History of Isojärvi National Park

The History of Forest Use

Already in the 1880 were the first large loggings carried out in the state-owned forests which now form the National Park. Selective loggings required a lot of workmen. The houses and crofts nearby the crown's forest work sites could not accommodate all the men who came from the surrounding parishes, so saunas and drying barns were also used for the loggers to stay in. The most important tool was an axe. The trees were cut so that long stumps got left, because this way the wood was softer and the work was not so bad for the back. During the winter, it was also easier not having to dig up the frozen trunk bases under the snow.

During the First World War, there was more demand for wood than just the household use. During the shortage of fuel, firewood was needed for running of trains, for example. In 1920s and 1930s, a lot of sawtimber trees were felled. Paper was made out of the spruce, and pit props out of the pine. The logs were floated or drawn by horses to Lake Päijänne or Länkipohja. During the busiest period in the winter, there were more than hundred horse loads on the forest road.

In 1936, a sapling garden was set up near the place where now is Lortikka Cabin. It produced saplings for the clear cutting areas and also for other forests further away. After the Second World War, large areas were logged and new forests planted for the needs of the economy recovering from the war. In the forests of the National Park you can still see marks of the forest use in the period when Finland was having to pay war reparations to the Soviet Union. The forests on the hills of Lortikanvuori and Vahterinvuori, and south of lakes Kuorejärvi and Hevosjärvi , however, have mostly remained untouched.

In the 1940s and 1950s, cabins were built in the forests for the workers to stay in. In the National Park, there are still two cabins. In Heretty Cabin lived mostly horsemen, and in Lortikka Cabin mostly loggers.

Former Dwellings and Cultural Landscapes

• At Huhtala Croft you can see skilfully made log buildings from the end of the 18th century and from the 19th century.
• Luutsaari fishing cottage was built in 1833 as a base for autumn fishing.