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CITY HALL OF KOTKA – CHURCH OF KOTKA 750 m
Riverside Park 22
(Boys of Kotka), Essi Renvall, 1951, stands in front of the City Hall of Kotka 1 E. Huttunen, 1934. Beside Kirkkokatu street at a corner of the
Siikakoski
style: the former Finnish Savings Bank 2 P. Blomstedt, 1936. The route continues past the main library, L. Heinänen and M. Enegren, 1978, and the Church of Kotka, J. Stenbäck, 1898, to an environment which
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KYMINSUU – KOLMIKULMA – KARHUNKATU 4 km
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islands of Varissaari and Kukouri. Varissaari houses a memorial to the Ruotsinsalmi battles, Henrik Bruun, 1940.
KOTKA CONCERT HALL – SAPOKKA WATER GARDEN 1.8 km National urban park
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Vuorelankulma 1927 Ahlqvist building 1878
Merikotka 1939
Korkeavuorenkatu 6
Lyceum, former business college 1911
Church of Kotka 1898 5
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Main Library 1978 Youth House 1898
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Kirkkokatu
Lyceum 1905
Heiliö building 1909–14
Old Fire Station 1898
The national urban park of Kotka is a tale of a fortress and border town which emerged River Kymijoki, and which has evolved into a multifaceted port and industrial city. The modern Kotka of lush parks cherishes the diversity of the river, seaside and archipelago
At the north end of Alvar Aalto's major work Sunila, 1936 – 1954, there are model houses 32 for families. The stepped houses 33 consisting of small apartments are some of the best-known representatives of the area. The 34 are in a
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The lookout platform 7 of the park overlooks Port Kantasatama and Maritime Centre Vellamo, Ilmari Lahdelma, 2008. The Sunila mill and residential area designed by Alvar Aalto can be seen across the bay. The oldest public building in Kotka, the Orthodox church of St Nicholas 8 Jakov Perrin, 1799–1801, is located in the Isopuisto Park. In front of the church, there is a statue depicting Maria Purpur by Juta Eskel, 1999. Maria Purpur is reputed to have saved the church from destruction by the Brits in 1855. The part of Ruotsinsalmenkatu street leading to the island of Kuusinen was renamed Juha Vainio street in 2011. At the south-western tip is a monument 9 to the sailors who died in the Ruotsinsalmi naval
26 marking the beginning of the development of Kotka. Hovi 27 Ricardo Björnberg, 1892, neo-renaissance home of the master of the local industrial empire, Captain William Ruth, is the most decorative building in Kotka. Numerous companies operate in the well-preserved modest buildings 28 beside the road leading to the current Industrial Park. The route from Kolmikulma along Sudenkatu street to Karhunkatu street shows how the local people lived in small huts and larger shingle-covered buildings 29 in the late 1800s, in semi-detached houses 30 in the 1920's and in apartment buildings 31 from the 1940s onwards.
KARHULA
Kyminlinna
PALOTORNINVUORI PARK – ISLAND OF KUUSINEN 2 km
Keskuskatu
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Kirkkokatu
HOVINSAARI
Port Kantasatama
monuments and in the buildings and park architecture, all of which are an integral part of the essence of Kotka.
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KATARIINA
Area of national urban park on the map
Katariina Seaside Park
terraced house 35 and the director’s villa Kantola 36 are located in peaceful places beside the sea adjacent to the mill 37 .
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PUBLISHER: Cursor
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PICTURES, MAPS AND DESIGN:
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Seppo O. Vakkari PRINTING PREPARATIONS, FRONT COVER DESIGN:
Sanna Nevalainen / Avidly PRINT: Painokotka, 2019 FRONT COVER PICTURE: Lukas Pearsall
Pisara meressä, Jaakko Pernu
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A route from the Sapokanlahti marina runs from Aquarium House Maretarium 15 Laitila Architects, 2002, along the seashore past the historic remnants of the Ruotsinsalmi fortress community (1790–1855). The route shows the idyllic Meriniemi building 16 Th. Borchardt, 1898, originally built as the residence of the manager of the Gutzeit mill. Now it houses a restaurant and yacht club. Katariina Seaside Park 17 is a 20-hectare recreational area built near the ruins 18 of the 18th-century Ruotsinsalmi fortress, also containing remnants of a 20th century oil harbour. The tip of the cape houses a playground and outdoor training equipment as well as a place for scattering the ashes of the deceased. The meditation labyrinth built in the park resembles the model of the medieval Chartres cathedral. There are a number of picnic sites; the most unusual is located right beside the sea, with a massive stone table in the shape of a sail for 50 people. The parking place contains the sculpture Graniittikalliota varten (For Granite Rock) 19 Mindaugas Navakas, 1995. The Seaside Park was awarded ELCA’s Trend Award in 2012, and the Finnish Association of Landscape Industries gave it the Environmental Structure 2012 award. The Park is part of the national urban park of Kotka extending from the open sea to the foremost rapids in the lower course of the River Kymijoki.
sculpture Portsari ja kaksonen (Bouncer and Twin) 23 Esko Heikkilä 1995. The soldiers’ cemetery on the east side of Karhulantie road is guarded by a memorial designed by Hilding Ekelund and Viktor Jansson. On the hill is the Church of Kymi 24 C.L. Engel, 1850. The old cemetery 25 was introduced in 1729 and is full of local history and monuments of local families and distinguished people.
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Emil Wikström’s Tukinuittaja (Log Floater) in the Riverside Park beside the former timber floating channel
information on the buildings in front of the library. Next to the library is a monument to Toivo Pekkanen 3 Tahdon voima (Will Power), Arvo Siikamäki, 1985, and Toivo Pekkanen’s sepulchral monument 4 Wäinö and Matti Aaltonen, 1962 is on the left side of the church. The soldiers’ cemetery houses the memorial 5 Sankareiden lepo (Heroes’ Rest), Emil Filén, 1951. A monument to those left in Karelia 6 Karjalainen Äiti (Karelian Mother), Jyrki Sailo, 1962 can be found to the right of the church.
SAPOKKA – KATARIINA SEASIDE PARK 3 km
The steel sculpture Alkulähteellä (At the Source) 21 Antti Maasalo, 2013, rises to a height of 7 meters in the middle of the fountain. The park is also home for Raimo Kuusik’s small granite animals from 2013. Emil Wikström’s Tukinuittaja (Log Floater) 22 was acquired by Kotka in 1952. It was moved to its current location in 2014, when 150 years had elapsed from the artist’s birth. A reproduction of the original plaster sculpture 1889–90 was cast in bronze by the sculptor Arttu Halonen.
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It is a good idea to get to know the two centres of Kotka on foot. The attractions and services are within a short distance from each other.
The foremost portion of the Kotka Sculpture Promenade runs past the Concert Hall 10 originally a community hall, Eliel Saarinen and Herman Gesellius, 1907. We recommend a route via the Toivo Pekkanen Park 11 and the Fuksinpuisto Park 12 with its impressive groups of azaleas and other perennials and climbing plants. A walkway leads from the park to the most renowned park in Kotka, Sapokka Water Garden 13 . Atop the impressive waterfall is Sapokan Kivikotkat (Sapokka Stone Eagles), a collection of Finnish building stones 14 .
In Karhula at the bustling market place stands the kinetic steel sculpture Viestejä ystäville (Messages to Friends) 20 Antti Maasalo, 2002. When you cross the motorway overpass and turn to Kyminlinna road, you get to the newest park in Kotka. The Riverside Park impressively
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WALKING IN KOTKANSAARI AND KARHULA
KARHULA MARKET PLACE – RIVERSIDE PARK – CHURCH OF KYMI 2.4 km
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Varissaari Kukouri
#visitkotkahamina
KOTKAN POJAT (Boys of Kotka) Essi Renvall, bronze, 1951 The first puclic sculpture in Kotka reflects the spirit of social optimism and hope of its era. Stylistically, the sculpture can be seen as a continuation of the traditions of the 1930s. 2
MUTKIA MATKASSA (Bends in the Road) Pertti Kukkonen, concrete, 2010 Pertti Kukkonen’s group of benches provides a rhythm for Kirkkokatu street. Kukkonen has developed the aesthetic properties of concrete and made discoveries in this area. 3
Miina Äkkijyrkkä, automotive sheet metal, 2010 Miina Äkkijyrkkä’s ability to see animal shapes in car metal is evidenced in the grazing calves. Federico Assler, dyed concrete, 2005 “I wanted to use red colour because of the green grass. I never use blue and green. Green is for nature and blue is for the sky. Outdoors, the sculpture changes as the weather, light and humidity change.”
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Birthe Marie Løveid, steel, 1997 The work celebrates the twin city relationship between Kotka and Fredrikstad in Norway. The sister work of “Portti” was unveiled in Fredrikstad in October 2000. In front of this work is work “Sadekivet” (Rain Stones), Susanna Tuorelainen,1990.
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AHTAAJAT (Stevedores) Oskari Jauhiainen, bronze, 1966 A society founded in the early 1950s to improve the social conditions of port workers wanted to honour stevedoring work by arranging an invitational competition. The statue became the first sculpture in the Nordic countries dedicated to stevedoring work.
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Oddvar I.N. Daren, painted sheet metal, 1995 Oddvar I.N. Daren is a Norwegian artist. His works are paintings, sculptures and landscape art. He lives and works in Trondheim.
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Tommi Toija, painted bronze and glass fibre, 2011 Tommi Toija’s sculptures often portray a little boy with short legs and a large head. It is easy for the viewer to identify with the character, which conveys familiar emotions: innocence, jealousy, embarrassment, human smallness in the winds of the world.
Concert Hall
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25 TUULEN VIEMÄÄ (Gone with the Wind)
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Kirsi Kaulanen, steel and aluminium, 2013 “Pylväspyhimykset” is built of endangered plants in Finland. “I aim to express both beauty and strength and also fragility and threat in the sculpture at the same time. The reflecting spirals, from which we can see ourselves, form the substrate of the plants. They rotate from the pulse of the universe.”
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24 AURINKOON KATSOJA (Looking at the Sun)
Tapio Sinisalo, aluminium, 2000 The artist says that in this work he ponders on the importance of life in this time where people are divided sharply into those who succeed and those who do not. The work depicts the search for oneself and finding each other.
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TOIVO PEKKANEN PARK
Aquarium House Maretarium
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Redoubt Kotka, herb garden
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Samuli Alonen, steel, 2013 Samuli Aaltonen represents younger sculptors and artist blacksmiths. He has made steel butterflies earlier, but at a smaller scale. The works are a donation by the Garden Society of Kotka to the Sculpture Promenade in celebration of the Green Year 2016.
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Kim Simonsson, bronze, 2010 Kim Simonsson’s art is characterised by animals or masked child-like figures. Idol is a sitting figure resembling a hare, with large ears like antennae.
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Church of Kotka
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Kain Tapper, bronze, 2004 Kain Tapper is a foremost representative of Finnish minimalist art. Tapper’s art is mostly based on the diversity of the Finnish natural environment, and daily and seasonal variations; in this case on the architectural forms, which are surrounding the statue.
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Jussi Mäntynen, bronze, 1955 The sculptor, Professor Jussi Mäntynen, is known for animal motifs. He worked as a conservator at the Zoological Museum of the University of Helsinki for 20 years before becoming a full-time artist. The sculpture “Kotkat” has been designed as the central figure of the fountain.
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Olavi Lanu, dyed concrete, 2002 Olavi Lanu spent part of his youth in Kotka, where he has many beautiful memories. He is an internationally respected land and environmental artist who used especially rocks and trees as his motifs.
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11 SIIVEKKÄÄT (Those with wings)
PALOTORNINVUORI PARK
City Hall
Market Place
Shopping Centre Pasaati
32 MUODONMUUTOKSIA (Metamorphoses) Alexander Reichstein, steel wire, 2011 “Muodonmuutoksia” describes the growth of children. Like insects, children go through many stages of development, first crowling like caterpillars, then almost ready to fly away.
22 LEPÄÄVÄ PAJUTYTTÖ (Resting Willow Girl)
Tapio Junno, bronze, 2001 Tapio Junno is known for his bronze sculptures depicting men. The strong masculine characters often reflect the anxiety of human existence, a moment of pure presence, or the experience of the persona dividing into two. Junno’s sculpture is the first work acquired specifically for the Sculpture Promenade.
Finnish Wooden Boat Centre
Matti Nurminen, black granite, 2002 Matti Nurminen has used a wide range of materials for his sculptures: wood, reinforced plastic, bronze and stone. The works have classic and slightly abstract motifs, often towers or gates. Nurminen masters compact forms and can bring sculptural tension to them.
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20 VELLO (Surge)
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PISARA MERESSÄ (A Drop in the Sea)) Jaakko Pernu, wood, 2011 Wood is a natural material for Jaakko Pernu, because his father was a boat builder. “Pisara meressä” is made of treated wood.
Kimmo Pyykkö, dyed concrete, 2005 The handle failed in a trunk that was supposed to travel to America with its owner, and the goods were left on the pavement in Kotka. The trip came to a halt.
Restaurant Kairo
City of parks www.puistojenkotka.fi
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19 MATKALLA (On the Way)
Kotka-Hamina region tourist information tel: +358 40 135 6588 info@kotkahamina.fi www.visitkotkahamina.fi
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stainless steel, 2016 Where does the water end, where does the sky begin? The sculptor, Professor Eero Hiironen is a masterful describer of water and reflections. The initial purpose was to acquire three works by him for the rose terrace pond at Sapokka, but a more permanent exhibition was established after the exhibition of 2016.
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Markku Hirvelä, bronze, gold and granite, 2007 Two lynx pass each other like ships in the night. Other works by Markku Hirvelä, who was born in Rovaniemi and later moved to Kotka, include yachting pioneer Hans Gutzeit’s memorial at Meriniemi and the bronze work “Tuulet yli merien” (Winds across Seas) at Mussalo.
(Lenin’s Missing Arm) Krzystov Bednarski, bronze, 1995 The sculpture has received a supplementary comment from the period following real socialism.
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ANIMAL SCULPTURES IN SAPOKKA Hannele Kylänpää, bronze, 2007–2015 Animal sculptures by Hannele Kylänpää have been placed in different parts of the Sapokka Water Garden to be discovered by the visitors. A hare is jumping on the western end of Tallinnankatu street.
Maritime Centre Vellamo
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Matti Peltokangas, red granite of Kotka, 2002 According to the artist, the seven granite spheres clinging to each other could be cacti, burrs, or fruit fallen from a tree.
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Hannu Siren, cor-ten steel, 2014 Hannu Siren’s sculptures are abstract, architectural entities. His parents were architects and had their office in Keskuskatu street in Kotka. “Varjo” is composed of four rectangular cor-ten steel elements placed close to each other – and close to the Kuparitalo building designed by his father and mother.
Mati Varik, bronze, 1979 The bust is a gift from Tallinn, a twin town of Kotka. The Estonian artist has later sculpted memorials to the Estonian soldier and Villem Reiman, the father of the Estonian national movement, among others.
CALVUS, NUORI UKKOSPILVI (Calvus, Young Thunder Cloud) Hanna Vihriälä, aluminium, 2008 The grape-like group has dropped from the sky and remained on the Earth. captured by the surrounding trees and town. Calvus, which means bare, is a cauliflower-like cumulus cloud, or a young thunder cloud. 8
The Kotkansaari area houses the largest open-air gallery in Finland. Dozens of high-quality sculptures enliven the park and street scenes. Unique sculptural art can be found in surprising places. The heart of the Sculpture Promenade is the Linden Esplanade in Keskuskatu street, displaying a steady stream of works by the foremost sculptors in Finland. The route runs from the Linden Esplanade north towards the old port of Kantasatama and to the south towards the Sapokka Water Garden. The entire Sculpture Promenade makes a walk of about four kilometres.
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16 AJATTELEVA LENIN (Thinking Lenin)
Kimmo Schroderus, steel, 2004 The name “Vello” (Surge) refers to the surges of water. The sculptor, who has won the Ars Fennica award, made this work by bending and welding into shape 600 metres of 10-millimetre stainless steel rod.
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Heikki Häiväoja, concrete, 1969 The sculpture on the facade has stood up to the ravages of time better than the parish centre to which it is closely associated. Heikki Häiväoja has made medals, portraits and sepulchral monuments, among others.
15 ELINVOIMAINEN LÄSNÄOLO (La Precencia Vital)
ELÄMÄNTANSSI (The Dance of Life) Virpi Kanto, concrete, 2015 Virpi Kanto: “Compared to the complex casting of bronze, the thing that I like in concrete pouring is the mixing of fresh concrete.” This work has been cast at her home in Orimattila. 7
KOTKA SCULPTURE PROMENADE
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KOTKAN KILPI (Shield of Kotka) Pekka Pitkänen, bronze, 2018 A shield is phenomenal for Pekka Pitkänen’s career, also the details of his art works reminding of his youth at a tannery. Some influence in his artistic expression can be seen also from the years when learning at Kain Tapper’s studio. 6
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Arvo Siikamäki, granite, 1985 The memorial of the author Toivo Pekkanen is in the church park, where is also Pekkanen’s sepulchral monument designed by Matti and Wäinö Aaltonen in 1962. Born in Kotka, Toivo Pekkanen made his breakthrough in the 1930s by books describing the life of workers.
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OVIDIUKSEN TANSSI (Dance of Ovidius) Olli Mantere, diabase, steel and light, 2005 The dancing stones set in a circle won the invitational competition arranged in connection with the building of the theatre annex. The stones are lit in the evening by a steel circle on the wall, reflecting like water. 5
Jean-Erik Kullberg, cor-ten steel, 1989 Jean-Erik Kullberg’s human figures depicting dancing women, flame-cut from steel plate, are both light and heavy at the same time, in the form of a tensioned arc.
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ÄITI MAAN LAPSET (Children of Mother Earth) Anneli Sipiläinen, wood and bronze, 2014 An interpretation of the ancient Romulus and Remus theme is part of an entity dealing with family relationships by the Grand Old Lady of wood sculpture in Finland. The acquisition of the work by Professor Anneli Sipiläinen was enabled by Shopping Centre Pasaati. 4
26 TAHDON VOIMA (Will Power)
13 AURINGONPALVOJAT (Sun Worshipers)
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ÖINEN IMPI (Nocturnal Maiden) Pekka Kauhanen, aluminium bronze, 2012 Pekka Kauhanen’s work hovers in a lamp post near the old port of Kotka and the famous restaurant Kairo. Kauhanen often approaches the motif of the work on the basis of the history of the place. Can the nightly walker feel the promising fragrance of perfume? 1
Haukkavuori Lookout Tower
Sapokka Marina n Tallin
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SAPOKKA WATER GARDEN Meriniemi Yacht Club
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