SEINÄJOKI > JYVÄSKYLÄ (200 km)
Step back in time - discover the Petäjävesi Old Church. The church is considered one of the finest examples of Nordic wooden architecture. A visit to the church, completed in 1765, means an opportunity to step back into the past and experience the unique atmosphere in an old cruciform church. Placed on UNESCO's world heritage list in 1994.
	Jyväskylä (pop. 83,500) was the home town of Alvar Aalto for many years and offers an exhaustive overview of the different stages of the architect’s career - everything from classicism works from the 1920s to several modernistic buildings. Aalto made his first mark on Finnish architecture during his time as a student, when he designed an addition to a café in Taulumäki in 1923. The Alvar Aalto Museum (www.alvaraalto.fi) in Jyväskylä specialises in architecture and is situated in a building designed by Aalto (built in 1973). The permanent exhibit on Aalto’s life includes furniture, lighting fixtures and glass objects. Cruises on the beautiful Päijänne, Päijänne-Risteilyt Hildén, Jyväskylä Harbour, tel. +358 (0)14 263 447. University of Jyväskylä: Architects K. Kiseleff and Yrjö Blomstedt designed the buildings within the main university campus at Seminaarinmäki. The subsequent building stage coincided with the school achieving university status, with the result that several buildings that had been designed by the world-famous architect Alvar Aalto were built (1952–57, 1964, 1971). Architect Arto Sipinen designed the most recent buildings within the university campus in the 1970s. A number of private homes in Seminaarinmäki that were designed by Wivi Lönn at the beginning of the 20th century have also been preserved and these have recently been restored to their original condition.