Juutila Foundry

Juutila Foundry Museum
Established	2004
Location	Kaavi, Finland
Coordinates	63°04′18″N 28°26′25″E / 63.071667°N 28.440278°E
Website	Juutila Foundry Museum

Juutila Foundry (Juutilan valimo)
Company type	General partnership
Industry	Foundry
Genre	Sand casting foundry
Founded	1881
Founder	Mr Heikki Juutilainen
Headquarters	Kaavi, Finland
Key people	Mr Eljas Juutilainen (–2019)
Products	Church bells, jingle bells, sleight bells, reliefs, grave crosses, family crests, business gifts
Website	Juutila Foundry

Juutila Foundry is the oldest working bell foundry in Finland. Juutila foundry was founded in 1881.

Juutila Foundry (Juutilan valimo or Metallivalimo H & E Juutilainen in Finnish) is situated in the village of Vehkalahti in Kaavi, Northern Savonia.

Juutila Foundry Museum is in the old foundry building. It is a unique museum in the Nordic countries introducing the traditional sand casting method of the foundry.^[3]

History

Juutila Foundry casts products out of bronze and brass. The foundry can make single pieces up to 500 kg (about 1100 lb).

The different kinds of bells and mortars and pestles were one of the main products in the early history of the foundry. The products of Juutila were originally sold as far as in Vyborg and Sortavala in Karelia.^[4] Some of the products found their way even to St. Petersburg.^[5]

In the 1940s the foundry made a large number of school bells. Five men were working in the foundry then. In the 1960s Juutila Foundry started to make church bells, which became the main products in the 1980s and 1990s.^[6] Nowadays Juutila Foundry manufactures about half a dozen church bells annually.^[7]

For its first hundred years the foundry operated in an old workshop. The new foundry building of brick was built in 1982.

Craftsmanship since 1881

Mr Eljas Juutilainen (August 4, 1947 – March 6, 2019^[2]) carried on the tradition of his forebears by sand casting. The craft of casting and foundry work came to Juutila farm with Juutilainen's grandfather's uncle from nearby Juankoski ironworks. The history of Juutila Foundry dates back to 1881.

Mr Eljas Juutilainen was a third-generation craftsman. He worked at the foundry more than 40 years. Juutilainen was awarded Finnish State Award of Industrial Arts in 1975.^[5]^[7]^[8] The Finnish Chambers of Commerce has given him the Golden Medal of Merit. The Cross of Merit of the Order of the Lion of Finland was awarded him by the President of Finland.^[9]

Products

Juutila Foundry makes many kinds of bells (church bells, jingle bells, sleigh bells), candlesticks, reliefs, grave crosses, business gifts, etc.^[8]

In the 21st century Juutila Foundry has also been casting the medallions of Cranbrook chairs (new production) designed by Eliel Saarinen.^[9]^[10]

Commissions

Juutila Foundry has manufactured church bells e.g. of these churches in Finland:

Hanko^[7]
Hartola, Hartola Church
Iisalmi
Kaavi, Luikonlahti Orthodox Chapel^[11]
Kangasala, Sahalahti Church
Kempele, Kempele Church
Kiuruvesi, Lapinsalo Church^[12]
Kontiolahti, Kontiolahti Church^[13]
Kuopio, Church of the Resurrection of Christ (Ylösnousemuksen kirkko) in Juankoski
- two brass bells (since 1990)
- bigger bell: diameter about 77 cm (ca 30 inches), weight 265 kg (about 584 pounds), pitch B
- smaller bell: diameter about 60 cm (ca 24 inches), weight 135 kg (about 298 pounds), pitch D^[14]
Kuopio, Juankoski Orthodox Church^[15]
Kuopio, Murtolahti Chapel in Nilsiä^[16]^[17]
- brass bell (since 2005)
- diameter about 41 cm (about 16 inches)^[14]
Lahti, Mukkula Parish Centre
Lapinlahti, Alapitkä Church^[18]
Lappeenranta, Orthodox church of Lappeenranta ^[19]
- bronze bell, weight 180 kg
Nivala, Karvoskylä Chapel^[20]
Nokia, Pinsiö Church^[21]
Pyhäjoki, Pyhäjoki Church^[22]
Pyhäjärvi, Pyhäjärvi Church
Ristijärvi, Ristijärvi Church
- since 2007
- weight 160 kg ^[23]^[24]
Savonlinna, Haukiniemi Orthodox Chapel
- three bells
- largest bronze bell weight 40 kg^[25]
Utsjoki, Nuorgam^[9]

The Venehjärvi Orthodox Chapel in Republic of Karelia, Russia,^[25] and a church in Koltuši (Колтуши), Russia, have bells from Juutila Foundry. Juutila bells have also been exported to Australia,^[9] Bolivia, Kenya, Namibia, Senegal, Tanzania, and Uruguay.^[5]^[7]^[8]

Juutila Foundry Museum

At the beginning of the new millennium they decided to establish a foundry museum to preserve the foundry's history. With the expertise of the Finnish National Board of Antiquities the items of the old foundry were counted. They listed almost 2,000 objects from the foundry.^[5]

The old foundry got a new location in the other side of the yard, and it became a museum introducing especially the traditional sand casting method of the foundry.^[3]^[26]

Juutila Foundry Museum was opened in 2004. It is open in summer.^[3]^[6]

References

^ "Juutilan Valimo Avoin yhtiö | Yrityshaku | Taloussanomat". Archived from the original on 2015-06-10. Retrieved 2013-01-13. Taloussanomat, January 13, 2013
^ ^a ^b "Eljas Juutilainen 1947-2019". 26 March 2019. Retrieved 2020-12-30. Helsingin Sanomat, March 26, 2019 (in Finnish)
^ ^a ^b ^c [1] Juutila Foundry, Municipality of Kaavi, January 12, 2013
^ Historic ironworks in Savo, 1999
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d [2] Salminen, Anja: Valumestari Eljaksen kellot kaikuvat jouluna kautta maan, Taloussanomat, December 24, 1998, (in Finnish)
^ ^a ^b [3]^{[permanent dead link‍]} Pohjois-Savon kulttuuriympäristöselvitys, Kaavi, Pohjois-Savon liitto, 2009 (in Finnish)
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Kaavin kellot kumajavat Hangossa asti, Savon Sanomat (newspaper), March 7, 2012, page 3 (in Finnish)
^ ^a ^b ^c Leskelä, Hilkka: Kaskenviertäjien ja kivenraivaajien Kaavi, Jyväskylä, 1998, ISBN 952-910-451-0 (in Finnish)
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Molempikätisyys, lehmän hermot ja pikkutarkkuus ovat hyvän valajan ominaisuuksia, Koillis-Savo (newspaper), November 19, 2015, page 11 (in Finnish)
^ Tetrimäki: Eliel Saarinen Collection, Boyschool Chair and Armchair
^ [4] Luikonlahden ortodoksinen tšasouna, Ortodoksi.net, January 12, 2013 (in Finnish)
^ [5] Archived 2015-06-10 at the Wayback Machine Lapinsalon hautausmaa, November 16, 2013 (in Finnish)
^ [6] Seurakunnan pääkirkko, Kontiolahden seurakunta, January 12, 2013 (in Finnish)
^ ^a ^b [7] Lappalainen, Katja, Arkipäiväisistä katseilta suojatuiksi – Nilsiän emäseurakunnan alueen kirkonkellot, pdf, 2006, University of Jyväskylä, January 12, 2013 (in Finnish)
^ "Juankosken ortodoksinen kirkko – Ortodoksi.net". Archived from the original on 2013-08-21. Retrieved 2013-01-12. Juankosken ortodoksinen kirkko, Ortodoksi.net, January 12, 2013 (in Finnish)
^ [8] Archived 2013-10-19 at the Wayback Machine Murtolahden kyläyhdistys, Murtolahden kyläyhdistys, January 12, 2013 (in Finnish)
^ [9] Murtolahden siunauskappeli, Nilsiän seurakunta, January 12, 2013 (in Finnish)
^ "Alapitkän kirkko - Lapinlahden seurakunta". Archived from the original on 2012-09-25. Retrieved 2013-01-12. Alapitkän kirkko, January 12, 2013 (in Finnish)
^ "Etelä-Saimaa: Ortodoksikirkko saa lahjoituksen uuden kirkonkellon, September 30, 2016" (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 2016-11-05. Retrieved 2016-11-05.
^ Karvoskylä Village, Facebook (in Finnish)
^ [10] Pinsiöön rakennetaan kellotapuli talkoilla, December 22, 2011, Yle, January 12, 2013 (in Finnish)
^ "Raahen Matkailuoppaat ry". Archived from the original on 2013-02-17. Retrieved 2013-01-12. Kotikirkkomme, December 17, 2005, Raahelainen (newspaper), January 12, 2013 (in Finnish)
^ [11] Archived 2016-03-11 at the Wayback Machine Toimitilat, Kirkko ja kellotapuli, Ristijärven seurakunta, January 13, 2014 (in Finnish)
^ [12] Archived 2014-01-14 at the Wayback Machine Ristijärven kirkko 200 vuotta - Ristijärvelle rakennettiin kirkko kesällä 1807, Ristijärvi tiedottaa, pdf, 2007, Ristijärven kunta, January 13, 2014 (in Finnish)
^ ^a ^b "Haukiniemen tsasouna (Haukiniemi Orthodox Chapel)" (in Finnish). Haukiniemen kulttuurikyläyhdistys ry. 15 October 2013. Archived from the original on 20 April 2017. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
^ [13] Archived 2013-02-17 at archive.today Kaavi, Juutilan kellovalimon siirto, Finnish National Board of Antiquities, January 12, 2013 (in Finnish)