Ainola

Ainola was the home of Jean Sibelius and his family from the fall of 1904 until 1972. It stands on the scenic shores of Lake Tuusula in Järvenpää, 38 kilometers north of Helsinki, the Finnish capital. It was designed by the famous Finnish architect Lars Sonck. The only requests Sibelius had for Sonck were to include both a lakefront view and a green fireplace in the dining room. Water pipes were never installed until after Sibelius died because he didn't want the distraction while he was there composing.

Its distance from the hustle and bustle of the nation's capital gave the composer the peace that he needed for his creative endeavours. Erik Tawaststjerna writes that "when Sibelius first left Helsinki, Järvenpää was to a large extent untouched countryside. Foals and sheep almost nosed their way into the house, and from time to time an elk majestically bestrode the grounds." There were also other artistic families living in the neighborhood who provided a lively social circle for the Sibelius family.

Buildings around Ainola include the sauna and the family's personal workshop. Sibelius died at Ainola on September 20, 1957; he is buried in a garden there. His wife Aino lived in Ainola for the next twelve years until she died on June 8, 1969. She is buried there with her husband.

In 1972 Jean Sibelius' daughters, Eva, Ruth, Katarina, Margareta, and Heidi, sold Ainola to Finland. The Ministry of Education and the Sibelius Society opened it as a museum in 1974 and it is currently open from May to September. Among the personal effects remaining there are a grand piano that was a gift to Sibelius on his fiftieth birthday and paintings by Aino's brother Eero Järnefelt.

External links

* [http://www.ainola.fi/eng_index.php Ainola website]
* [http://virtual.finland.fi/netcomm/news/showarticle.asp?intNWSAID=26179 Virtual Finland Ainola website]