A new chapter began in Puu-Juuka's story – Old wooden houses are transformed into a modern hotel, preserving the spirit of the past
A new chapter in Puu-Juuka’s (Wood-Juuka) story began when we decided to start renovating the bad conditioned buildings in the wooden house area of the old and original municipality center of Juuka. Our goal is to build hotel rooms and frameworks for tourism services in old wooden houses in the area.
The name of the new chapter is Matkailukeskus (Travel center) and Hotel Puu-Juuka, which consists of a total of sixteen old wooden houses and other old buildings and the unique environment of Puu-Juuka.
Culture historically significant Puu-Juuka
Puu-Juuka is located along and around the old main road of Juuka, called Vanhatie (Old road). The area plays a significant role in the history of the municipality of Juuka, because it has been the municipality’s administrative center and a lively business center from the end of the 19th century to the 1960s. At that time, all the houses in Puu-Juuka had been inhabited for several decades, and the residents ran a variety of businesses in connection with their homes.
Puu-Juuka is a rare area, as it is one of the few intact old wooden house areas in Finland, which represents the building tradition of Finnish municipal centers from the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. Together, the buildings of Puu-Juuka construct a culture historically valuable entity, which is also nationally recognized as a significant built cultural environment in Finland.
Puu-Juuka’s buildings date from the beginning of the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th century. Most of the buildings got their current form in the 1930s, when the houses were expanded and raised to two floors. At that time, many houses were protected by a steep gable roof or a personal mansard roof, representing the building tradition of the time.
Puu-Juuka's new beginning
Puu-Juuka was considerably deserted as the 21st century approached. Since then, Puu-Juuka’s story has included some public, private and voluntary development projects, with which the area and the houses have been tried to be revived. Some of the houses in Puu-Juuka are still private residences or in public use.
Due to its long and meaningful history, the story of Puu-Juuka deserved to have a worthy sequel. So, we decided to implement it big and properly. Our goal is that the lights twinkle in the windows of the houses in Puu-Juuka again, and there is life on the village street.
With modern comforts, respecting the old
When renovating the houses in Puu-Juuka, we wanted to preserve the spirit of the old wooden houses in both the exterior and the interior, and to respect the history of the houses by highlighting stories from the houses’ rich past.
The renovation project is progressing in stages and naturally takes time, as the stone foundations of the houses have had to be straightened, rotten structures repaired, and the interiors dismantled from floor to ceiling. We have completely rebuilt the interiors of the renovated houses.
We wanted the hotel rooms to be modern and luxurious, but for the surfaces and color scheme, we sought influences from the interior styles of the past, which are represented by the decorative wallpaper and wall panels in the rooms.
Puu-Juuka is a unique place to visit
There are many other interesting details in Puu-Juuka’s houses, such as pediments, decorative window frames, eave consoles, hipped roofs and other structures that, in addition to the colorful outer walls, are worth admiring from the village road and park areas.
Puu-Juuka and the wooden house hotel are guaranteed to be unique destinations for day trips and overnight stays, because you have never come across a similar complex anywhere, where an old wooden house area has been converted into a hotel on such a large scale. Check out our houses here.
Welcome to visit the village and it’s worth staying with us for the night!
Regards,
Marjo, Liisa, Kai and Jouni, the entrepreneurs of Matkailukeskus Puu-Juuka
