The Parikkala Sculpture Park, South Karelia, Finland

5JariJK 5:00 PM Jun 6, 2015

One of the weirdest attractions in the world
It is claimed that the Parikkala Statue Park (also known as Veijo Rönkkönen Sculpture Garden or Rönkkösen Patsaspuisto) is one of the creepiest (scariest) attractions in the world. However, it is suitable for children, too. These concrete sculptures are very weird, funny and interesting. There are almost 500 sculptures in the park, mostly human figures. The self-taught artist Veijo Rönkkönen (1944-2010) made all these sculptures around his own house. Almost 200 of these sculptures are self-portraits of the artist himself in different yoga positions. Other big themes are children doing gymnastics and dancing. Many of these sculptures have real human teeth or dentures. The Parikkala Statue Park is the most important ITE art attraction in Finland. The acronym ITE derives from the Finnish words "itse tehty elämä" (self-made life). ITE means Finnish contemporary folk art. ITE artists work outside the traditional art world and display art in their everyday surroundings. They do everything themselves without any courses, guidance or amateur art clubs. The Parikkala Statue Park is the most eastern outsider art environment in Europe. The Parikkala Statue Park is always open. There isn't any entrance fee to the park but voluntary donations for the maintenance of the park are appreciated. The park is situated in Koitsanlahti (Parikkala municipality) on the highway 6, only less than 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) from the Russian border! There aren't any services available in the park but you can buy something to drink and eat from the small kiosk (closed in the night, early mornings and in the winter) next to the parking area. We have visited the Parikkala Statue Park several times and it is always very interesting. You find something new every time. Both we adults, our children and our friends love this attraction very much. If you want to have a very special experience, you can visit this park during a summer night when the dusk makes a very unique atmosphere! Remember to visit the nearby Siikalahti bird lake, Finland's best bird wetland, too.

4aekrfk 5:00 PM Jun 2, 2022

A unique place to visit on the road to somewhere else
My wife was reading our tour book while I was driving and she told me to stop at this "sculpture park." We have traveled to over 60 countries and have seen a lot. But this ranks up there as one of the more unusual sites. It is the work of artist VEIJO RÖNKKÖNEN. It is a bit difficult to find at a rest stop on the road in a forest a few yards away. I would not make a special trip to see it but I would definitely stop there for an hour to walk among the statues. It will be a "one of a kind" thing to see for sure. It is on the road 6 on the way to Savonlinna and just over the border from Russia.