From Log Cabin to Holiday Cottage
Anniina Hetesuo |
At the end of July we received an invitation with Olga to Vätälä Island. The green island is located in Äänekoski, in the village of Hietama, at the confluence of the Suojo River and Lake Naarajärvi, as part of the Vätälä estate. The estate has a history that reaches back to the Stone Age period. Stone Age artifacts have been found in the estate's fields and near the then assumed shoreline. In the Stone Age, the island was likely entirely under water then. The island was introduced to us by Vätälä's current host Erkki Pönkänen.
Vätälä Island is part of the Vätälä estate's lands. Since 1946, the island has had an accommodation building, which back then housed not holidaymakers but the men who drove logs. The log-driving boat was docked on the island for the winters. Timber floating is part of the Suojo River's history. Logs were floated down the river as loose logs until construction of the power plant. When at Hietamankoski construction of a power plant began in 1964, the floating was planned to continue with bundles that would be lifted over the power plant's dam. However, the plan to float bundles never materialized. The island was leased to Kymin uittoyhdistys until the early 1970s.
Vätälä Island now has a rental cottage renovated in 2008. It was built to the measurements of the old logging camp cabin. The old logging camp cabin met its fate in a fire, but the cottage door and the front wall window were saved to be used in the new cottage. The cottage has been moved once farther from the steep shoreline bank. In the cozy new rental cottage there is a kitchenette, a living area and a loft. The cottage can accommodate four people.
On the island in addition to the cottage, there is an old shed building, which has been turned into a lakeside sauna. On the shore there is also a pier that leads into quite deep water. At the deepest point around the cottage the water is up to 15 meters deep. The island does not feature flush toilets and so at the far end of the island there is a traditional outhouse.
The green island is lush and the trees are tall. There are huge, old trees on the island whose special feature is branching crowns. The exact reason for the trees' branching is not known, but one suspected cause is the island's susceptibility to frost. A charming wooden bridge leads to the island, ensuring cottage guests a peaceful holiday.
From Vätälä Island and elsewhere in the Hietama area, several Stone Age finds have been made. In present-day Hietama, discoveries have been made of Stone Age dwelling sites and some artifacts. Based on these finds and the area's Stone Age history, a Stone Age trail is being planned on the Vätälä estate, along which visitors can learn about the area's history and the artifacts found.