Syvilla – the cottage at Syväniemi on the shore of Lake Kovesjärvi in southern Finland − offers great opportunities for leisure and provides a lovely setting for small-scale festivities and corporate events.
The Baron of Parkano, Baron Gustaf Wrede af Elimä, was the forester in charge of the local government-owned woodlands at the beginning of the 20th century. He granted permission for Kristian Samuel’s son and his wife, Julia Efraim’s daughter, to rent a piece of land along Lake Kovesjärvi’s shore. In 1907 the young couple built the Syväniemi farmhouse on this beautiful shoreline. They were later able to purchase the property outright when the changing Finnish legislation so allowed.
Kristian and Julia already had four of their eight children when they arrived at Syväniemi. The family earned its living partly from agriculture and partly from trade. As a travelling salesman, Kristian had to spend long periods of time away from the family. During those times, Julia had the sole responsibility of looking after the children, the farm and the animals. As time passed, the ownership of the farm was left to the family’s youngest daughter, Taimi. She continued to look after the farm with her husband Hugo until old age caught up with both of them, and they moved to a rented property on the other side of the lake and finally to the centre of nearby Parkano town. The Syväniemi estate was left uninhabited for several years, and the beautiful gardens and buildings gradually became run down. The new owners purchased Syväniemi in July 2008 and had the estate totally repaired and refurbished, keeping in line with the original tradition.
SyVilla was connected to the mainline electricity supply system at the beginning of the 1950s. There was no road leading to Syväniemi and the surrounding villas until the middle of the 1980s.The nearest road (to the village of Karvia) was reached by boat in the summer or on foot across the icy lake in the winter, or by following the winding pathway along the shore.
The main building has gone through many changes. The original building only consisted of two rooms, whereas now there are eight. The cowshed was replaced at the beginning of the 1950s with a sauna, a new cowshed and a storage building for the harvested hay. A chimneyless (smoke) sauna and a woodshed were also part of the original setup. There are now differing levels and types of accommodation available for rent in most buildings. The main dining area seats around twenty people. There is a new lakeside sauna with a hot tub, garden swing and a barbecue terrace. For those who like to enjoy the great outdoors, the nearby Pikkusaari Island offers the possibility for overnight stays in a traditional Finnish lean-to.
If you are interested to know more about the local history, we’ll be happy to have a further chat with you, perhaps over a cup of coffee by the campfire.