Splendid places
Wine Cellar
Do not miss the pearl of the Serlachius Manor, the Wine Cellar, during your museum visit. It is one of the splendid places in Mänttä. In the dusk atmosphere of the Wine Cellar, you may admire the skillful paintings of Irina Bäcksbacka. She was only 16 years old when she created the works. You can book for example cocktail bites and a glass of champagne for your group to be enjoyed in the parlour. The link below opens additional information on the architecture of the historical manor house and the Wine Cellar.
Golden Gazebo
While visiting the Serlachius Manor, you should stretch your legs on a stroll on the near-by Taavetti Island, because a Golden Gazebo awaits there. It was build earlier for an exhibition but it found a new life on the island. In summer, the gazebo offers a dusk reading place for all visitors of Serlachius. By appointment, the Restaurant Gösta organises there year round small parties or offers an atmospheric moment to enjoy hors d’oeuvre accompanied by a short walk.
Love Path
Lemmenpolku or Love Path is a 2,5-kilometre long forested path. It follows the lake shore and leads from one Serlachius museum building to the other. It has probably been a beautiful scene for many romantic encounters for decades. When you are coming from Serlachius Manor and approaching Serlachius Headquarters, you will find at first Tennis Pavilion and then Arthotel Honkahovi located on the path. At the end of the path and on the other side of the field one can also see the town’s boat dock, glimpses of the red-brick wall of the paper mill and the church surrounded by the park.
Tennis Pavilion
The Tennis Pavilion and its courts were once beyond the reach of common town’s people, because those days only the high-ranking officials of the forest company could enter to play there. Finnish architect Heimo Kautonen has designed the attractive pavilion which was completed in 1950. Get set for a game of tennis and book a court or a tennis lesson or a programmatic event and play tennis in the 1950s’ style.
Alex Shop & Cafe
In the town centre you can visit a Cafe that on the side also offers trendy selection of women’s fashion. Or is it actually a clothes shop in which you can take a bite of organic, locally produced salads and burgers? Find out more under the link.
Mänttä Church
The Mänttä church is one of the splendid places in the locality. Completed in 1928, it reveals the symbol of its constructor. On the round-shaped window located over the organ bay you can see the logo of the forest combine G. A. Serlachius Company. Hannes Autere’s wood reliefs and lighting fixtures of Taito Oy adorn the interior of the church. On the altar piece, Alvar Cawén has depicted a young woman from Mänttä. In the painting, the sheep that belonged to the mill owner Gösta Serlachius’ model farm, Joenniemi Manor are surrounding the female figure.
Serlachius Residency
In the centre of Mänttä, close to the Serlachius Headquarters is located the workspace for the artists in residence for the Serlachius Residency. The charming wooden building houses the Residency’s gallery. The exhibitions at the Residency are free of charge.
Mänttä Art Festival in Pekilo
In summertime, Mänttä Art Festival is an annual must-see attraction of the friends of contemporary art. The most comprehensive summer review of contemporary art in Finland is on show in the former animal feed factory called Pekilo. A new curator every year and interesting side programme.
Mänttä Art Festival is organized every summer from mid-June to the end of August. Beside Pekilo, the works of the artists participating in Mänttä Art Festival can also be seen on the Taavetti Island close to the Serlachius Manor. Find a more detailed program below.
Päivölä’s Gellaria
A summer gallery showcases art in a root cellar that used to belong to the house of chief enginieer Warner Silfversparre who worked for the G. A. Serlachius Company since 1920. The house itself was destroyed in an air raid in 20 January 1940.
Galleries and Summer Exhibitions
In the centre of Mänttä, you will find various galleries and summer exhibitions. Explore e.g. artist Pirjetta Brander’s sculpture yard, Halmetoja’s Art Gallery or Studio Janne Laine. The Art Town has also lots of public artworks around the centre. Which one is your favorite?
Mänttä Mountain and Wine Tavern
Mänttä Mountain symbolises the boasting mentality of the local people: it is a pretty handsome hill but it requires quite an imagination to perceive it as mountain. A nature reserve, offering untouched forest for you to admire, or you may climb on an observation tower and visit forest church. On its highest peak, a cabin for outdoor activities was build in 1928 by Gösta Serlachius. Nowadays it is an atmospheric Wine Tavern offering Swiss-type culinary flavours in the evening, in winter only by appointment, in summer daily.
Myllyranta
A splendid place located in the former flour mill, Myllyranta serves as shipping centre and restaurant. The flour mill was run by the forest company, just like the red-brick engine shed and a roundhouse located beside it. Now you can make unique shopping and buy clothes, gifts and interior design as well as food and beverages at the old engine sheds located on the beautiful Lake Keurusselkä.
In summer 2023: Mini cruises with a paddlewheel ship on Fridays and Saturdays from June 16 to August 5. Read more here.