ABOUT US
OUR STORY
HISTORY AND STORY
Pohjola is located in the village of Vuotunki about half an hour away from Ruka and Kuusamo. Vuotunki is one of the oldest villages inhabited by finnish pilgrams and the first stories go back as far as to the 1680. That’s when our ancestors first arrived to the area where Pohjolan Pirtti & Kievari are nowadays standing. The history of Vuotunki, Pohjola and our location near the border of Russia give us many interesting stories to share.
POHJOLAN PIRTTI
The current main building of Pohjolan Pirtti was completed in 1891 and has been inhabited ever since, except on two occasions when the family had to flee during WW2.
​
Thanks to the current owner´s grandmother, Riita-Mari, the wooden interior walls of 1891 are still as they were . Our house is no museum, it is a family home, and every generation has left its mark, but the old time atmosphere has been preserved. We feel our house has an old wise soul. After all, its walls have already been here as small seedlings since the 16th century.
​
Today Pohjolan Pirtti serves as a cozy countryside restaurant, offering various Finnish lifestyle activities.
​
POHJOLAN KIEVARI
Right next door from Pohjolan Pirtti stands our other building Pohjolan Kievari. The old time school building has now become a space for private parties and events as well as for our restaurant. The old wooden walls tell the story of the building's rich history and different use cases.
The story of Kievari began in 1907 when the land was shared with family members. One of the five brothers of family Pohjola decided to build a house to his property in 1912 that was later expanded by his sons. However the costs of the expansion ended up being too much for the family and the house and the property had to be sold for the township of Kuusamo.
Owned by the city, the building went through multiple periods and use cases. In 1930 it worked as a local school building and during the second world war it was used to do air surveillance. Surviving the war, the building was later opened again to be used as a school and by the children returning home after being evacuated because of the war.
After years of not being used the building was returned for the family Pohjola in 2018. After a renovation “the old school building” has been returned to its former glory and is being used as an event space for private events up to 80-100 people. Now it’s the perfect place to have the most memorable events like rural weddings, birthdays or even an Arctic Garden Party in the middle of the winter!