Every design for Taivalkoski

Taivalkoski is Kalle Päätalo country. The novelist grew up at Kallioniemi in Jokijärvi, his childhood home is now a place visitors seek out, and the square in the village centre carries his name, with a memorial by Arja Lehtimäki.

Ask locals what Taivalkoski feels like and they will mention the river first. The Iijoki runs right through the village, the same water that once carried settlers inland and sawn timber down to the sea. The forests still matter here, as the two-man saw on the coat of arms suggests, and in the north the old Mustavaara mine was once a major producer of vanadium. The hills of Taivalvaara, Kaakkurivaara and Pesiövaara rise above the woods,. The Päätalo Institute trains writers and runs a national writing competition for children every year.

The detail that says the most is a shop. Jalavan Kauppa, founded in 1883 by Stephan Jakowleff from White Karelia, is the oldest shop still trading in Finland, still run by his descendants in the Jalava family.