Älylän ja Seminaarinmäen asuinalueet

English translation (from the Finnish)

The text above is the record as published by the Finnish Heritage Agency (Museovirasto), in Finnish. The English below is a machine translation made by TreeAlive, not by the Finnish Heritage Agency (Museovirasto); it has not been checked by a person. Where the two differ, the original is the record. Report a translation error: privacy@treealive.com

Description

The culturally, historically and architecturally significant ensemble of the Jyväskylä university area also includes the Art Nouveau-influenced villa district of Älylä with its park, which originated in the Jyväskylä seminary period, the museum buildings designed by Alvar Aalto, and the small-house area of Seminaarinmäki with its park.

The Älylä area is bounded by Kramsunkatu, Keskussairaalantie and Seminaarinkatu. The actual Älylä villas are the two Oksala houses, the Heiska house, the Jussila houses, the Karpio house, the Salervo house and the Mikkola house. The Älylä houses are characteristically marked by Art Nouveau details in their window decorations, porches and balconies. The courtyards and the park are partly in line with the garden city ideals of the 1920s. The name Älylä was probably in general use until the 1960s. Also within the Älylä area are the Alvar Aalto museo (Alvar Aalto 1973) and the Keski-Suomen museo (Alvar Aalto 1961).

The Seminaarinmäki area comprises two blocks with 17 plots in total. The area is bounded by Lounaispuisto, Vapaudenkatu, Haarakatu and Seminaarinkatu. The area naturally forms part of the university area, and at the lower end of Seminaarikatu it joins the Älylä villa district. The building stock of the area has survived relatively well. Buildings include, among others, the former crown storehouse, the VPK and Heinonen houses, the Jyväskylä drinks factory, the Stoore, Ojala, Becker and Laitakari houses, Wivi Lönni's own house and Ville Lönni's house, and the Parviainen townhouse. Many of the buildings were designed by architect Wivi Lönni.

The Seminaarinmäki area also includes the park Lounaispuisto, originally planted in 1869 by the students of the seminary, whose first 100 trees were planted by volunteer work on what was then still an open field. The first tree species in the area were birches, bird cherries, rowans and lime trees.

History

The residential areas of Seminaarinmäki and Älylä came into being as lecturers of the Jyväskylä seminary and other cultural figures of the town settled on plots separated from the Mattila farm, in the immediate vicinity of the seminary. The garden-like villa plots are based on the town plan drawn up in 1910. The first buildings date from the early 20th century. The most lively period of construction was in the 1920s. The oldest building on Seminaarinmäki is the kruununviljamakasiini, completed in 1851, which was converted into a library to the drawings of Lönn in 1914. The library was closed in 1981, after which the building has had various uses.

A song stage was built in Lounaispuisto in the 1880s, and the tree cover was thinned for song and music festivals. A permanent summer café was completed in 1887. It was replaced by a kiosk designed by city architect Olavi Kivimaa in 1954. The present song stage is also a design by Kivimaa, from 1954. Both buildings were restored in the 2000s with respect for their original appearance. The park was renovated in the 1990s as a venue for cultural events.