Ainola, the Home of Jean Sibelius

Ainola (Chez Aino) is one of the artists' homes around Lake Tuusula. Composer Jean Sibelius 

moved there in 1904 with his family. The building was designed by architect Lars Sonck

And at that time the villa had a view to Lake Tuusula. Now the lake is no longer visible 

from the windows, but the property is big, beautiful and wooded.

Aino wanted her husband farther from Helsinki and his drinking pals. 

Painter Akseli Gallen-Kallela painted the Symposion, which caused stir in 1894. 

In the wee hours, Gallen-Kallela himself, composers Oskar Merikanto & Robert Kajanus 

& Jean Sibelius reflect on the mystery of life and art. 

Ainola was the home of Jean Sibelius and his wife Aino and their five daughters 

for 65 years and is the most popular home museum in Finland. 

My home is only half an hour away from Ainola, so we visit almost every year. 

It is really atmospheric and cozy, the spirit of Sibelius hovers around.

When Ainola was built, Jean Sibelius stayed a lot abroad. Thus, construction supervision 

remained largely on Aino's shoulders. She had taken some woodworking course in her youth  

and designed among other things this elegant upstairs stair railing.

The dining room is dominated by a green fireplace by potter Johan Grönroos. 

In this fireplace, Sibelius destroyed the drafts of his Eighth Symphony and apparently also 

his youthful works in the “big burns” of the 1940s.

The dining room opens to the library with its comfortable seating group.

Sibelius' study was upstairs at first, but later he moved to work downstairs. 

The room also has a bed.

Ainola's kitchen is spacious, simple and white, 

although the color is over the years slightly yellowed.

The sauna designed by Aino Sibelius has an ingenious gutter. 

Mr. Sibelius liked to bathe and Aino designed a gutter in connection with the hot water pot, 

along which hot water was easily led to the bathtub.

The garden was dear to Aino Sibelius and its harvest important in shortage of money 

in the early years. Ainola also had the first greenhouse in the locality 

and the cellar can still be seen today.

The simple and impressive tombstone is designed by architect Aulis Blomstedt, 

spouse of the youngest daughter Heidi. Jean Sibelius (1865-1957), Aino (1871-1969).

In addition to Ainola, other artists' homes of Lake Tuusula’s artist community

 are open to the public - e.g. writer Juhani Aho's Ahola, painter Pekka Halonen's Halosenniemi 

and writer J. H. Erkko's Erkkola, as well the home of painter Eero Järnefelt's Suviranta.

❤︎❤︎❤︎

#der natur donnerstag #garden affair #gartenglück #image-in-ing #makrotex / june

#saturday’s critters #t in die neue woche #wednesday around the world

Ainola - The Home of Jean Sibelius

Last time I visited Ainola was in 2019. After the corona break the museum can be visited again. We visited Ainola with family and it was interesting once again. Our time table was perfect, because just after our visit a heavy thunder storm broke up with pouring rain. Now I’ll share some outdoor impressions of the charming house & surroundings.

Ainola means Chez Aino and it was the home of our national composer Jean Sibelius  (1865 - 1957) and his family - today a home museum. The pair got six daughters of whom one died as a baby. This cozy home was designed by Lars Sonck (1870-1956), a celebre architect of Art Nouveau and National Romantic styles. Located in the artist community of Lake Tuusula, Ainola was completed in 1904. 

Aino Sibelius (b. Järnefelt) was a beautiful & slender lady, but very tough. The couple lived

on a tight budget with five daughters and the garden harvest helped her to make ends meet.

This imitation of Aino's herb and vegetal garden was new invention at Ainola.

On the labels you could read what was growing in the early years of 1900.

 This is the door to Aino’s cellar where potatoes and home made jams were preserved.

Aino planned herself the sauna of Ainola. When looking at the laundry room, I don’t envy her!

Washing the linen was a tough job those days. Fortunately she had two maids.

The couple is buried on the property. The bronze grave monument is simple & impressive.

It is designed by the architect Aulis Blomstedt married to Sibelius’ youngest daughter Heidi.

Jean Sibelius died in 1957 and Aino in 1969.

This is how the sky looked when we started our drive back home.

No great thunder damages here as in the western part of Finland.

The pouring rain did so good to the garden and nature!

My 2019 visit to Ainola

Thank you for your interest, I'll share indoors photos in a later post.

❤︎❤︎❤︎

#der natur donnerstag #garden affair #gartenglück #image-in-ing #makrotex 

#saturday’s critters #t in die neue woche #wednesday around the world

Ainola - The Home of Jean Sibelius

 

There was facade painting going on...

Ainola means Chez Aino and it was the home of our national composer 

Jean Sibelius  (1865 - 1957) and his family - today a home museum. 

The pair got six daughters of whom one died as a baby. This handsome home was designed 

by Lars Sonck (1870-1956), a celebre architect of Art Nouveau and National Romantic styles. 

Located in the artist community of Lake Tuusula, Ainola was completed in 1904. 

In this link there is much interesting reading about the Sibelius family.

The house has log walls and a green-tiled fireplace, very typical of that time.

It is very cosy and looks like the Sibelius family could come and greet you any minute.

Sibelius’ wife Aino had a tough job restraining his ingenious husband's partying & drinking lifestyle

- and raising their daughters and managing the household with a tight budget.

She cultivated vegetables in the garden to make ends meet and teached the daughters at home.

Next autumn a biography of Aino Sibelius shall be released
and I am sure it shall be an interesting reading.

Ainola’s kitchen is big and it was once white, now the colour is a bit yellowish.

The atmosphere was relaxed and lovely.

Old apple trees were in full bloom when I visited in the spring.

The pair is buried on the property. The bronze grave monument is simple & impressive.

It is designed by the architect Aulis Blomstedt married to Sibelius’ youngest daughter Heidi.

Jean Sibelius died in 1957 and Aino in 1969.

Of course today the garden has no vegetable garden, mainly decorative plants, 

but the old apple trees were still blooming. 

The house is situated on a low hill, the garden lies on the lower part.

I can imagine Aino walking these stone stairs many times a day.

 

Before the time of regfrigerators a cellar like this was needed.

The sauna of Ainola looked very primitive inside. 

But there was an ingenious water leading system from the hot water cauldron directly to 

Mr. Sibelius' bathtub behind the wall. I read that he loved to take baths!

Jean Sibelius' monument by Eila Hiltunen is located at the Sibelius park, Helsinki. 
It was unveiled in 1967. The Sibelius Monument, resembling organ pipes, 
is made of welded steel with over 600 pipes and with the bust of the composer on one side. 
The monument is one of Helsinki's most popular statues and 
one of the most well-known tourist attractions.

FINLANDIA by Jean Sibelius is a bit dramatic in the summer time,
but this video has beautiful winter views from Finland, and a choir & lyrics.

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