Kierikkikeskus

Top choice in Central Finland


This excellent museum is by the Iijoki, whose banks are riddled with important Stone Age settlements. The informative display zeroes in on a handful of artefacts, including preserved wooden fences to trap fish. A ponderous video gives excavation histories and a boardwalk leads to the picturesque riverbank, with re-created period buildings. In summer you can take potshots using a primitive bow and arrow, or send the kids paddling in a Stone Age canoe.

Settlements in the Kierikki area date from about 5000 BC to 2000 BC and were coastal, moving gradually west as the land rose. Communities made a comfortable living fishing and sealing.

There’s also a hotel here, consisting of wooden buildings surrounding a little pond. The attractive, spacious rooms have balconies and kitchenettes.

Kierikki is 56km northeast of Oulu. No public transport runs here so you'll need to travel independently.


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