Lake Tuusula: The heart of Finnish culture

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The fantastic coastal area of Lake Tuusula is a road with a beautiful landscape. It's a place to discover the rich cultural history of Finland and where you can find home museums of various famous Finnish artists. These artists who have lived and worked around Lake Tuusula are among the ones who had a significant and cultivating influence on Finnish society and culture through music, literature, and visual art.

The members of the Artist Community created on the shores of Lake Tuusula cofounded by Aleksis Kivi and Juhani Aho, the poet J. H. Erkko, painters Pekka Halonen, Eero Järnefelt and Venny Soldan-Brofeldt, and the legendary composer Jean Sibelius. This remarkable community of master-artists stabilized in the early 19th century represents the golden age of Finnish art.

Lake Tuusula offered silence and peace of the countryside but at the same time, a place close enough to the capital city of Helsinki as the center of the country’s cultural life. This way, the artist community in this specific location socialized and helped, encouraged, and supported each other to excel in their creative endeavours. They formed the Finnish culture as it is today.

Moreover, since these masters were also active internationally, they attracted much attention from the rest of the world. The collaboration of the artists was a significant promotion and developed the national Finnish qualities and culture at a time when the political situation was ambiguous and uncertain. 

Let's introduce some of the beautiful historical villas and museums to visit at the shore of Lake Tuusula. It's not only history but also beautiful nature and the rural scenery of this region attracted many visitors. 

Places to visit:

Here are some possible locations to visit on your route;

Ainola: 

Home of Composer Jean Sibelius

Café and a small museum shop available

Address: Ainolankatu, 04400 Järvenpää

Website: Ainola

Halosenniemi: 

Halosenniemi Wilderness Studio; log studio of Painter, Pekka Halonen

Small Café and Museum shop, and rowing boats available for hire

Address: Halosenniementie 4-6, Tuusula

Website: Halosenniemi

Erkkola:

Villa Home of Poet Erkko

Museum shop available

Address: Rantatie 25, Tuusula

Website: Erkkola

Aleksis Kivi Memorial Cottage:

Home of Writer Aleksis Kivi where he spent the last months of his life

Address: Rantatie, 04310 Tuusula

Website: Aleksis Kivi

Ahola:

Villa Home of Writer Juhani Aho and Painter Venny Soldan-Brofeldt 

Café and small museum shop available

Address: Sibeliuksenväylä 57, 04400 Järvenpää

Website: Ahola

Suviranta:

Home of Painter Eero Järnefelt

Address: Suvirannankatu 5, 04400 Järvenpää

Website: Suviranta

There are also other villas, manor houses, museums, canteens, shops and restaurants to visit and enjoy on your route such as Lotta Museum, Järvenpää Art Museum, Lotta Canteen, Onnela Inn Café, Iloniemi Villa, Järvenpää Manor, Vanhankylä Manor, and Tuusula Church. Visit  Lake Tuusula for more information. 

You can also visit the excellent recreational area Sarvikallio with spectacular viewing sites over the lake and where the masters of art got inspiration.

Have a nice walk going to the center of Järvenpää and enjoy the park (Rantapuisto) and the area beside the lake as well. The annual music and art event Our Festival (Meidän Festivaali) is held in summer called. For more detailed information, visit Meidän Festivaali

How to get there

The distance from Helsinki is about 28 kilometers, approximately half an hour reachable by train, or by bus from Helsinki. The possible bus leaves from Helsinki to the Lake Tuusula Shore Road, or take the train to Järvenpää. Often people prefer to enjoy a beautiful cycle ride of about 24km around the lake, especially in good weather.