Ainola, the Home of Jean Sibelius

Ainola (Chez Aino) is one of the artists' homes around Lake Tuusula. Composer Jean Sibelius 

moved there in 1904 with his family. The building was designed by architect Lars Sonck

And at that time the villa had a view to Lake Tuusula. Now the lake is no longer visible 

from the windows, but the property is big, beautiful and wooded.

Aino wanted her husband farther from Helsinki and his drinking pals. 

Painter Akseli Gallen-Kallela painted the Symposion, which caused stir in 1894. 

In the wee hours, Gallen-Kallela himself, composers Oskar Merikanto & Robert Kajanus 

& Jean Sibelius reflect on the mystery of life and art. 

Ainola was the home of Jean Sibelius and his wife Aino and their five daughters 

for 65 years and is the most popular home museum in Finland. 

My home is only half an hour away from Ainola, so we visit almost every year. 

It is really atmospheric and cozy, the spirit of Sibelius hovers around.

When Ainola was built, Jean Sibelius stayed a lot abroad. Thus, construction supervision 

remained largely on Aino's shoulders. She had taken some woodworking course in her youth  

and designed among other things this elegant upstairs stair railing.

The dining room is dominated by a green fireplace by potter Johan Grönroos. 

In this fireplace, Sibelius destroyed the drafts of his Eighth Symphony and apparently also 

his youthful works in the “big burns” of the 1940s.

The dining room opens to the library with its comfortable seating group.

Sibelius' study was upstairs at first, but later he moved to work downstairs. 

The room also has a bed.

Ainola's kitchen is spacious, simple and white, 

although the color is over the years slightly yellowed.

The sauna designed by Aino Sibelius has an ingenious gutter. 

Mr. Sibelius liked to bathe and Aino designed a gutter in connection with the hot water pot, 

along which hot water was easily led to the bathtub.

The garden was dear to Aino Sibelius and its harvest important in shortage of money 

in the early years. Ainola also had the first greenhouse in the locality 

and the cellar can still be seen today.

The simple and impressive tombstone is designed by architect Aulis Blomstedt, 

spouse of the youngest daughter Heidi. Jean Sibelius (1865-1957), Aino (1871-1969).

In addition to Ainola, other artists' homes of Lake Tuusula’s artist community

 are open to the public - e.g. writer Juhani Aho's Ahola, painter Pekka Halonen's Halosenniemi 

and writer J. H. Erkko's Erkkola, as well the home of painter Eero Järnefelt's Suviranta.

❤︎❤︎❤︎

#der natur donnerstag #garden affair #gartenglück #image-in-ing #makrotex / june

#saturday’s critters #t in die neue woche #wednesday around the world