Metsähallitus Preserves and Maintains Old Buildings
There are 300 valuable old buildings maintained by Metsähallitus ranging from the Sámi reindeer round-up site at Sallivaara to the Kirjakkala manor in Teijo. Most of the buildings are forest ranger homes and old crofts, loggers’ cabins and open wilderness huts, fisherman’s cabins and meadow barns. They have remained intact in the terrain and are reminders of old types of livelihoods, building skills and people’s attitudes towards the environment they lived in.
Metsähallitus surveyed its old buildings in 1994 and the most valuable of these buildings were protected by law by the Ministry of the Environment. There are 132 buildings protected by law which are managed by Metsähallitus and another 92 which are protected in accordance to an agreement between Metsähallitus and National Board of Antiquities.
As the management of state-owned lands has been consolidated, Metsähallitus has acquired other old buildings. These buildings will be evaluated together with the National Board of Antiquities to determine their need for protection. A suitable new use for each building is the best way to protect it.
Protecting buildings entails care, maintenance and restoration while still preserving the cultural and historical value of the building. Metsähallitus restores protected sites under the supervision of the National Board of Antiquities and works with locals to find a suitable use for each building. Old forest crofts are now heritage farms, managing the landscape and preserving traditional landscapes, or they are nature information huts for visitors in national parks. Logger’s cabins and open wilderness huts have been restored to accommodate visitors.
Many of the protected buildings are located in areas established for nature protection and they are managed by Metsähallitus Natural Heritage Services.
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