Pyynikin näkötorni

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

Pyynikki Ridge is a significant tourist and leisure destination, whose recreational and sightseeing use began as early as the early 19th century.

Pyynikki Ridge is part of an esker chain more than 200 kilometres long, which extends from Salpausselkä to northern Satakunta. The crest of the ridge is 80 metres above the surface of Pyhäjärvi. The present 26-metre-high classicist observation tower on Pyynikki was built in the 1920s of red granite.

History

At the time the town of Tampere was founded at the end of the 18th century, Pyynikinharju was a common pasture for the townspeople, and they freely took timber for household needs from the forest. Protection of the ridge began as early as the 1830s, when cutting trees was prohibited. In 1844, a pavilion was built on the ridge with funds raised by collection. A notable viewpoint took shape on the ridge in the 1850s, when lines of sight were cut through the forest so that the landscape would open up better for onlookers.

In 1888, the so-called Ilomäki observation tower, a wooden structure, was built on Pyynikinharju to drawings by architect Georg Schreck. It was destroyed by artillery fire in 1918. A new observation tower was built on the site of the previous one in 1929, to a plan by architect Vilho Kolho. The plan by town architect Bertel Strömmer for the Pyynikin kansanpuisto was completed in 1930.