I had the fortunate opportunity to take part in a trip to Kainuu region in the beginning of October 2021. The purpose of this trip was to examine the literary tourism products and practices in the region. The theme for a majority of these products was the Finnish epic Kalevala. The epic is a collection of stories done by Elias Lönnrot in the early to mid 19th century.
Heading to Kajaani
The trip began with a drive to Kajaani. Upon arrival we had time to familiarize ourselves with the city and take part in a guided tour later on in the day. Kajaani had some interesting historic locations with direct lineage to Elias Lönnrot. Most memorable being the town hall and the botanical garden. It felt to me that Kajaani had great potential to utilize the variety of historic sites in the area. This can be done by providing more information and arranging complete tours. As for now the sites in the town feel very underutilized at the moment. The tourism professionals we met in Kajaani seemed to lack motivation. Talks focused more on blaming the city than actually fixing problems. Another fact that has stayed in my mind was the condition of the center of Kajaani. Every corner and wall was full of graffiti and empty stores filled even the main square. It left a very negative impression of Kajaani for me.
A warm welcome to Kuhmo
On the second day we made our way to Kuhmo. There we started our day with a visit to the Juminkeko cultural center, specializing in Kalevala. The center was quite small but the staff were enthusiastic and knowledgeable, which made it very enjoyable. Juminkeko performs research on the subject of Kalevala as well as having an art display and a meeting space where they can play videos. After Juminkeko we went to get our rooms at the gorgeos Kalevala hotel. The hotel looked very beautiful and memorable from the outside as well as being very stylish inside. Our stay was very pleasant and we met the hotel manager before leaving who left a great impression. He had decades of experience in the field and was ready to discuss and offer solution in a heartbeat. My overall feeling of Kuhmo was that even though the sites and facilities connected to Kalevala were not as ”real” or historical as Kajaani, the people working in those sites made them a better experience than anything we visited in Kajaani. I have a feeling that Kuhmo might be a great literature destination for the future.
A dive into history
The last part of the trip had us visiting a tiny village close to the Russian border. There we had some walking tours following the old routes into Karelia and visited a bear watching station. We finished the tours at an old Karelian style farmhouse where we had dinner. Overall this day was nice, it was great to be outside in the nature but the tours themselves felt a bit lacklustre. The most interesting location was a well used for hundreds of years among travellers, but the guides inability to tell their stories competently in English hampered the experience slightly. The tour and the farmhouse experience felt overall a bit underdeveloped at the moment, but it is quite a new company so it is understandable.
Wrapping up the week
Overall my feelings for this trip are positive. It was refreshing to be able to travel and experience something new again. As for the literature tourism in region, I believe there are great possibilites in the region. There needs to be projects to unify sites and stantards in the area to great holistic experiences as opposed to every location working alone. I was really impressed with the workers and managers in Kuhmo and certainly wish that that level of passion could be achieved in all of Kainuu. For me this trip was a breath of fresh air and I hope I have the chance to visit Kainuu again in the future.
Thank you for stopping by and happy travels to you all!