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MIKKELI CITY HALL NAISVUORI TOWER MARKET HALL HARBOUR PAVILLION GRANITE HOUSE LANDMARKS 1912

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Page 1: Landmarks 1912

Mikkeli CiTY HAll • NAiSVUORi TOWeR

MARkeT HAll • HARBOUR PAVilliON • GRANiTe HOUSe

LANDMARKS 1912

Page 2: 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

Page 3: Landmarks 1912

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

Page 4: Landmarks 1912

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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Page 5: Landmarks 1912

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

Page 6: Landmarks 1912

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

Page 11: Landmarks 1912

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.

MkM

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Page 14: Landmarks 1912

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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Page 15: Landmarks 1912

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

Page 16: Landmarks 1912

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

Page 17: Landmarks 1912

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

Page 22: Landmarks 1912

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

Page 30: Landmarks 1912

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

Page 31: Landmarks 1912

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

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