Location: Kotka, Finland
Duration: 1 day, 2 h, 4 h
Sites: Sunila Sulphate Pulp Mill and Residential Area
Available: All year
Accommodation: Not included
Transportation: Not included
Themes: Aalto homes, Block of flats, Industrial sites, Modernism, Museums, Residential areas, Town plans
See Alvar and Aino Aalto’s iconic glass designs in the exhibition Glass for everyone – Karhula 1889–2009 on display at Maritime Centre Vellamo in Kotka. Take a tour of the residential area of the Sunila Pulp Mill and the Director’s house Kantola on the shores of the Gulf of Finland. You can transfer to Aalto’s Sunila on a cruise by the sea and the River Kymijoki, or take a charter bus ride through the Karhula Works, where the Savoy vase was originally designed.
Tour highlights:
See Alvar and Aino Aalto’s iconic glass designs in the exhibition Glass for everyone – Karhula 1889–2009 on display at Maritime Centre Vellamo in Kotka. Take a tour of the residential area of the Sunila pulp mill and the Director’s house Kantola on the shores of the Gulf of Finland. You can transfer to Aalto’s Sunila on a cruise by the sea and the River Kymijoki, or take a charter bus ride through the Karhula Works, where the Savoy vase was originally designed.
Visit the residential area and the Director’s house Kantola with a guide and enjoy the simple beauty of the outdoor areas with their pine trees. As an option you can have a Finnish sauna in Kantola’s seaside sauna, dine like the Director with his guests used to and complement the day with a ride on the rapids of the River Kymijoki. Salmon cooked on open fire is a real delight. Also swimming in the sea on the beautiful beach just next to Sunila can be chosen as an independent activity to close the day.
Kotka Sunila Terraced Houses photo Rurik Wasatjerna
House Juurela balconies at the Sunila residential area in Kotka. Photo: Rurik Wasastjerna
The Sunila residential area was built for the employees and workers of the Sunila Pulp Mill. When the mill was built and introduced at the New York World Fair in 1939, it was reputed to be the most beautiful of all times.
Programme proposition at 10.00 to 15.00
10.00 – 12.30 Glass for everyone – Karhula 1889–2009 exhibition at Maritime Centre Vellamo, guided tour
Possibility for lunch at Vellamo’s restaurant Laakonki, transfer to Sunila on your own bus, or optionally cruising upriver on the River Kymijoki.
13.00 – 14.00 Guided tour at the Director’s house Kantola and Sunila residential area, tour in the house and coffee
14.00 – 15.00 Walking tour with a guide
Optional services 1
Cruise along the sea and the River Kymijoki where you can admire the Pulp Mill and the industrial scenery of the history of wood from the sea. The cruise route goes upriver ending at the celebrated Riverside Park. The service is provided by Meriset, whose high-quality boats and services also provide the possibility to enjoy beverages and meals during the cruise.
Transfer from the Riverside Park to Sunila on a charter bus through the Karhula Works area, where the Karhula Glass Factory operated for 100 years creating among other things Alvar Aalto’s iconic class designs that are familiar to us all.
Duration 1.5 hours. Read more about the other cruise options also at www.meriset.fi
Optional services 2
Director’s dinner at Kantola, à la Kotka Club.
Menu according to your choice.
Read more at www.kotkanklubi.com
Other possibilities of activities for the evening between 15 and 19, ask more details:
1: Finnish sauna at the Kantola sauna by the sea, 4 hours.
2: Rapids shooting on the River Kymijoki and salmon cooked on open fire at Kultaa, services provided by Erämys Keisarinkosket Oy, www.eramys.fi
3: On your own: swimming in the sea on the Äijänniemi beach.
Kotka
The Sunila pulp mill and the adjoining residential area designed by Alvar Aalto are masterpieces of modern architecture. The pulp mill was said to be the most beautiful in the world and it was presented at the World’s Fair of Paris in 1937 and of New York in 1939. The…
For groups
Cruise on the sea and River Kymijoki, on your group’s own charter bus
Available between May and September
Option 2
Director’s dinner at Kantola, à la Kotka Club.
Karhulantie 32-34
48600, Kotka