Väinölänniemen kaupunkipuisto

English translation (from the Finnish)

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Description

Väinölänniemi, a peninsula projecting into Kallavesi from the south-eastern corner of the Kuopio grid plan area, is one of the oldest city parks in Finland.

Väinölänniemi has been and still is a diverse leisure spot for townspeople, where, in addition to the park, there were originally a spa, swimming baths and a summer restaurant, a theatre room, a sports field and a bandstand. The construction of Väinölänniemi as a park began in the 1860s, when the area's first town plan (asemakaava) and park plan were approved. The small restored pavilions now at the tips of the headlands were built at the end of the 19th century by the tourist association.

Väinölänniemi has preserved its character quite well despite the changes that have taken place there. In the middle of the park is a winding network of paths from the 1860s, and the peninsula is encircled by a shore road built on fill land in 1900. Traffic passes through the peninsula to Rönö island, which continues from it.

Of the park's old buildings, the theatre room has burned down. The spa has been demolished and moved to another use. The swimming pool buildings constructed on the old sites date from the 1990s. The peninsula has a hundred-year-old summer restaurant, and the tennis court has been in its 90-year-old location. The sports field with its gate buildings is on the site of the old kansankenttä (people's field).

History

Väinölänniemi, formerly known as Pappilanniemi or Kinnulanniemi, was an area outside the fence of Kuopio town, where there was a parsonage, a few crofts, a cemetery and townspeople's cultivation plots. The lands were incorporated into the town in 1858, and this is where the peninsula's use as a recreation area for townspeople began.

The central park area, with its paths, lawns and trees, was designed in the 1860s by V.A. Drewniok. The park plan was supplemented in 1886 by Kuopio gardener Mårten Gabriel Stenius. In addition to the park, a spa, swimming baths, a summer restaurant, a theatre room, a sports field and a bandstand were built on the peninsula in the 19th and 20th centuries.

In the first half of the 20th century, Hannes Kolehmainen and Paavo Nurmi, among others, competed on the Väinölänniemi field. In 1952, Heikki Konttinen sculpted a statue of Kolehmainen for the park. In the 1960s and 1970s, tt-races were held on the Rantatie.