LANDMARKS 1912 Mikkeli CITY HALL • NAISVUORI TOWER MARKET HALL • HARBOUR PAVILLION • GRANITE HOUSE
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 construction activity: a and the Naisvuori water in 1911-12, timber-built served since the city replaced by a new market real city hall. Around the built stately stone houses. Mikkeli Art Museum.
Mikkeli was a beehive of water distribution system tower were completed vending stalls that had was founded in 1838 were hall and the city got its first same time businessmen One of them is now the
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 Mikander MAYOR
A stroke of luck and a catastrophy
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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.
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. AM
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
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
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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.
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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.
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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 s u r vey i n g 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 s eve ra l wo r k s 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.
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
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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.
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.
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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
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�.
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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.
Market Hall
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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, tenyear-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 were erected. 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.
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 (18511925). 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 brickmaking in Paukkula – the Mikkeli Cathedral is built of Paukkula bricks - , a tobacco factory and a brewery producing spirits and beer, Mikkelin Viinaja Juomatehdas. Pulkkinen’s ships exported butter and hides and imported grain and flour.
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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 NeoClassicism, 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.
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 (18901973) 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.
Photo: MKM/Harri Heinonen
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.
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.
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Kuujo, Erkki, Entisajan Mikkeliä. Mikkelin kaupungin vaiheita 1938-1917. Jyväskylä1989.
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Kuujo, Erkki – Väänänen, Kyösti – Lakio, Matti – Hassinen, Esa, Muuttuvaa Mikkeliä. Mikkelin
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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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