HISTORY OF NEVALA

We were searching for years to find a suitable setting. In the end we found it in the village of Heraniemi in 2001. The remains of an old estate made us believe that with hard work, determination and a strong vision we could fulfil our dream. We bought Nevala in 2001, and with the help of an 1960 areal picture of the estate, we started restoration work. Heraniemi was inhabited in the 18th century when it belonged to Pielisjärvi (now Lieksa). There is a strong tradition of cultivating farming soil by burning small clearings of forests in this area. This means that there are exceptionally many old meadows and grazing pastures with typically rare plants, flowers and insects.

The oldest log house is from 1864 and is still waiting to be rebuilt. The main house is from the beginning of 1900. In the building process we even used some old tools to get the best results with the old materials. With this orthodox way of thinking we have hoped to capture the history and the stories of the hard lives of the previous generations in these buildings.

We have built the place so that it is also suitable for tourism. We want to offer a living example of the old way of life. The estate is not intended to be a museum, but rather a living and functioning farm with all the normal farm activities. Our dream continues to grow and develop in front of our eyes. We are continuing the building process with a stone barnyard, new traditional fences and more log outhouses. We are happy to see the change and we believe the happiness is contagious.