” in
the city harbour was appointed in
summer 1911. in March the following
year it presented a plan to demolish
the harbour’s four vending stands
because they ”disturb the beauty of
the harbour and cannot satisfy the
comfort of the public waiting for the
boats and enjoying refreshments.”
the committee suggested that
a new pavilion be built to house
the harbour master’s office, a
restauranteur’s room and an
open waiting and serving area.
yet again selim A. lindqvist was
commissioned to do the designing.
the committee had ordered a
sketch design from him earlier. the
decision to build was made and the
pavilion was completed by the start
of the 1912 navigation season.
the pavilion’s restaurant activities
were leased out. fresh hot waffles
with strawberry jam and whipped
cream have been a part of Mikkeli’s
cultural heritage on naisvuori and
in the harbour pavilion for the past
hundred years.
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TiTulaR COmmERCial COuNSEllOR
aND COuNTy aRChiTECT
there was also a lot of private construction going on
in Mikkeli in the early years of the 20th century. one
of the period’s most prominent figures was titular
commercial counsellor David pulkkinen (1851-
1925). born a craftsman’s son pulkkinen worked
in a local shop until he was able to set up shop on
his own in the 1870s. soon he went into shipping
and wholesale. in the 1890s he branched into brick-
making in paukkula – the Mikkeli cathedral is built
of paukkula bricks - , a tobacco factory and a
brewery producing spirits and beer, Mikkelin viina-
ja juomatehdas. pulkkinen’s ships exported butter
and hides and imported grain and flour.
A flour mill in saksalankatu handled the imported
grain. in 1911-13 david pulkkinen had two large
stone houses built at either end of hallituskatu. the
first to be completed in 1911 was a stone building in
the corner of hallituskatu and porrassalmenkatu. it
housed the bank of finland, rob. huber’s plumbing
business and the Mikkeli county architect’s office,
i.e. architect armas Rankka’s private studio.
Armas rankka (1878-1953) worked as Mikkeli’s
county architect in 1911-24. he had completed his
architectural studies at the helsinki polytechnic
institute in 1905. After his years in Mikkeli he
went on to head the provincial building office for
uusimaa province. his production in Mikkeli was
characterized by national romanticism and neo-
classicism, both visible in his residential buildings
as well.
FROm gRaNiTE hOuSE TO aRT
muSEum
When a large-scale city fire had burnt down titular
commercial counsellor pulkkinen’s wooden house
in the corner of hallituskatu and ristimäenkatu in
August 1910 he commissioned the plans for a new
residential and commercial building from Armas
rankka. the building to be known as the granite
house was built in 1912-13. the city’s post office
had its premises on the ground floor of the wing
facing hallituskatu. the building also had three
large flats: two upstairs and one in the wing facing
ristimäenkatu. the basement sported a small flat,
coffee shop, bakery, firewood storage and coach
shed.
the house was damaged in the winter war
bombings and its present-day look dates back
to those years. during the continuation war the
commander-in-chief, Marshal Mannerheim lived in
the house in doctor dahlström’s flat.
Mikkeli Art Museum opened as the Johannes
haapasalo Museum in 1970. it was renamed as
Mikkeli Art Museum in 1976 when the museum was
donated the art collection of teacher martti airio.
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photo: MkM/harri heinonen
the space now known as the
Airio basic collection was added
to the museum at that time. the
magistrate’s office and city court
moved into the building that year.
the Art Museum was appointed
south savo regional Art Museum
in 1981. in 1995 the museum took
over the whole building as Mikkeli
district court moved into a state
office block. in addition to the
exhibition rooms the building now
also houses the museum office and
staff offices.
finnish teacher Martti Airio (1890-
1973) was a collector whose
interests lay in finnish pictorial
art, the septem and november
artist groups, antique furniture
and oriental carpets. Mr. Airio
bequeathed his collection to the
city of Mikkeli because he wanted a
representative collection of finnish
art exhibited outside the capital
region. As the city received the
collection they promised to exhibit
the Martti Airio collection intact.
sculptor johannes haapasalo
(1880-1965) was born in rantakylä,
Mikkeli, studied and worked
elsewhere in finland and retired to
his home town. he is best known for
his public sculptures, particularly
war memorials. he donated all the
pieces he had in his possession to
the city of Mikkeli in 1963.photo: MkM/harri heinonen
SOuRCES
city Archives of Mikkeli, Mikkelin kaupungin vuosikertomukset 1910-12.
Museum of finnish Architecture, http://www.mfa.fi/arkkitehtiesittely?apid=3837
enqvist, petri, kauppahalli – Mikkelin kauppahallisuunnitelmia. exhibition at suur-savo Museum
2009. gyllenberg, petra, tuoksuja ja tunnelmia, kauppahallit suomessa. jyväskylä 2007.
kuujo, erkki, entisajan Mikkeliä. Mikkelin kaupungin vaiheita 1938-1917. jyväskylä1989.
kuujo, erkki – väänänen, kyösti – lakio, Matti – hassinen, esa, Muuttuvaa Mikkeliä. Mikkelin
kaupungin historia ii 1918-1986. pieksämäki 1988.
finnish national bibliography www.kansallisbiografia.fi
teXt: piA puntAnen
photos And postcArds: Mikkeli MuseuMs (MkM) i the provinciAl Archives of Mikkeli (MMA)
i ArchitecturAl MuseuM (AM) i reijo tiusAnen’s And pekkA pitkänen’s collections i other
photos: kiMMo iso-tuisku And ilpo AAlto i lAyout: AAlto oy i printing: teroprint oy
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Environmentally certified print product, 441 582, Teroprint Oy • Mikkeli