Ostrobothniain English

JUNE 5, | ISSUE no 3

EDITORIALWelcome to join the third

Ostrobothnia in English!

In this magazine we have a

plenty of ideas about t ravelling

and holidays in Ostrobothnia

area. Summer in Finland and

the holiday season in

Ostrobothnia serves a lot of

opportunit ies, so You may find

some ideas for the next few

months. Take a tour in

Ostrobothnia!

Have you not iced something

interest ing in your area, and

would like to write about it? You

are very welcome to join our

team as a writer or a

photographer. You may tell us

about your new company, an

interest ing hobby or for

example a place in Ostrobothnia

what you suggest everyone to

see. I f you have something to say

to our thousands of readers, do

not hesitate to contact us!

The nex t OIE w i l l be publ ished on the 14th of A ugust. To get Your art icle publ ished, the deadl ine for the materials is one w eek before, the 7th of A ugust.

Enjoy the summer,

the sea and the

lak es, straw berries,

gri l l ing, sw imming

and relax ing! A nd

of course, have a

nice t ime w i th

Ostrobothnia in

Engl ish!

CONTACT INFORMATION EDITOR IN CHIEF: TEIJA.TYNKKINEN@GMAIL.COM ART DIRECTOR: HENNA.IKOLA@GMAIL.COM PRESS OFFICER: ROOSA-LIINA.RISIKKO@COU.FI

by Teija T ynkkinen

REKO were brought to Finland by T homas Snellman in

January 2013. He got the idea from Eko.nu-project in France.

Word "REKO" comes from words REjäl KOnsumtion (= Fair

Comsumption). T he whole idea of REKO is that producers sell

their products straight to customers without any extra costs.

T here are 55 REKO-groups on Facebook and all over Finland.

Groups have more than 40 000 members and 300 new members

joins groups almost everyday.

In Kokkolas REKO-group you can buy eggs, herbs, potatoes,

many sorts of meat, bread, cakes etc. Producers put up sort of

advert isement where they tell what they are selling and pr ice to

the product. Consumers can then tell the amount of product

what they want.

REKO-group meets every other T uesday at 18.00-19.00 pm, in

the parking lot close to Urheilutalo. In the summer REKO

meets every T uesday.

You find us on Facebook: REKO lähiruokaryhmä Kokkola

Join the group and see whats all about. :)

REKO by Nanna Jokela

LOCALFOODGROUP

EXPLORE FINLAND RADIOSHOW

T he Art of Cooperat ion

I t is often said that there is a strong Entrepreneurial spir it in Etelä-Pohjanmaa. I didn't really understand what that meant unt il I started my company, Xport , at the beginning of 2014. I certainly didn't know that I might have some of that spir it in me.

When we talk to people from other towns in Finland, for example Tampere, they will point out how different ly things are done here. As soon as we announced Xport to the world, people would say 'Oh, you should speak to my fr iend' and that fr iend would then take the t ime to offer some advice of their own, t rying to help us find our first customers.

Cooperat ion. T hat is what gives this region its unique atmosphere.Apparent ly, this doesn't happen in the same way elsewhere in Finland. At first I found it funny to hear people using this word so often, 'how does cooperating help us grow our business' I thought. I have learned, though, that cooperat ion leads to business.

In reverse, we have tr ied to give something back to the local community. Once a month, Xport publishes a list of the upcoming business/networking events in the region. Many people have told me they appreciate receiving this and have learned about interest ing meet ings and seminars from it .

I could give you many examples, but I 'll restrain myself to three;

- From the outset, we decided that Xport should try to cooperate with SeAMK (Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences). At first , this was by taking on an intern from their Internat ional Degree course. T his led to a group of student recording a short promotional video for one of Xport 's services. In 2015, we have taken two more interns, with a third due to start soon ? they need a work placement to graduate, Xport gets the opportunity to meet and work with young, enthusiast ic students from all over the world. T his can only benefit both sides.

- Last week, Xport announced that it was launching something called Xport Associates. We have grouped together several people form the Pohjanmaa area, who have skills we don't have e.g. languages, communicat ions, t raining, sales etc. T hey have agreed that we can sell their skills under the Xport name with the aim of at t ract ing more customers to the company. I t 's costs them nothing, it costs Xport a lit t le t ime to organise the Associates group but, again, it could benefit both sides

- Finally, away from my day job, I have spent the past six months recording the Explore Finland Radio Show. I have asked people to give me their t ime and talk to me 'on tape', so far I can only promise that 'I hope to build an audience'. T he response from all those involved has been humbling. From Jenniina at EP-Matkailu who has helped me connect with possible interviewees, to those who have taken part . I can only offer a big thank you, and the offer that I will reciprocate the cooperat ion someday (if they want me to!)

T he podcast is taking a short break through the summer, but I 'm not rest ing. I already have 20+ ideas for shows and several interviews already scheduled, but if you are interested in taking part or there is a place that you want me to explore on your behalf, then please let me know ? you'll find me all over social media.

by Mark Willtshear

http:/ /www.xport.f i/ en/ index.html

http:/ / xportblog.com/category/english/

http:/ / exploref inlandpodcast.com/connect/

To avoid more quarrels they decided

to make the matter clear by asking it

from the highest author ity, the K ing

of Sweden. Finland was a part of

Sweden in that t ime. And it was found

out that Maakalla like many other

fishing islands belonged to the K ing

and he had given a special rules ?

?laws?- how to organize the

government and discipline on the

island. Since then there has been a

local autonomy on the island. First the

fishermen and nowadays the

?inhabitants? of the island come

together once a year to a meet ing to

make the decisions over the matters of

island.

T here is a wooden church on the

island, it was build by the fishermen in

1780, a hundred years later than the

first one. I t was important to have an

own church on the island so that they

did not need to go to the mainland in

their own churches on sundays. Near

the church there is a also pr iest house,

with two rooms it may be smallest

pr iest house in Finland.

MAAKALLA

First was the sea ? that is the most

heard beginning of the story of the

Maakalla Island. Or ?kar i? as we

local are used to call the islands

here. Maakalla is lying in the

Bothnian Bay in front of Kalajoki

17 kilometres from the coast.

After the last ice age Kalajoki like

most of the nowadays Finland was

underwater. T he thickness of the

ice plate had been in the Bothnian

Bay about 3 kilometres and the

pressure made the surface of the

earth to go down. When the climate

warmed the ice began to smelt . T he

ice was smelted about 10 000 years

ago and the pressure was away, the

land began to r ise back. And the

r ising is st ill going on, now some

eight millimetres per year.

FISHING AND SEAL HUNT ING

I t may have been in the 14th century

when there already was permanent

inhabitancy in the coast of Kalajoki.

People had to get their living from

the nature, hunt ing and fishing were

important. Dur ing their seal hunt ing

tr ips on the spr ing ice of the sea they

found Maakalla. T here was a lot of ice

piles and they knew that it must be

shoals forming the piles. And they

also knew that these shoals are very

good place to get a r ich catch of

Balt ic herr ing which was important

food to get for the winter t ime.

Actually the name Kalla has it or igin

from the Swedish word meaning

these ice piles.

As soon as it was possible, that means

the land has r isen enough over the

water surface, first to be able to

fasten the boat on the rocks and later

to build simple hut, they came there

for fishing. T he season of fishing

Balt ic herr ing there was year ly two

months ? from the end of July to the

end of September.

LOCAL AUT ONOMY

T he island grow year ly by land lift ing

and catches were good, so more and

more fishermen come to island from

many coastal villages. So there

became disagreements of who was the

owner of the island and had r ight to

fish there.

KALLANKARI ISLANDS

When coming to the 1920t ies, the

Balt ic herr ing was no more so

important and many fishermen left

fishing. No one ever lived

permanent on the island, only

dur ing the fishing season. Now

there is near ly 40 small fishermen

hut left on the island, most of them

are used as summer huts. T here are

st ill some fishermen catching

salmon and whitefish.

NAT URE

T he nature of the Maakalla is also

very special, in spite of the

barrenness there can be found more

than 100 species of plants. Many

sea birds are nest ing there, species

you cannot see on the coast, and

also many migratory birds can be

seen there.

ULKOKALLA

Ulkokalla is smaller of the two

pairs of islands called Kallankar it ,

that lays in the Bothnian Bay in

front of Kalajoki City. Ulkokalla is

also located some five kilometres

outer as Maakalla and it has been

r isen from the sea a couple h later

than Maakalla. At the end of 18th

century Ulkokalla was high enough,

that it was possible to build some

permanent hut there. Because

there were too many fishermen in

Maakalla,

some of them decided to move to

Ulkokalla in 1776

After that they came more, as much as

it was space for boats and huts there.

T HE LIGHT HOUSE

T he commercial sailing became more

and more important also in the

Bothnian Bay. After war 1809 Finland

became a part of Russia and it was

need to keep on eye the border, so the

building of lighthouses began on the

Bothnian Gulf and finally on the

Bothnian Bay.

In 1857 the Pilot and L ighthouse

Service decided to have a lighthouse

built on the Kallankar it . T he locat ion

chosen was the higher of two islands,

Maakalla. However, the insurance

companies and shipmasters wanted

the lighthouse to stand further out on

the islet of Ulkokalla.

A 13-metre br ick tower was

completed in the summer of 1871. I ts

spiral staircase has 42 steps. L ight was

first lit in September 28th 1872.

T hree lighthouse keepers worked on

the rugged island together with a

lighthouse chief. Because of the ice

condit ions the lighthouse keepers and

their families had to spend three

months in a row on the island. T hey

had to store rainwater for dr inking

water.

A tr ip by one of the lighthouse chiefs

at tracted a great deal of publicity in

the 1920s. He went to get supplies

from the mainland and was trapped on

an ice floe. He dr ifted for t ree days on

it before he was rescued.

T he first residence of the lighthouse

keepers burned down in 1944 and the

present large house dates from 1948.

T he lighthouse was automatised in

1974 and the last lighthouse keeper

left the island two years later.

NAT URE

T he islet is formed of stony soil,

boulders and cliffs, and the landfall is

very difficult because of the

submerged rocks around the islet .

Although the vegetat ion of Ulkokalla

is very scanty, there are st ill about 100

species found on the island. T here are

no trees on the islet , excluding a

couple of small shrubby rowan tree.

On summer a stonecrop is

blooming as a yellow carpet on the

rocks, and the willow bushes shield

the many birds and their nests.

T here are many birds living on the

Ulkokalla. T he islet is the

rest ing-place for migratory birds,

for example Blue throat and Cold

crest, and many species are

nest ing on the islet too. For

example Arct ic tern and several

gull species, Black guillemot,

Razorbill and Arct ic skua are

nest ing species.

T insted of the Balt ic herr ing the

fishermen are today fishing most ly

lavaret (white fish) and salmon by

nets and fyke nets. T he mammals

of the sea, a grayseal and a r inged

seal, lives in the Gulf of Bothnian

and if a visitor is lucky, the seals

may show themselves, and r ise to a

cliff.

V ISIT MAAKALLA & ULKOKALLA

When visit ing the islands you can

explore the history and nature and

feel the idyllic atmosphere there.

T here are two taxi boats and one

big sailing boat taking visitors to

Maakalla. You can make a short

quided visit to Ulkokalla by a

taxiboat from May to October.

T ransportat ion to the islands:

www.fememare.fi www.blueseaandsky.net www.plassi.fi

Rosenlund is an old vicarage in the town of Jakobstad. I t is

situated only one km away from the town center at the

eastern access road. During the lat ter half of the eighteenth

century the dean Gabriel Aspegren created a garden and a

farm in Rosenlund, which were famous at their t ime and st ill

are. Several buildings and other structural elements from the

era of Aspegren are well preserved.

In 2000 the owner of the premises, the Parish Union of

Pedersöre, decided to restore the gardens. Today the

Rosenlund property of totally about 3,5 hectares is owned by

the Aspegren garden Foundat ion. Rosenlund consists of the

gardens and the yard of the estate surrounded by fields and

meadows is today a unique rural environment with ancient

features.

Today there are seven buildings in the area:

T he Main Building, a two-storey building, which was built by

Aspegren?s successor in 1789. I t comprises 500 square

meters. In 2013-14 the main building has been fully restored.

T he Rosenlund vicarage houses today Rosenlund café and

restaurant wich open daily, T ue-Sat, dur ing summer, June-

September. You can all year round make reservat ions for

company meet ings and family celebrat ions. Rosenlund also

houses the Aspegren garden Foundat ion´s office. T he Stone

Barn, the only building without doubt built by Aspegren was

completed in 1776. I t was a remarkable building, called ?the

grandest cowshed of Finland?. I ts 620 square meters were

divided by stonewalls into sheds for cows and sheep, a stable,

a barn and had storage for fodder in the at t ic and for manure

in the basement. Today it houses the Pedersöre old homestead

Museum with its exhibit ions and vast collect ions. T he

Northern Annex , a cottage which was used as a bakery

dat ing from 1797 now funct ions as meet ing room for the

associat ion for local history maintaining the museum

ment ioned above. T he Southern Annex, probably built

between 1825 and 1859, is at this moment accommodat ion

for the gardener

ROSELUNDby Carina Wikman

OUR GREEN HERITAGE

  T he Carr iage Shed may date from the eighteenth century as well

as part of the Firewood Shed. T he seventh building, a special type

of outbuilding, which was or iginally used as the maids quarters, has

been moved to the site by the Museum.

T he large garden is almost one hectare wide and the small one at

the gable of the main buildings about 100 square meters. T hese

gardens are the basis of our green her itage and our product to be

marketed to tour ists and local people.

HIST ORY

After graduat ing from the University of Uppsala and after var ious

temporary offices Aspegren was appointed vicar of Pedersöre and

Jakobstad in 1754. During his occupat ion he advanced to dean in

1764 and finally rural dean four years later. T he ordinary vicarage

turned out to be in bad shape and unusable. He therefore suggested

and subsequent ly got the permission to develop on his own

expenditure Rosenlund, a rocky slope of woodland with unfert ile

terrain surrounded by marshland. T he land was cleared, the rocks

were broken up and by 1757 the main building was ready. T he

smaller garden on the south side of the manor house with two

terraces and stonewall was created in 1758 while the larger garden

to the east was ready for cult ivat ion in 1765. During the three

following years he completed it with a gazebo in the center, two

ponds and an orangery. T he next decade he concentrated on

developing his animal husbandry and the famous stone cowshed was

completed in 1776. Having grown up in the era of the ut ilitar ian

spir it hand e was a keen innovator educator, always open to new

ways of advancing farming and gardening techniques. His

achievements earned him a prest igious silver medal from the Royal

Chamber of Ministr ies. Unfortunately, his successors were less

interested in gardening and Aspegren?s gardens soon fell into decay.

REST ORAT ION

When the decision was made to restore the gardens the basis for

the project was except ionally favourable: On one hand, the basic

structures were intact, on the other hand, there were several maps

and drawings preserved. T he most detailed and well known one is a

coloured drawing from 1777 showing the large garden. Important

is, that it is a drawing depict ing the garden as it was at the t ime, not

a plan. Authent ic structures st ill left are the surrounding stonewalls

and the terraces of both gardens, the br ick portal to the large

garden and its ponds. T he drawing gives a good picture of the

formal disposit ion of the pathways and the plant blocks and a good

idea of the pavilion as well as the orangery.

T rying to t race these elements by archeological methods in

the terrain gave evidence of the foundat ion of the orangery

and some traces of the foundat ion of the pavillion, as well as of

red gravel on the garden paths. T he garden disposit ion and

the buildings have now been reconstructed. T he most

important thing, the plant mater ial used by Aspegren is a far

harder task. T he drawing ment ioned ear lier gives some

information about the woody plants. Along the northern

stonewall there were flowerbeds and trellis fruit t rees, along

the eastern and southern walls rowan and bird cherry, both

nat ive to the area, along with linden trees. On both sides of the

pavillion across the garden there were lilacs and currants.

Aspegren is said to have introduced fruit - t rees as apple, pear,

cherry and plums to the area and probably was the first one to

grow lilacs. Otherwise we know nothing about what he grew

in his large formal garden or in the smaller one. An attempt

was made to analyse soil samples from the excavat ion for

macrofossils. Most of the ident ified plants were common

natural plants and weeds. T he only plants of certain cult ivated

or igin were larch and columbine. However, also these results

are uncertain of the same reason that gave a rather meagre

result in the archaeological studies; the soil has been st ir red

too many t imes after Aspegren?s era.

ACT IVIT IES

T he act ivit ies of the Aspegren Garden are and will be

further developed based on two pillars; tour ism and leisure on

one hand and educat ion in the spir it of Aspegren on the other.

T he sight Aspegren Garden is the at tract ion invit ing tour ists ;

the Meet ing Point Rosenlund is a place for local people to

gather around leisure act ivit ies. T he Knowledge Center

Rosenlund offers information and educat ion concerning

gardening, health, local history etc T he core of the Aspegren

Garden and Rosenlund is the garden. T he preservat ion of the

gardens is always taken into account when new act ivit ies are

planned. An important goal is to develop the Aspegren Garden

as a place for wellbeing ? to create A room for all senses.

An important goal is to develop the Aspegren Garden as a place

for wellbeing ? to create A room for all senses.

T he garden is a st imulat ing energy source ? children learn

difficult things by doing, the sick recover faster and the burned

out get new energy. Garden and handicraft funct ion as a link

between healing and learning. T he Aspegren Garden

Foundat ion organises, together with the associat ions events,

courses and exhibit ions at the Rosenlund area.

T HE UNIQUE ASPEGREN GARDEN

T he Aspegren Garden is unique in many ways. T he Finnish

Nat ional Board of Ant iquit ies est imates the garden as ??

posit ively the most important of the gardens from mid

eighteenth century? ?. I t represents a very ear ly and unusually

ambit ious vicarage garden in Finland and is at the same t ime

an excellent example of Aspegren?s and many later Finnish

vicars? great ambit ion to educate people. Already at its t ime it

was famous and was even ment ioned in German garden

calendars for its extremely northern fruit t rees. T he Finnish

garden history researcher Eeva Ruoff believes the plantat ions

were the northernmost in the whole world. I t is also

except ionally well preserved with many authent ic structures,

which have demanded only light restor ing. T he drawing, which

is the basic mater ial for the restorat ion, depicts the garden, as

it was some ten years after it was completed. Usually you have

to rely on plans about which you don?t know to which extent

they ever were realized. We have been told that the value of the

Aspegren Garden today is st ill enhanced by the aspirat ion for

authent icity and the high ambit ion level in the restorat ion

project. In Finland there are no similar garden history objects.

Today it is a living garden full of colour, fragrance, happenings

and happy people. T he garden const itutes an exchange of ideas

between the town and the countryside combining

long-standing tradit ions with modern-day thinking in

Aspegren?s spir it , promoting knowledge of the garden and its

cult ivat ion while respect ing and safe-guarding the

environment around us for everyone?s benefit .

KPV LEADING T HE CHASE

IN KAKKONEN NORT H

In Kakkonen north, a regional group at the third t ier of Finnish

football that contains seven Ostrobothnian representat ives, it is

Kokkola outfit KPV who have started best as they current ly sit

second behind AC Kajaani. Four wins and a draw from their first six

games see the team on level points at the top but below the

northerners due to an infer ior goal difference. KPV certainly aren't

struggling for goals however and have a league leading 14 score with

Br ight Ihionu and Harr i Heiermann having three each.

Just below KPV are OPS and Kerho 07, in 3rd with 12 points and

4th with 10 points respect ively, while FC YPA and FC Kiisto find

themselves in 6th and 7th. T he ear ly strugglers are GBK and JBK

who occupy the bottom two spots but both have managed to win at

least one game and will be hopeful of pulling away from the

relegat ion zone.

Kakkonen North cont inues on May 31st and a list of fixtures for all

of Ostrobothnia's representat ives can be found on www.palloliitto.fi.

SJK TAKE T HE CHALLENGE T O HJK

SJK have had a strong start to their Veikkausliiga campaign and

current ly sit second in the table behind perennial leaders HJK but

have two games in hand which if win would see them climb to the

summit. T he Seinäjoki outfit have won 6 of their opening 10 games

including a 5-0 destruct ion of KuPS on May 11th which saw five

different goal scorers including Ar iel Ngueukam and Johannes

Laaksonen.

T he biggest game of the season so far came on May 24th when HJK

travelled from Helsinki for a top of the table clash.

POOR START FOR AC OULU & VIFK

Finland's second division, Ykkönen, is underway now and for AC Oulu and VIFK it has been a tough start to the campaign. AC Oulu have 5 points from their first 5 games with their only win of the season coming against the Vaasa outfit on May 16th in a 3-2 thr iller. Dr itan Stafsula put ACO in before a Males Lombo goal drew VIFK level for half t ime. T wo goals for Kemo Darboe in the space of 3 minutes in the second half put ACO 3-1 up and a second goal for Lombo late in the game proved only to be a consolat ion.

ACO have scored a respectable 8 goals so far with 6 different scorers of which Darboe leads the way with 3 but their struggles are in defence with 11 goals conceded so far at an average of over 2 a game.

T he club did enjoy a good run in the Suomen Cup however, eventually being knocked out at the quarter final stage. T hey overcame a thr illing 6th round t ie against PS Kemi with the help of a penalty shootout after the goalkeeper, Allessandro Marzuoli, incredibly scored a last minute equaliser to make it 3-3 and take the game to extra t ime. In the quarter final they had to travel to Veikkausliiga opposit ion in the form of IFK Mariehamn and there was to be no upset as ACO went down 4-1.

For VIFK it has been an even more depressing start to the year, the team have 4 defeats, including that loss at ACO and a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of JJK, and just one draw from their first five games. To make matters worse the team has only managed to score four goals so far, three of them coming from Males Lombo, and have conceded a league worst 12 games.

Both teams cont inue their season on May 31st, VIFK playing host to FC Jazz and ACO travelling to HAKA,

both games kicking off at 18:30.

SPORTS writ ten by Steve Eglese

At half t ime things were looking great for SJK as they led through an Akseli Pelvas goal but it was not to be as the reigning champions scored twice in the second half, the winner coming on 76 minutes, to take all 3 points and str ike a blow for the top of the table chase.

T here was disappointment elsewhere for SJK also in the form of the Suomen Cup (Cup of Finland). T he team entered in round five but were knocked straight out the compet it ion by KuPS, the Kuopio side taking a 2-1 win from SJK despite a Wayne Brown goal.

SJK's ear ly season strength has came in the form of a team that is incredibly hard to score against, goalkeeper Mikhel Aksalu has 7 league clean sheets and 9 on the year, and that has a wide range of goal scorers, 10 different players having found the net in league competit ion. Six of those goalscorers have scored twice and share the lead for top scorer in the league at the team but in all compet it ions it is Pelvas that leads the way having score 8.

SJK's next fixture is an away tr ip to IFK Mariehamn on June 3rd, kick-off at 18:30, before they host RoPS on the 7th with kick-off at 14:00.

JARO AND VPS ST RUGGLING

Elsewhere in Veikkausliiga Ostrobothnia has been struggling with both VPS and FF Jaro languishing towards the bottom of the table. Jaro have fared slight ly better of the 2 and find themselves in 10th place having won a couple of games.

Whilst only two wins is a poor start the team's L iiga survival hopes are boosted by the fact that they have came against the teams below them. First , on 29th April, a goal from Walter Moore and a brace from Didier Kadio helped the team to a 3-1 against I lves before on May 21st second half goals from I lya Vaganov and Segre Atakayi secured a vital 2-1 win at VPS.

Jaro have at least been able to find the net with 7 different goal scorers in the league, Kadio and Atakayi

joined on two goals by Johan Brunell but will be hoping to improve things the other end having failed to keep a clean sheet in any compet it ion this year and conceded 17 goals the league, the most of all the teams.

                 

For VPS, the season has had an utter ly miserable start with the

team losing 7 of its first 8 games and failing to secure a win. Perhaps

the biggest shock of the season so far is that the only points for VPS

came in the form of a 2-2 draw against league leading HJK on May

17th.

Jordan Seabrook had given the hosts the lead but two goals from

HJK meant that VPS looked to be heading for another defeat before

in the 88th minute Juho Mäkelä secured the first point of the season

for VPS.

T he shock of the draw aside, the team finds itself in real danger of

relegat ion sat rock bottom of the Veikkausliiga with just 1 point .

T he team is struggling at both ends of the field with the worst goals

scored record in the league and 16 goals conceded. Juho Mäkelä

leads the scor ing with 4 goals, account ing for more than half of the

team's dire total of 7.

VPS cont inue their season on June 3rd when they host FC Inter

with kick-off at 18:30 while Jaro wait unt il June 7th when they

travel to HIFK, the game kicking off at 14:00.

CHAMPIONS OF FINLAND !

Since the last issue Ostrobothnia has seen two of its representat ives

claim the t it le of Finnish nat ional champions. Kokkolan T iiker it won

the volleyball championship for the second t ime in 3 years while

Oulun Kärpät won their 7th ice hockey nat ional championship.

BACK-T O-BACK CHAMPIONS

Kärpät came into the season on the back of winning the

championship last year and had to deal with the loss of some key

players. Never the less the team was able to batt le back from an

average start to the campaign by their standards and top the table at

the end of the regular season. Heading into the playoffs the team

played some tough ser ies, including winning game seven over JYP in

the semi final to set up a repeat of last year 's final ser ies against

Tappara. T he ser ies would turn out to be an incredibly t ight affair,

going all seven games, five of which had to be sett led in overt ime,

and all seven being decided by one goal.

 

               

Game 1 saw Tappara take the lead in the ser ies with a 3-2 overt ime victory in Oulu but Kärpät were able to return the favour in game 2 and t ie the ser ies one game each.

T wo more 3-2 wins for Kärpät, one of which in overt ime, put the reigning champions in a 3-1 ser ies

lead and looking heavy favour ites to retain their t it le.

I t wouldn't be that easy though and Tappara managed a 4-3 win in Oulu to make it 3 games to 2 before a 2-1 overt ime win in Tampere t ied the ser ies sending it to a deciding game to be played in Oulu.

A sell out crowd of 6614 came out to watch the batt le and it was fit t ing for the ser ies that it would have to be decided in overt ime. To be more precise it took a second overt ime per iod as after 80 minutes the teams could st ill not be split but just one minute into the second OT 17 year old Sebast ian Aho blew the roof off the arena scor ing a breakaway goal on a stretch pass from Ivan Huml to end the gruelling

ser ies.   

Julius Juntt ila and Joonas Kemppainen led the team in points dur ing the final ser ies, both scor ing seven, while Joonas Donskoi and Arto Laat ikainen had 6 each. In goal Tomi Karhunen had 3 wins and 2 losses with a save percentage of 0.886 and I iro Tarkki had a win and a loss at a save percentage of 0.945.

Kärpät will now be looking to see if they can complete a hat- tr ick of L iiga t it les, an achievement last done by T PS dur ing 1998-2001, but will have to do so without stars Donskoi and Kemppainen who head to North America to play in the NHL and also without the goalie Karhunen who has transferred to Tappara.

       

T HE T IGERS ROAR AGAIN!

Kokkolan T iiker it headed into the playoffs having finished second in the regular season table behind last year 's champions VaLePa. Upon beginning the playoffs however the T igers turned into an unstoppable force and breezed past anyone in their way. T hey paved their way to the final ser ies first with a three matches to nil ser ies win over LEKA in the QFs and then destroyed Loimu 4-0 in the semi final. Such was the dominat ion of Kokkola that dur ing all seven of those matches the team only lost three games, never looking in danger of losing.

T he final ser ies was to be played against Hurr ikaani-Loimaa who arr ived there by vir tue of a 4-2 semi final win over VaLePa. Match one in Kokkola was won by the home team 3-1 but match two in Loimaa proved to be more difficult . T he match went to a deciding game, the first t ime in the playoffs this had happened to T iiker it but they wee not unprepared and won it 15-6 to take a two match lead in the ser ies.

From then on it was the hurr icanes who were to be blown away with Kokkola winning both matches three and four, the lat ter played in front of 3320 fans in the central Ostrobothnian town, 3 games to nil and becoming the new champions.

Despite missing match one of the final Olli-Pekka Ojansivu, affect ionately referred to as "Lelu" (the Toy) by fans, was instrumental in the ser ies leading the team in points won with 71. T he Latvian Romans Sauss won 54 points and Matt i Hietanen scored 50 while Tommi Siir ilä contr ibuted with 32.

       

JAKOBSTAD/

PIETARSAARI

NYKARLEBY/UUSIKAARLEPYY

T he town has two names; Jakobstad in Swedish and Pietarsaar i in Finnish. T here is a large wooden house distr ict , called Skata, with about 400 old houses. T he distr ict  dates back to the 1800s. T he houses were once built for the workers at the tobacco factory as well as for the families of the sailors.  Skata is surrounded by the former tobacco factory?s buildings and a large ball clock, which is one of the character ist ic features of Jakobstad.?

Jacob?s Days is a week- long cheerful city fest ival in Jakobstad. T he fest ival is already organized for the 41st t ime and this year the date is set for 19th-26th July 2015. T he program is versat ile and abundant ? from morning unt il evening, both indoors and outdoors.

Almost the ent ire program is free of

charge. Enjoy music, theater, dance, art , sports, shopping. Make bargains at the markets, admire the atmosphere, take part in guided tours and just enjoy

yourself in the happy swarm of people.

Jakobstad is known for its well

managed public gardens and parks,

which all date back to the 17th century.

Over 1000 different plant species

bloom in the in the Botanical School

Garden, many of which are rare in our

lat itudes. T he Rosenlund vicarage and

the Aspegren Garden together form a

histor ically unique ent ity.

Jakobstad is also known as the town

of museums. T he Arct ic museum

Nanoq is located 7 km from the town

centre. T here are 18 different

buildings on the museum?s area that

tell about the life on Greenland and in

the Arct ic areas with the help of objects

and stor ies gathered from polar

expedit ions.

T he Jakobstad town museum in city

centre exhibits marine history in the

stunning Malm house. Other museums

to visit are the Chikory and the Engine

museum.

Nykar leby is an idyllic lit t le town at the

mouth of the Lapuanjoki r iver. I t was

established in 1620, on the same date as

Kokkola, as K ing Gustav I I Adolf of Sweden

wanted to reinforce the seafar ing and

trading tradit ions of his region.

Nykar leby is known as the "fairytale

town". In Nykar leby you will find Kuddnäs,

the bir th and childhood home of the

Finnish writer, Zacharias Topelius

(1818-1898) who is one of the best know

writers of the 17th century.  He is known

for his poems and fairytales and his works

has influenced the nat ional ident ity of

Finnish people. You can find many

interest ing stor ies and things at Kuddnäs

that is among one of the oldest museums in

our region. T he Juthas batt lefield memorial

is a good place to learn more about the

history of the 1808-1809 Fenno-Russian

war. Do not miss out on the biggest flea

market in Finland, which is held every year

in the end of August in Nykar leby. T he

Juthbacka market has over 800 traders and

around 30 000 visitors each year.

Welcome to the 7 Br idges Archipelago on the Finnish west coast. T his tour ist area is formed by the 5 neighboring municipalit ies: Jakobstad, Nykar leby, Larsmo, Kronoby and Pedersöre. T he region is character ized by the sea and islands, forests and lakes, landscapes and hor izons, and the balance between the town and the countryside. Cit ies in the area are rather small and idyllic.  Here you can try different act ivit ies such as canoeing, fishing, biking and hiking or perhaps rent your own cottage. T his is a region abounding with several act ivit ies, events and services. At the Matka T ravel Fair 2013 in Helsinki, the public selected 7 Br idges Archipelago as the most fascinat ing domest ic dest inat ion. Suspendisse a mauris congue, cursus purus vel, venenat is ex. Cras blandit consequat quinem.

7 BRIDGES ARCHIPELAGO

LARSMO/ LUOTO PEDERSÖRE KRONOBY/ KRUUNUPYY

T he community of Larsmo was

founded in 1867. Larsmo is made up of

360 isles and islands with a shoreline

that is near ly 500 km long.

Surrounding Larsmo is Lake Larsmo

in the east and the Gulf of Bothnia in

the west, the City of Kar leby in the

north and the City of Jakobstad in the

south. T he road of the Seven Bridges

runs through Larsmo, connect ing it

with the rest of the world.

Köpmanholmen recreat ional island

in Larsmo is also a piece of the

beaut iful archipelago. I t is a good

dest inat ion for families to spend t ime

together and enjoy nature. At the

island you can walk along nature trails,

play sports, go up to the

bird- tower and enjoy the exhibit ion on

land-r ising at Terra Mare. A

restaurant in the island provides

delicious food and beverages.  

T yynelä elf-manor is also located in

Larsmo. T he elfs live in houses that

date back to the 18th century. Another

histor ic locat ion is Bjärgas homestead

farm and museum. T he museum has

permanent exhibit ions of smallholder

home, toys and old- t ime ut ility art icles.

Pedersöre has also over 650 year of

history. Pedersöre is a large muncipality

with 19 villages, all with a very green

approach to life. T here are many

thr iving dairy farms in the different

villages. Tar dist illat ion used to be a very

important source of income in the old

days and methods for burning tar are

often demonstrated at cultural events. In

Pedersöre you can also go on lovely t reks

or take part in sport fishing in many

small lakes. T he treks and walks are

mapped to ensure that your visit in

nature is safe.

Fagerbacka in Purmo, Pedersöre is a

place with a story to tell. T his forest site

presents an old custom for farmers to

take their livestock to a forest meadow

dur ing the summer. Fagerbacka presents

the old buildings that were built at the

meadow site. When farmers moved

animals to summer pastures far from

their farms, they lived there over

summer season to make butter and

cheese from the milk. 

Kronoby is a muncipality with an

airport and a diverse nature. Lengthy

treks and lit -up skiing tracks enable

enjoyable exercise and outdoor

life dur ing all seasons. T he bravest can

paddle their way though the whir ling

rapids. Large forests, fields and many

lakes offer fine opportunit ies for a

sporty holiday.

Torgare vicarage has served as the

cultural centre at Kronoby for

centur ies. T his summer a summer

theater is arranged that premieres in

June. Another sight to visit in Kronoby

is Korpholmen leper hospital

(1631-1848), a hospital for the

mentally ill and the poor people.

PowerPark amusement park located in Härmä has released media t it les to showcase

its newly created fantasy world called T rulon. T hese include a mobile game and a

live theater product ion on stage in PowerPark and ser ies of novels. T he live theather

fantasy show starts in the beginning of June.

T he T rulon fantasy world is the creat ion of Johan L illbacka. In the T rulon universe

young heroes adventure in a world of steampunk and magic . L illbacka is wr it ing a

T rulon novel together with American best-selling sci- fi and fantasy author Jak

Koke. T he novel is part of an e-book ser ies, the first of which will be published

dur ing 2015.

T he mobile game called ?T rulon ? T he Shadow Engine? is being developed by the

Finnish company Kyy Games. T he game?s storyline is a spin-off of the or iginal novel,

containing unique characters as well as some plot elements and characters seen in

the book. T he game has a unique card combat system, and it includes over six hours

of single-player adventure. T he game will be a ?Pay once & play? t it le without

in-app purchases. After release ?T rulon - T he Shadow Engine? has been one of the

most downloaded games in App Store list ings.

?Batt le enemies mutated by magical energies as you explore the kingdoms of

peaceful T r ipudia and dangerous Maelon. Uncover secrets and help br ing an end to

the myster ious disease threatening T r ipudia.? In the summer of 2015, PowerPark

visitors will have a chance to watch T rulon characters in the live performance at the

new open air theatre. T he live stage show is being produced by Markku Antt ila and

will contain impressive special effects, music, and dance scenes.

POWERPARK by Pekka Kaidesoja

HAS IT´ S OW N FANTASYWORLD "TRULON"

You can find more at www.trulonuniverse.com and www.facebook.com/trulonuniverse. PowerPark is the largest amusement park in Finland, and it is located in the western Finland, Alahärmä. PowerPark has been nominated as the best amusement park in Finland several times. (Taloustutkimus Oy)

Jak Koke is a bestselling American writer and an editor of award-winning fiction. He is also the author of the bestselling Shadowrun trilogy, The Dragon Heart Saga.

Kyy Games is the developer of award-winning games such as Cabals: Magic & Battle Cards, Trouserheart, and Rimelands: Hammer of Thor, based in Tampere, Finland. The studio currently employs 19 people and also has several active subcontracting projects for well-known companies.

Markku Anttila has produced many shows, including one most recently for Muumimaailma (a Finnish theme park based on the Moomin characters). Markku?s previous productions have reached over half a million viewers. His productions have always been based on fantasy characters and display impressive staging, costumes, magic tricks, dance scenes, music, and special effects.

The Manager: (Mike Carson, Auditor ium)

From the post room to the board room, everyone thinks they

can be the manager. But how do you manage outrageous

talent? What do you do to inspire loyalty from your players?

How do you turn around a team in cr isis? What?s the best way

to build long- term success? How can you lead calmly under

pressure? T he issues are the same whether you?re managing a

Premier League football team or a FT SE 100 company.

Here, for the first t ime, some 30 of the biggest names in

football management reveal just what it takes. With their

every decision, remark, skill, and success or failure under

constant scrut iny from the media and the fans, these

managers need to be the most adroit of leaders. In T he

Manager they explain their methods, give examples of lessons

they?ve learned along the way, and descr ibe the decisions they

make and the leadership they provide.

BOOK REVIEW

Writ ten by T imo Kankaanpää

Salamajärvi nat ional park is located in the

Suomenselkä watershed area, on the border of

Ostrobothnia and Central Finland. T he area has poor

soil condit ions and climate for cult ivat ion, and

therefore it has remained a wilderness area. In this

park you can feel the features and species of the

northern nature without going to the Lapland.  

NORT HERN NAT URE

T he landscape of Salamajärvi nat ional park is

dominated by mires. T he mires are special aapa

mires, which are very wet and normally occur only in

northern Finland. T he most remarkable of the aapa

mires is Heikinjärvenneva. On the edge of the mire

there is an observat ion tower, where you can see the

many bird species of the nat ional park. T he best

season for birdwatching is Apr il ? May, when many

species are singing act ively. T here are great

old-growth forests in Salamajärvi nat ional park. T he

most impressive forest ecosystem, Koirajoki

old-growth forest area in the northern part of the

park, has been protected since the beginning of the

1900s. I f you see burned forests in Huttukangas or

Sysilampi, those are not lit by lightning.

Metsähallitus has done that on purpose. Forest fires

were common hundreds of years ago, but today they

are rare and many fire dependent species are

suffer ing and endangered. T hese burned forests with

black charcoal and recover ing vegetat ion offer you a

unique view that seldom can be seen elsewhere. T he

most famous animal in the park is wild forest

reindeer (Rangifer tarandus fennicus). T his reindeer

is known as car ibou in Northern America, and it is

the same species that pulls Santa Claus sleigh. T he

wild forest reindeer disappeared from Finland in the

beginning of the 1900s for decades. In 1979, two

males and eight females were transferred from

Kuhmo, and since then the populat ion of the wild

forest reindeer has increased in Suomenselkä area to

over 1000 individuals. Reindeers can be easily seen

dur ing the summer, most ly grazing on the many open

mires of nat ional park. I f you stand st ill, these

fr iendly animals can get close to you. Human

influence

SALAMAJÄRVI NATIONAL PARK

In Salamajärvi, if you have sharp eyes, you can see

many human traces from the past centur ies. T he

first humans were hunters and fishers. Very lit t le of

their life is st ill visible today, most ly in the names of

the places. I t all changed when tar was needed for

overseas ships from the 17th century onwards. T he

global need for tar reached even the per iferous

Salamajärvi region too. Resinous stumps and young

pine trees were used as raw mater ial. Even today you

can see several tar pits in the park. Maybe even the

famous sea heroes, like Drake, Nelson and De Ruyter,

used tar from Salamajärvi on their ships when they

were conquering the world or shipping slaves from

Afr ica to America.

Tar product ion gave way for t imber product ion in

the 1900s. Many logger´s cabin were constructed all

over the Salamajärvi region for forest workers. T here

were no roads, and the workers used bicycle trails

from a logger`s house to another. Some of the bicycle

trails are used today as a hiking trail. T imber

product ion seems to be the last commercial per iod in

the history of Salamajärvi. Nowadays the most

important purpose of this area is nature conservat ion

and recreat ion.   

WHAT T O DO

I f you want to visit Salamajärvi nat ional park, it is

easiest to start your t r ip at Koirasalmi Nature

Information Hut, which is located on a nice strait

between two lakes. From this old logger`s house you

can get info for nat ional park. And you can get

services like equipment rental, guided tours, cater ing

services or you can even rent a sauna which can be

very enjoyable after a long hiking. In Salamajärvi it

is possible to have a trek last ing several days. You can

stay overnight in a tent, a lean- to-shelter or a rental

hut. Some wilderness huts are even free for

overnight.

You can also fish in the nat ional park at Koirasalmi.

Brown trout, whitefish and grayling are planted in

lakes Iso Koirajärvi and Pieni Koirajärvi. In the end

of July you can try to find some delicious

cloudberr ies growing on the many mires of the park.

by Reijo Hokkanen

Finnish architect and designer Alvar Aalto has leaved his mark in the City

of Seinäjoki. Designers t imeless and clean language form can be seen in a

special group of buildings called Aalto Center. Aalto Center is an

architectural whole that consists of six different buildings designed by

Alvar Aalto.

Buildings are:

- Lakeuden Rist i (Church)

- Town Hall

- Provincial L ibrary

- Par ish Center

- City and State Office Building

- City T heatre

Would you like to see these buildings and hear the stories behind them? You have a

chance to take a part of a guided tour to Aalto Center during the summer time in

TAKE A TOUR WITH ALVAR AALTO

Town Hall Provincial Library Lakeuden Rist i (Church)