The Kelvänsaari Island – Tarina-aho

Pentti Hinkkanen, who was used to living on an island and near water, bought the route traffic between Koli and Vuonislahti from Jussi Tolkki who was about to retire. According to the new entrepreneur, the biggest shortcoming in the area was the lack of services for groups and individual travellers who had a desire to stay longer and experience more at Koli.

After researching potential targets Pentti found out about Kelvänsaari Island and the Tarina-aho building, which at the time was one of the recreational homes of the family of Ahti Väätäinen, who was a station manager. A mutual understanding was reached about renting the property, but not about changing its ownership, which took a few years to negotiate. In the early 1980s several improvement projects were started on the newly purchased island: a large smoke sauna was the highest priority and was completed in 1980. The next acquisition was the old main building of Kuusela in Koli’s Räsävaara, previously owned by Hugo Lehtinen. Due to the building having a large kitchen, it was ideally suited to cater for large groups. Thus the business operations could be targeted at organizing pre-booked events.

A successful discovery was the old storehouse building in the centre of Lieksa that used to belong to PKU, a timber rafting company. It was built in the 1930s from sturdy logs, and since then it has served as the festival hall of Tarina-aho, as well as providing accommodation. The homemade wooden structures that form part of the interior are typical to the burgeoning Tarina-aho. A shed and a drying barn that were reborn as lodging quarters complement the authentic feel of the courtyard. A large boathouse for the water bus and the enlargement of the smoke sauna brought up the assortment of buildings to the final and fully functional level. The ideal events to be held in Tarina-aho are weddings and all kinds of functions for corporations, communities and families. Since the trip to the island will be by boat or on ice, the trip in itself is a different experience every time, depending on weather and the time of the year. The idyllic peace and tranquillity, independence of the outside world and being among your own group of people provide exceptional added value to any occasion. The Karelia Rowing Tour has made a stop-over in Kelvänsaari for over 20 years.