HELSINKI > SEINÄJOKI (360 km)
Helsinki: Most buildings designed by Alvar Aalto can be found in Helsinki, where you will also find one of his most famous works, the Finlandia Hall (www.finlandiatalo.fi). The building, completed in 1971, has secured its position as one of Finland’s foremost concert and congress centres. About half an hour from the capital in Kirkkonummi, you will find Hvitträsk (www.nba.fi/fi/hvittrask), a combination of studio and home that were designed at the beginning of the 20th century by the famous architects Saarinen, Gesellius and Lindgren.
South Ostrobothnia: Several sights with connections to Alvar Aalto can be found in South Ostrobothnia, where the architect was born and grew up. The childhood home of Aalto is in Kuortane, about 40 km from Seinäjoki. Even if the house is not open to the public, the county of Kuortane has raised a memorial in the garden to honour the memory of Aalto’s significant career. In the town of Alajärvi, there are several buildings designed by the man himself, and here you will also find the Aalto family grave.
	Seinäjoki's (pop. 31,700) administration and culture centre, designed by Aalto, is considered one of the most important architectural achievements in our time. In this building, which was mostly built in the 1960s, there is a church, parish secretariat, town hall, town secretariat and the city theatre. In the upper foyer of the city theatre there is a collection of Aalto’s glass objects containing over 200 pieces, some of which are unique. On the way from Helsinki to Seinäjoki, you will find the Iittala Glass Works, where the most popular object designed by Alvar Aalto, the Aalto vase, is blown by hand. Nearby you will also find the Glass Village of Nuutajärvi with the oldest glassworks in Finland.