Verla is a well-preserved 19th century mill village and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996. The first groundwood mill at Verla was founded in 1872 by Hugo Nauman but was destroyed by fire in 1876. A larger groundwood and board mill, founded in 1882 by Gottlieb Kreidl and Louis Haenel, continued to operate until 1964.

The Verla groundwood and board mill and its associated habitation are an outstanding and remarkably well-preserved example of the small-scale rural industrial settlement associated with pulp, paper and board production that flourished in northern Europe and North America in the 19th and early 20th centuries, of which only a handful survive.

Verla museum is open for visitors from May to September, but the larger World Heritage Site area can be explored around the year.

References:

Comments

Your name



Address

Verlantie, Kouvola, Finland
See all sites in Kouvola

Details

Founded: 1872-1882
Category: Industrial sites in Finland
Historical period: Russian Grand Duchy (Finland)

Rating

4.6/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Diane Diederen (8 months ago)
Picturesque place approx. from Helsinki 1.5 hrs. by car
Viliina Lilja (8 months ago)
Verla Ironworks is a beautiful, traditional industrial area with well-preserved buildings, museum and cafés. It's a good spot to stop for lunch or coffee or just to admire the beautiful surroundings. Check also out the old rock paintings next to the ironworks area.
Johan Green (JussiG) (8 months ago)
Very interesting place that tells the story about Finland being first totally an agricultural land in which most people were very poor, actually starving, and then becoming a welfare state via paper mill (and other) industry. And now this paper industry is almost gone, moved to developing countries. And the cost has been high: You are able to see old forests only in national parks, and all bigger rivers have different kind of dioxines in their bottom sediments etc. But that little paper mill didn't cause pollution :) It didn't use any chemicals, paper was made by grinding wet spruce trees mechanically. Now we live in a post-industrial society. So, we need e.g. tourist from abroad! In other words: welcome to everyone to see that nice little museum and get acquainted the Japan of the North, as we were once called :-)
Tagir Murtazin (9 months ago)
The must-visit, located near Kouvola. You will not find a museum here in the traditional sense, but it is very cool to walk around the historical territory of the plant and the trails around. There are several barbecue areas, you can rent a house and enjoy the local nature. In summer you can use free hanging tents
Janika Hurri (3 years ago)
The museum was very interesting. The tour could have been more detailed, but for the price you really can't complain. Nice little crafts shops and café as well, though quite pricey.
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Château de Foix

The Château de Foix dominates the town of Foix. An important tourist site, it is known as a centre of the Cathars. Built on an older 7th-century fortification, the castle is known from 987. In 1002, it was mentioned in the will of Roger I, Count of Carcassonne, who bequeathed the fortress to his youngest child, Bernard. In effect, the family ruling over the region were installed here which allowed them to control access to the upper Ariège valley and to keep surveillance from this strategic point over the lower land, protected behind impregnable walls.

In 1034, the castle became capital of the County of Foix and played a decisive role in medieval military history. During the two following centuries, the castle was home to Counts with shining personalities who became the soul of the Occitan resistance during the crusade against the Albigensians.