Statue Tour in Lieksa

In summer and during the rainy season, the statue tour is a great excursion for the whole family. The duration is about 2-3 hours. During the tour, it is worth stopping to take in the scenery and to enjoy a snack, lunch or coffee in one of the cafés or restaurants in the city centre. In the centre of Lieksa, the Lieksanjoki River is an integral part of the landscape. The riverbanks have extensive park areas and footpaths that create a strong and distinctive feature of the city centre landscape.

The Lieksan statue tour takes you from Asemakatu via Pielisentie to the Timitra and Rauhala areas. The intersection of Pielisentie and Asemakatu is a good example of a 1930s small town or commercial centre. It provides a rich record of the commercial development after the fire in Lieksa (1934). The Pielinen museum and cultural environment complex, which represents Lieksa's nationally valuable built cultural environment.

The route can start, for example, at the railway station, where the station building and goods depot are now located along the railway line as the centre of the station area. The station restaurant, built in 1934, was demolished in 1981. To the north of the station building is a preserved station park with a stone memorial to Ilmari Juutilainen's birthplace in the centre of the park-like area. To the north of the station building, the old stone foundation and the granite staircases at the entrances have been preserved. The Rukajärvi Centre is also worth a visit.

The Jätkän statue (sculptor Eino Räsänen) is located in the centre of Lieksa, at the corner of Kuhmonkatu, on the site of the former market square. The statue of Count Pietari Brahe is located in the centre of Lieksa, in Hovila Park (originally in front of the church, moved to its current location in 1956). The statue was made in 1953 by Eva Ryynänen, a sculptor from Liege. The pedestal bears the inscription: 'Brahe was founded by Pietari Brahe in 1653'.

This monument to private trade and border trade is a bronze work by the sculptor Taisto Martiskainen, made in 1966 and erected in 1967 in front of the business premises on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of Lieksan Kauppa Oy.

Lieksan Church is also worth a visit... The church, located on the banks of the Lieksan River, is surrounded by a beautiful church park with a heroes' cemetery. Lieksan's current church (formerly Pielisjärvi Church) is Lieksan's fourth church. The first Lieksan church was built in 1667. The present church, completed in 1982, was designed by the architects Raili and Reima Pietilä. The church is located on the site of the previous wooden church designed by Engel. It is similar in plan to the previous church, which was destroyed by fire on 2 January 1979. The granite stone base also refers to the old church. There is also an old orthodox tsasouna in the church park. Opposite the church, on the south side of the river, there is a rectory.

The Pielinen Museum and the area of the Isopappila and Lieksan church form a cultural landscape at the mouth of the Lieksan River. The Pielinen outdoor museum area presents the building heritage and industrial history of a North Karelian forestry town over several centuries, from farmsteads to floating structures. Located on the banks of the Lieksan River, in Pappilanniemi, the outdoor museum has 70 objects and more than 50 buildings.

The park areas along the Lieksanjoki River enliven the landscape of the city centre and emphasise the importance of the Lieksanjoki River in the landscape. The Mähkös Bridge is part of the landscape of the Lieksanjoki riverfront park areas. The bridge over the Lieksan River at Siltakatu was built in 1926 (according to some sources between 1929 and 1930). The buildings on the southern bank of the Lieksanjoki, the Rantala school and the old Valio Lieksan dairy with its brick piers, are visible as a silhouette in the landscape overlooking the river from the park area. In the park areas, the landscape is dominated by extensive grasslands and planted multi-species trees. Rounded terraces are a distinctive feature of the area.

You can explore Lieksa’s tourism services and attractions at www.lieksatravel.fi/en

You can travel to Lieksa by train vr.fi

or by bus matkahuolto.fi

Lieksa has plenty of free parking areas and roadside car parks. For example, you can leave your car at the railway station and start your tour from there.

Somewhat demanding - basic fitness is required.