Every design for Jyväskylä

The Athens of Finland was what Elias Lönnrot, who compiled the Kalevala, called Jyväskylä, a nod to its schools and learning, and the university and colleges still give the streets a young, busy feel through term time. It is the largest city in Central Finland and in the whole of the Finnish Lakeland, and it grew faster than almost anywhere in the country during the twentieth century.

Alvar Aalto -museo is the obvious place to start understanding the city, because the architect's buildings turn up all over it. Everyday life follows the water and the ridges: the centre sits on a strip of land between Jyväsjärvi, Palokkajärvi and Tuomiojärvi, with the paths of Harju close to the centre and Laajavuori and Taulumäki not much further out. Every summer the roads around town roar with Rally Finland, a round of the World Rally Championship, and the Jyväskylä Arts Festival fills the evenings. Keski-Suomen museo and Toivolan Vanha Piha keep the story of the old farm estates that the city grew from.

Whether you came here to study and stayed, or left after graduation and still talk about it, this is the outline of your Jyväskylä, lakes and all.