Ahti Karjalainen Home Museum ”Lepola”

The main building, built in 1904, the combined barn-shed and the granary-store ring the courtyard at Lepola. There is a small storehouse on the eastern side of the main building. A path leads from the yard to the drying barn and the sauna located on a creek bank. Along the way, visitors will find a root cellar. The farmyard, full of diverse types of plants, was still surrounded by fields and gardens in the 1960s.

Lepola has an interesting combination of a house museum, a local history museum, a biographical museum and a specialist museum. Lepola was a farm and the birthplace of Ahti Karjalainen in Hirvensalmi. Architecturally and historically the buildings in the farmyard that were built in the beginning of the 20th century represent a style that combines the styles of both the Häme region and the border region of eastern Finland. All of the artefacts on display are authentic items from the Lepola farm. They bring to life everyday life at the beginning of the 20th century. Lepola was also home to the post office for the village of Kuitula up until the 1960s, and museum-goers can learn more about what a genuine rural post office from the mid 20th century was like. Ahti Karjalainen’s father, Anshelm, had a store in the farmyard and even now, a small shop can be found in the storehouse.