Veijo Rönkkönen Sculpture Garden, Parikkala, Finland by Jordan Ramsey https://padlet.com/2180127/hjpiyuap6tdt Made with fortitude en-us 2017-10-31 18:48:10 UTC 2023-09-17 21:18:57 UTC hello@padlet.com Veijo Rönkkönen built remarkable park in Koitsanlahti, Parikkala, close to the Russian border in Finland. 2180127 https://padlet.com/2180127/hjpiyuap6tdt/wish/202299779 2017-10-31 19:06:02 UTC https://padlet.com/2180127/hjpiyuap6tdt/wish/202299779 Veijo Rönkkönen was 16 years old when he got a job as a press worker in a paper mill in Parikkala, Finland, near the Russian border, a job he held for 41 years. With his first pay check, he purchased ten apple tree seedlings and a bag of concrete—the beginnings of an extensive sculpture park and garden he would build around his family home. 2180127 https://padlet.com/2180127/hjpiyuap6tdt/wish/202303162 2017-10-31 19:14:44 UTC https://padlet.com/2180127/hjpiyuap6tdt/wish/202303162 Rönkkönen worked for fifty years on his art environment, spending all his spare money and time installing flowers and trees and creating almost 500 sculptures, mostly full-scale human figures. 2180127 https://padlet.com/2180127/hjpiyuap6tdt/wish/202314018 2017-10-31 19:47:47 UTC https://padlet.com/2180127/hjpiyuap6tdt/wish/202314018 In recent years, the site has drawn as many as 25,000 visitors, from Finland and abroad, during the summer months. Rönkkönen generally avoided meeting visitors, but all were welcome. He charged no entrance fee, requiring only one’s signature in a guestbook left in the garden. Following his death, the site was sold by the family. New owner Reino Uusitalo, a businessman and art-lover, is working with the ITE Association, one branch of the Union for Rural Culture and Education, to renovate the sculptures, as needed, and to provide guides for public tours. 2180127 https://padlet.com/2180127/hjpiyuap6tdt/wish/202314686 2017-10-31 19:50:17 UTC https://padlet.com/2180127/hjpiyuap6tdt/wish/202314686 In recent years, the site has drawn as many as 25,000 visitors, from Finland and abroad, during the summer months. Rönkkönen generally avoided meeting visitors, but all were welcome. He charged no entrance fee, requiring only one’s signature in a guestbook left in the garden. Following his death, the site was sold by the family. New owner Reino Uusitalo, a businessman and art-lover, is working with the ITE Association, one branch of the Union for Rural Culture and Education, to renovate the sculptures, as needed, and to provide guides for public tours. 2180127 https://padlet.com/2180127/hjpiyuap6tdt/wish/202315256 2017-10-31 19:52:22 UTC https://padlet.com/2180127/hjpiyuap6tdt/wish/202315256