From Seminaarinmäki to Finland: 140th anniversary exhibition shows how the school garden idea got its start in Jyväskylä
The park area was built on Seminaarinmäki about the same time as the Konstantin Kiseleff–designed brick buildings of the country’s first Teacher Seminary were going up. Building work during the park’s first construction period was completed in 1883.
Surrounding the campus buildings, the Seminary Park grew into a romantic landscape garden with English and German influences, and it came to be considered the most beautiful park in Jyväskylä until the 1930s.
The knowledge of gardening that the Seminary students acquired in the park then spread throughout Finland.
In the early days, Seminary Park offered great views of Lake Jyväsjärvi. It also featured a garden pond with an arch bridge, winding pathways, and enormous berry and fruit orchards.
Gardening gained momentum in the 1890s when gardening was booming in Finland.
“At best, the school garden area in Seminaarinmäki had over 1000 berry bushes, large vegetable gardens and a productive orchard, which produced enough crops for selling,” says Hanna Keljo from the Jyväskylä University Museum.
Hanna Keljo is the garden expert and designer of the exhibition and coordinator of Jyväskylä University Botanical Garden.
“Particularly green plants and flowers from bulbs were grown in the Seminary’s greenhouse in the winter season.
Cultural heritage still visible on the Seminaarinmäki campus
Seminary Park still serves as a monument today for the history of the school garden ideology in Finland.
Seminaarinmäki area as a whole is currently listed on the Finnish Heritage Agency’s inventory of nationally significant built cultural heritage sites (RKY). In 2022, the European Commission awarded the European Heritage Label (EHL) to the Seminaarinmäki campus as the first recipient of the label in Finland and in the Nordic countries.
The Anniversary Exhibition of Seminary Park is organised by the Jyväskylä University Museum and Jyväskylä University Botanical Garden. The information and brochure on the exhibition are available also in English.
The 140th anniversary exhibition of the Seminary Park is open at the Jyväskylä University Library Lähde (1st floor, Seminaarinkatu 15) on June 7 to August 27, 2023. Admission to the exhibition is free. .
Further information on is available on the garden’s website. Further information .
Further information
Hanna Keljo / Coordinator / Jyväskylä University Botanical Garden
hanna.l.keljo@jyu.fi
