Toijala: Wallpaper History, Architecture and Nature

If you are looking for a hotel in Toijala, the town’s themes can help you identify your travel interests. The wallpaper industry and architectural history form a cultural focus. Other highlights include the cultural environment trail and its nature destinations, the Näkymä environmental art exhibitions, and leisure activities on the water. These provide some pointers for deciding whether Toijala suits a stay focused on industrial history, architecture or nature.

Wallpaper Industry and Design History

The history of wallpaper production includes several distinct milestones. In 1903, Juho V. Hellberg, Emil Syrén and Anselm Saarinen founded Toijala’s first wallpaper factory. A later construction milestone came in 1937, when the three-storey Pihlgren ja Ritola wallpaper factory was completed on the shore of Lake Nahkialanjärvi. This provides a timeline for both the founding of the first factory and the completion of a specific factory building.

Design work adds another dimension to the architectural history. During her career, Saimi Hämäläinen designed almost 4,000 wallpaper patterns for Toijala’s first wallpaper factory. She was Finland’s first full-time wallpaper pattern designer. Pihlgren ja Ritola sourced wallpaper patterns from foreign design studios and also designed its own after setting up a workshop. This draws attention both to Hämäläinen’s individual design work and to the shift between purchased and in-house patterns.

Buildings and the Cultural Environment Trail

Toijala railway station, Finland’s second-oldest railway junction station, was completed in 1876. Sampola is a community hall designed by master builder Heikki Tiitola; it was completed in 1910. Prykin kellari represents a different type of building: the underground cellar is built of rubble stone and brick and was constructed next to the Toijala brewery’s warehouse. The station, community hall and cellar offer three different points of connection to local architectural and industrial history.

In Toijala, the cultural environment trail highlights buildings of cultural and historical importance, as well as local nature destinations. QR codes on the signs at its destinations let visitors play audio guides on their smartphones. The trail thus draws attention to both cultural history and nature destinations, while the audio guides offer an additional way to explore these themes.

Näkymä Exhibitions and Nature Experiences

The Näkymä environmental art exhibitions had a different theme each year, including Raw Art, Star, Utopia and Tree. At times, they extended from Nahkialanjärvi Park to different parts of the municipality of Akaa. In contrast with the buildings, whose dates are fixed, the focus here is on the changing themes and exhibition area; both are part of the history of the exhibitions, not an indication of a current program.

There is a water park at Toijala Harbour beach, promoted as a family leisure destination. Facilities may change; if the water park is important to your travel plans, check the current situation before visiting. The Terisjärvi nature trail is promoted for birdwatching, grilling under a shelter and exercise on fitness stations. Birdwatching and exercise are presented as separate activities, alongside grilling under a shelter.

Cruises by inland waterway vessel run from Toijala Harbour to Visavuori and the landscapes of Sääksmäki. These destinations are in the wider region and extend the view beyond Toijala. Cruise availability may vary. Check whether a cruise is offered for your travel dates.

Discover more destinations: Tampere, Kämmenniemi, Puutikkala, Vaskivesi, Mänttä, Ylojarvi, Vammala, Orivesi.

For the overview of the wider region: Pirkanmaa.