Address: Kouvola, Finland Open Google map
Entrance fee: Free/upon request
Tours: Inquiries for guided tours in Kouvola region, please contact Kouvolan Matkatoimisto tel +358 5 744 3100, email. matkat@kouvolanmatkatoimisto.fi
Themes: Aalto homes, Industrial sites, Modernism, Residential areas, Schools, Whitewash
Website: Visit Kouvola
Alvar Aalto’s most prominent works in Kouvola are located in Inkeroinen within the area of the Ankkapurha Culture Park. The buildings designed by Aalto in Tehtaanmäki, Inkeroinen date back to 1937 to 1956. These include the industrial buildings of the Anjala Paper Mill and the Tampella Co. Housing Area, including Rantalinja semi-detached houses, Tervalinja terraced houses, three engineering personnel houses and housing blocks for the workers of the mill. While in Kouvola, also make sure to check the Kasarminmäki gateposts, which the young architect designed for the garrison area when he was doing his military service.
The area is complemented by the Tehtaanmäki Primary School finished in 1940 and the Karhunkangas housing area of single-family homes, where most of the residential buildings were completed in 1938. The Tehtaanmäki Primary School is the only elementary school designed by Alvar Aalto that is still in its original use. The town plan designed by Aalto in 1937 covered the entire centre of Inkeroinen, but only the Karhunkangas area and the area adjacent to the mill were ever implemented.
The centre of Kouvola is also an interesting attraction to architecture enthusiasts. The administrative centre of Kouvola representing modernism is a nationally significant built cultural environment catalogued by the National Board of Antiquities. The Town Hall of Kouvola (Bertel Saarnio, Juha Leiviskä, 1964 to 1968, 1969) is an outstanding work of modern architecture classified by the international DOCOMOMO organisation.
The renovated pedestrian street Manski with its shops and cafeterias beckons you to have a cup of coffee and a rest. Those craving for culture make their way to explore the high-standard exhibitions of the Kouvola Art Museum belonging to the Poikilo Museums, and the museum building flooded with light.
Inkeroinen Tehtaanmäki Elementary School was built in 1938-1940. Photo: Maija Holma, Alvar Aalto Foundation
Entrance hall of Inkeroinen Tehtaanmäki elementary school. Photo: Maija Holma, Alvar Aalto Foundation
Alvar Aalto’s most prominent works in Kouvola are located in Inkeroinen within the area of the Ankkapurha Culture Park. The buildings designed by Aalto in Tehtaanmäki, Inkeroinen date back to 1937 to 1956.
Aalto sites in Kouvola
The buildings in Tehtaanmäki district designed by Aalto date from 1937 to 1956. These buildings include industrial buildings, Rantalinja semi-detached houses, Tervalinja terraced houses, three single-family houses, three housing blocks, Tehtaanmäki Primary School and Karhunkangas single-family houses. At the end of the 1930s, Tampella Co. established the Anjala Paper Mill…
Arriving to Kouvola
Kouvola is located appoximately 130 km from Helsinki. Kouvola is easily accessible by car and public transport. Fastest way from Helsinki to Kouvola is by train but Onnibus also operates between Helsinki and Kouvola. Onnibus stops at Veturi Shopping Centre.
From the Kouvola Travel Centre you can take a bus or train to reach the Aalto sites in Inkeroinen. The distance is approximately 23 kilometres. The timetables of the local bus traffic be found here. The tickets can be bought from the driver. Search for railway connections here. The train stop closest to the destination is Inkeroinen, which is approximately 2 km from Tehtaanmäki sights.
Read more about sights in Kouvola
Map and brochures are available at VisitKouvola.
You can download a architectural guide to Alvar Aalto attractions in Kouvola from here!