Jyväskylä opens free centre for Aalto’s UNESCO sites

Jyväskylä’s Aalto2 museum centre has opened a free visitor centre dedicated to Alvar Aalto’s UNESCO-listed works, Yle reports. The permanent Aalto Works exhibition opened to the public on Friday, October 2.

It presents the history, architecture and significance of Aalto’s buildings, including three in Jyväskylä: Säynätsalo Town Hall, the Muuratsalo Experimental House and the Aalto campus at the University of Jyväskylä. A total of 13 sites in Finland designed by Aalto were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The centre aims to encourage visitors to see the buildings in person and support tourism in the region. Producer Laura-Kristiina Moilanen said she hoped the exhibition would inspire people to experience the places for themselves. School and student groups have already visited.

Aalto2 is a museum centre formed by the Aalto Museum and the Museum of Central Finland, which are joined by a connecting section. Both museum buildings were designed by Aalto. The visitor centre is on the second floor of the connecting section, and entry is free even when the museums are charging admission.

The exhibition also covers two other UNESCO World Heritage sites in Central Finland: Petäjävesi Old Church and the Oravivuori triangulation point on the Struve Geodetic Arc. It also features Finnish sauna culture, which was added to UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage in 2020.

Jyväskylä city, the University of Jyväskylä, the Alvar Aalto Foundation, the Petäjävesi Old Church Foundation, the National Land Survey of Finland and the Association of World Heritage Sites in Finland took part in creating the centre. Another visitor centre about World Heritage is due to open near Petäjävesi Old Church next year.