The Lyytikkälä Farm

Located in the village of Lyytikkälä in Suomenniemi, near Highway 13, the Lyytikkälä Museum Farm comprises one of the region’s best preserved complete farming estates. (Suomenniemi was formerly part of South Karelia, but it was annexed to the city of Mikkeli and the county of South Savo in the beginning of 2013.) A former 18th century “augment”, or a farm which paid its land tax to a rustholli estate (a larger farm under obligation to equip a cavalryman), the Lyytikkälä farm was purchased as an independent hereditary estate in 1859. It remained with the same family for more than 250 years.

Flanking the courtyard of the Lyytikkälä farm are about twenty outbuildings. The main building was constructed in 1867 by Vilppu Lyytikäinen. The biggest room of the building, the tupa, which was used for living and cooking, occupies one half of the entire surface area of the house. The granaries and storehouses of the farm range from the 18th to the late 19th century. Standing around the courtyard are the grain store, salt store and game store (the granaries), the Master’s storehouse, the Mistress’s storehouse, the housemaids’ storehouse, and the twostorey ‘high storehouse’. The courtyard also features two stables, the older of which was built in 1827, while the newer one was completed in 1843. The walls of the cow house (constructed during the period 1877-1881) are built with stone blocks and are almost two metres thick. Cows were kept in the large cowshed and calves in the corner
shed. At the beginning of the 20th century, a small sheep cot was added to the cow house.

Along with its courtyard, buildings and their contents, the Lyytikkälä farm was purchased by the Finnish National Board of Antiquities in 1984, and transferred into State ownership. Opened to the public in 1989, the museum is managed by the Lyytikkälä Museum Farm Foundation as agreed with the National Board of Antiquities.

A café operates in the museum during the opening hours in summer.