Lusto
The Finnish Forest Museum
Lustontie 1
58450 PUNKAHARJU
Finland
Phone +358 15 345 100
Telefax +358 15 345 1050
lusto@lusto.fi
Lusto’s permanent exhibition depicts the interaction between man and the forest from past to present and also presents future visions of forest culture.
Thematically grouped exhibits present different developmental phases of Finnish forests, forests around the globe, sustenance from forests, forestry work, possibilities provided by timber, as well as the relationships of Finns and forests.
The highlight of the basic exhibition is a virtual nature experience in the Room of Silence. Children’s’ Lusto offers plenty to see and experience for all children and young at heart . The Children’s’ Tree is a favorite place for all small folk alike. A bear mother with two cubs hibernates in a den at the foot of the tree.
The Forests of the Finns exhibition’s themes include, for example, the folkloristic approach towards the forest, the forest’s products and the recreational use of forests. For Finns the forest has always been – and it still is – a source of income and a treasure box filled with forest’s gifts. Besides, it has been and still is a place for recreation and meditation. In the old days man regarded forest as its own kingdom – it was totally apart and far away from man’s habitat and territory. The myths, beliefs, customs and stories related to the kingdom of forest are the source of the rich forest folklore in Finland.
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A new addition to the basic exhibition opened in 2008. Machine Age explores the mechanization of timber harvesting, as well as the development of the lumber industry and forest economics, beginning with the experimentations of the early 20th century and continuing through today’s modern harvesting technologies into visions of the future.
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The old logging site exhibition gives new insights to the old time logging sites and timber floating routes. It brings alive the golden age of buck saws, lumberjacks and Finnhorses.
The exhibition shows many articles, photographs and films related to logging sites and timber floating operations that all portray the long history of Finnish forest work and timber floating in a fine and vivid way. The life style, work and people working in this field are not forgotten in this exhibition.
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In Finland it was during the 20th century when the biggest work for silviculture was done. Forests were regarded so important for the national economy that all possible means were used to maximize tree growth in the forests, and to utilize the forest resources in a better way. In a period of hundred years, the return on forestry grew by approximately 25%.
Underproductive areas of land were afforested, water ridden forests and swamps were drained and quality of soil was improved by fertilization and other means. Extensive research and artificial selection projects were run to find the best possible ways and methods to be utilized in forest management. The construction of forest roads made the efficient utilization of forests possible.
The forest improvement work in privately owned forests was subsidized by the state since the beginning of the 1920s. This resulted in a creation of a network of different organizations that directed and overlooked the use of forests.
