Culture of Lahti. Places to visit - old town, temples, theaters, museums and palaces

Even though Lahti cannot boast the variety of historical sites, it has some interesting places to organize a full-fledged tour. In the port area, you will find the unique Wood Architecture Park where absolutely all buildings are made of natural wood. One of the most beautiful buildings is the Piano Pavilion. In the summer, the park is always decorated with interesting landscape compositions, on the background which wooden buildings look even more spectacular.

Not far from the picturesque park is Sibelius Hall, which got its name in honor of the famous composer. The concert hall occupies a renovated building of the former carpentry factory. Today, literally nothing reminds its visitors of the industrial past. This is one of the largest and most beautiful concert halls in Northern Europe. Every year, the hall hosts a major classical music festival, which is attended by musicians from many foreign countries. It is noteworthy that Sibelius Hall is completely built of wood as well, which does not prevent it from having unique acoustics. It is the largest wooden structure in Northern Europe.

One of the beautiful historical buildings of Lahti currently houses the Military-Medical Museum. Its opening took place in 1983, and a two-story red brick building occupied by the museum was built at the beginning of the 20th century. Now the museum contains diverse medical exhibits, including old medical instruments, books, and photographs. Much of the relics presented here belong to the period of the Second World War. The collection also has some interesting modern exhibits. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

A beautiful old manor house built in 1898 houses the Lahti Historical Museum - the largest and most visited museum in Lahti. The history of the building itself is no less interesting: until 1919 it was in private ownership and belonged to a Russian officer. Later, a school was open in the estate, and during the Second World War, the building was converted into a warehouse, and then into a hospital. Since the 60s of the last century, the manor is publicly owned, and it was decided to open a historical museum here. Today, its visitors can see collections of old documents and manuscripts, interesting hunting trophies and incredibly beautiful national costumes. A significant part of the exhibition is devoted to handicraft art, as well as a difficult military period for the city.

An interesting example of modern architecture is Ristinkirkko Church built in 1978. The very first church was erected in its place much earlier, it was quite small, so over the years, the city has faced a need to build a new one. The modern church features strict and regular shapes, its facade is decorated with more than 50 windows. The main element of the building is a concrete bell tower, whose height is 40 meters. Externally, the church seems very strict and gruff, but the interior made in bright colors looks surprisingly harmonious. Organ concerts are regularly held in the main church of Lahti.

Lahti has the largest theater in Finland, which is visited by more than 100,000 spectators every year. The theater is equipped with three large halls where performances of various genres are staged every day. Guests of the theater will have the opportunity to visit modern musicals and classical performances. A special theater program is prepared for children. The theater building is of impressive size, being another important architectural monument for the city.

A very interesting cultural center is the Lahti Art Museum, which is sure to surprise visitors with its rich and diverse collection of exhibits. The opening of this museum took place in 1950. A rich collection of works by Finnish and foreign artists is presented within its walls. In 1975, a separate building was opened in the museum to display a very interesting collection of old posters, labels, and copies of engravings. Every year, it holds an interesting poster contest, in which representatives from various countries take part. The huge museum has several halls for temporary exhibitions, so it is always interesting to visit it even to those who have long been familiar with this cultural center. One of the youngest in the city is the Lahti Ski Museum, which opened in 1974. This museum keeps an interesting collection of sports exhibits, as well as quite unusual interactive ones, including a realistic ski jump simulator.