Imatra town hall and Culture Center Virta — A wilderness and nature culture museum is planned for Imatra's town hall.

The project group of the museum project: Imatra won the competition for the nature and nature culture museum

In the selection, special attention was paid to Imatra's tourism capabilities.

The project started at the beginning of 2020 to establish a new type of wilderness and nature culture museum has been completed. During the project, almost a hundred municipalities expressed their interest in the museum and 25 municipalities submitted a qualitative proposal for establishing a museum. Of these, Imatra, Pyhtää and Riihimäki also submitted a final offer for financing the project. In the overall view of the project steering group, the offer submitted by Imatra was the most attractive. In the offer, the current town hall would be turned into a museum. Together with the city of Imatra, we are starting to create the conceptualization of a new museum, where the revenue logic and service models of the future museum center are planned.

The proposals made by the municipalities were extensive, high-quality and carefully considered. The municipalities and their residents have shown great enthusiasm for the project and have understood both the importance of the topic and the value of a museum in line with the theme as an object that boosts the vitality of the municipality. Imatra's particular strength was tourism-related matters, in Riihimäki the networks of the hermitage cluster, in Pyhtää the extensive cooperation of environmental municipalities. An offer was chosen from many excellent presentations, which is believed to offer the museum good operating conditions, the possibility of growth and strong national significance.

Project manager of the project Timo Kukko states:

- For Finns, the relationship with nature has been and will be a multifaceted basis for well-being, culture, economy, happiness and tourism. It is special that the preservation of this subject area in the common memory and the transfer of tradition from one generation and one person to another has not been organized nationally before. It has now been seen that we as a nation cannot afford to lose the opportunity, and the interest in the project has been enormous both from the citizens and from the municipalities.

Within the scope of the project, we are extremely satisfied with the result of the competition. Imatra, and with it Järvi-Suomi, has immense potential to develop into one of Finland's most significant travel destinations, and the city offers excellent contributions and extensive cooperation for the development of the museum. The new use of the town hall offers a model example of the goals of the recently completed architectural policy program by OKM and YM in relation to climate change, societal challenges and international expectations. It should be noted, however, that decisions regarding the establishment of the museum can only be made after the operating concept has been refined and the related society and private funding has been clarified.

Imatra has a strong overall package

Kukko is excited about the city's capabilities:

- Imatra has a ready-to-use large complex of buildings and a cultural center including a concert hall for more than 500 people, a library, as well as expertise in organizing event production and an active tourism marketing organization. The location of the town hall is excellent. It is a central location within the city and right next to the Vuoksi waterway and transport links. The future Wilderness and Nature Culture Museum will be able to organize fishing-related workshops right in the museum's grounds. In addition, the city of Imatra offers other areas for the museum's pedagogical use, which are well suited to the museum's themes. Forested wildernesses start right at the border of the city center, and active business and association activities enable versatile wilderness tourism on a large scale.

In the selection, special attention was paid to Imatra's tourism capabilities. Imatra, Punkaharju and Koli have attracted tourists since the 1800th century. In the vicinity of the city is Finland's third most important tourist area, the lake region of Saimaa, which offers an excellent setting for nature tourism. With the new museum center, tourism in the Saimaa lake region can be raised to an even higher level. A lot of cycling routes have been developed in the coastal areas of Saimaa in recent years, and a project for a train connection between St. Petersburg and Imatra is under construction. The nearby airport enables fast connections to Europe, and the museum will be located near a travel center connecting the railway and bus connections.

- We are really excited about this project and are sure that the museum will become a significant factor in promoting tourism in the Saimaa region and all of Järvi-Finland. With the reuse of the city hall and energy-efficient building technology solutions, the project is a great example of the possibility of utilizing valuable buildings that support the goals of sustainable development", deputy city manager Kaisa Heino rejoices.

- The museum's location near the train station makes it an easily accessible hiking destination, for example, for school classes around the country.

Foundation during this year

To organize the operation of the new museum, a foundation will be established by the end of the current year.

The search for the foundation's founders and partners is currently underway, and those interested in the topic are asked to contact the project's project manager.

Photos intended for media use can be downloaded from the website of the Finnish Hunting Museum: https://www.metsastysmuseo.fi/palvelut/lehdistolle/

Picture of Imatra town hall

For more information:

https://www.eraluontomuseo.fi/

Imatra

Timo Kukko

Project manager

e-mail: timo.cockmetsa.fi (timo[dot]kukko[at]metsa[dot]fi)
phone: 0500 186182