Aulanko Conservation Area

(1)

HISTORY OF THE PARK FOREST

Aulanko's

history

^stretches^back ^to

pre-Christian

^times inFinland.Aulankohill_wasused

by

^the^ancient^Häme cultfortheirrituals. Thefortification

they

^built^was ^de

stroyed

around1250.AtaboutthesametimetheSwedes

began erecting

^Häme^Castle

nearby.

The

history

^of^the^actual

park

^forest

begins

ⁱⁿ ^1883, whena

prominent

industrialist,Colonel

Hugo

^Standert

skjöld,

whohad

acquired

^a ^great^deal ^of^wealth^from the

supply

^ofarms toRussia,

purchased

^the

Karlberg

manor, as it then _was. He commenced _to have _an

English-style park

^forest established, a task

involving

150 horsemen and _over 100 labourers. Swan Pond and ForestPond

pools

were created,aswell_as _newroads,a Granitecastle,summerhouses,_panoramaterraces... and tocap itall, in1907a33-meterviewtowerwaserected on the Aulanko hill.

A

large

^number^ofnewtree

species,

^flowers^and^shrubs

were

planted

ⁱⁿ^the

park.

^Part^of^the

indigenous

^flora vanishedunderthis

onslaught,

^but^one^of^Finland's^most

noteworthy

^tourist

sights

was created. Best

preserved

are larch, ^silver^fir^and^arolla

pine,

ⁱⁿ^addition^tolime,

maple

ândêlm.^Thereâremanyshrubsgrownwild.

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE PROTECTED AREA

As

Standertskjöld began

^toagetherewerefears

regard ing

^the

preservation

^of^Aulanko^for

posterity.

^The^colo nel

expressly

^wished^the

park

^to^remainopen ^toeveryone.

In 1930 thegovernorofHämeProvince issued _an orderforthe

preservation

ôf^thearea.Inaccordancewith themanagementândûse

plan,

^further^stands^and

clumps

ofexotic _tree

species

were

planted

to

diversify

^the_veg etation.The

well-kept park

^has

gradually given

way ^to arobust forestand _a well-establishedflora.

Today

one can find, for

example,

^all^of ^Finland's ^broadleaf^tree

species

there.

THE FINNISH FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE (METLA)

Metla is _a research institute which _was established in 1917 underthe

auspices

^of^the

Ministry

^of

Agriculture

and

Forestry.

^Metla^researches^forest^oriented

problems,

with

particular emphasis

onstudies_onthestateofhealth oftheforestandforest

biodiversity,

^the

multiple

use of forests, andtheunder-utilisationoftimberreserves.

Metla

comprises

^the^Helsinki ^and ^Vantaa^research centres,

plus eight

^other ^research ^stations ^around^Fin land.Inorder_to_ensurethe

continuity

^of

long-term

re

search, Metlamanagesabout150,000hectares

(ha)

^of research forest, ^of^which 70,000 ^haare nature conserva tion _areas.

Tutkimusmetsäpalvelut 1996

THEFINNISH FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE

AULANKO

CONSERVATION AREA

(2)

AULANKO PARK FOREST AND PROTECTED AREA

Welcometo Aulanko! AulankoParkForest formspart of_anextensive, 152-hectare_area

protected

^under^the NatureConservationAct. Its purpose is topreserve the national

landscape

^visible ^from ^the ^summit ^of^the Aulankohill,

together

^with^the

English-style

^manor

park

and the forest connected with this.

Management

^of^the

protected

^area^has^been^entrusted

totheFinnishForestResearchInstitute(Metla).Thefifth management^and^use

plan

^for^the^area^was

completed

ⁱⁿ 1995.The

park

^forest^is

being managed

^with ^the^aim^of

preserving

^itsbeautiful,

flourishing park-like

^character.

Natural state forests,

covering

âlmost ône ^halfôf^the

park, help

^ensure ^that

biodiversity

^is ^maintainedⁱⁿ Aulanko forests.

AULANKO AS A RESEARCH LOCATION

Aulanko

protected

âreaîsôneôf^Metla's^research^forest

areas. Aulanko's

special

^features ^include ^stands^of ex otic tree

species,

groves of_masur birch, anextensive rowan stand,andunusualformsofmany^tree

species.

Aulankois also an

important

^location^for ^research intothe_useofforestsforrecreational

purposesand

physi

calexercise. Thereis also_a Metlaresearchunit

study ing

tree seed

cropsand

flowering.

MAP SYMBOLS

You _canfindthese

places by following

theheraldic

signs (see appendix).

RULES FOR VISITORS

Aulanko nature is best observed on foot. Please leave

your^car

only

^at^the^markedcar

parks.

Permittede.g.

•movementonfoot_or skis;

cycling along

theroads

only

•

berry-

^and

mushroom-picking

Prohibited

•

littering

•

picking flowers,

^tree^branches ^and^other

plants

•

disturbing

^birds ^and^other^wildlife

•

damaging

constructions,

signs,

^etc.

If

required,

^the^entire^set^of

regulations

canbeobtained from Metla.

FURTHER INFORMATION

TheFinnishForest^Research^Institute

(Metla)

•AulankoPark Forest, ^{FIN- 14999} Hämeenlinna, Finland tel. +358-03-6822 791

• Vantaa Research Centre

Jokiniemenkuja

1, ^FIN-01300Vantaa,^Finland tel. +358-(0)9-857 051