Kultala Gold Village of River Ivalojoki

The gold area of River Ivalojoki was officially found by an expedition sent by the senate in September 1868. The real gold rush was caused by 2 kg of gold, which was panned in a couple of weeks in the late summer in 1869 by two men, Jakob Ervast from Oulu and Nils Lepistö from Raahe, who had learned gold digging in California. Soon there were hundreds of men along River Ivalojoki trying their luck, and within five years about 40 cottages were built of logs and turf on the riverbanks.

As early as in 1870, the state built a base, "the Crown Station" along River Ivalojoki for controlling and adminstering gold digging. At the station, the permits of gold diggers were inspected, the gold was weighed and tax was imposed on it. The busiest years were in 1870-1900, when 38 men at most lived on the station.

Altogether, 335 people worked in the summer 1870 gold panning on River Ivalojoki. In addition to them, there were officials, owners of the claims, gold diggers and drifters, which makes 500 - 600 people staying in the gold area. When local register of population had 659 people at that time, Kultala Village may have been, except towns, the biggest population centre in the northern Finland.

In Kultala Village, there was also an aurora borealis research station in 1882 - 1884. In 1882, the The Finnish Academy of Science started a polar region research programme, and research on the northern lights, aurora borealis, was done during two winters under professor Karl Selim Lemström. An insulated bobbin was built on the top of Pietarlauttanen Fell, and in at least one night, a ray of light was seen rising from it to the sky. The studies continued in the next winter, but no more new observations were made.

In the 1900s, Kultala was used less than before, and by the 1920s the buildings were in a bad condition. Suomen Kuvalehti magazine, which wrote about Kultala, paid for a new shingle roof for the main building in 1931, but otherwise the buildings were not maintained. Lapin Kultala Foundation took the initiative to renovate the buildings under the instruction of the National Board of Antiquities in 1972 and 1982. The worker's quarters, the bakery and the storage building were in such a bad condition that they had to be renovated according to old photographs and drawings. The buildings were renovated for second time in 2000.

About 100 metres from the main building, there used to be a simple pub with two barrooms. After the gold rush, the pub was no longer in use, and fell into ruin. The last logs from its walls were burnt in campfires by gold diggers and hikers.

In 1970, Metsähallitus built a hut with two rooms near the old worker's quarters. The hut was destroyed in a fire in 1995. A new hut was built in 1996, east of the main building. One of its two rooms serves as an open wilderness hut and the other one as a rental hut.

Kultala (Gold Village) along Moberginoja Brook

Moberginoja is a little brach of River Sotajoki. In its surroundings, active gold digging has been going for more than 120 years. Originally, Kultala along Moberginoja Brook was an exploration base built by the mining company Prospektor Ab in the beginning of 1900s. Later, there have been many diggers and mining companies. Nowadays, the only mining patent around Ivalojoki is in this area.

Moberginoja Hut was in a very bad condition in the beginning of 1970s. In 1975 - 1976 and 1982, Lapin Kultala Foundation took the initiative to renovate the buildings. Nowadays the buildings are managed by Metsähallitus.

Part of the old, large main building was renovated in the end of 1970 to serve as an open wilderness hut. The remains of the other side of the hut can still be seen next to the building. The better building was renovated in 1975 - 1976, but it was destroyed in fire in 1993. A new hut, which was built in 1999, is similar to the old one. Nowadays, it serves as a reservable hut. The old, large smoke sauna on the grounds of the hut has room for about twenty bathers.

Kultala (Gold Village) along Pahaoja Brook

Hannu Postila from Sodankylä dug gold along River Sotajoki at Pahaoja Brook already in the 1880s. Gold digging in the area became more efficient when Lapin Kulta Oy built a base there in 1925. The first attempts in automatic gold digging along Pahaoja Brook were in the 1920s. Railways, bucket conveyors and steam power machines were transported there. However, this was not very successful. Not much gold was found, and rocks made the mechanical digging difficult.

In addition to the buildings, there is an old steam engine as a memorial of the old days. It was never used, because Lapin Kulta Oy went bankrupt in 1927. The name of the company did not disappear, however. A Finnish brewery, Tornion Olut Oy, bought the right to use the name in 1969. Nowadays Lapin Kulta is an internationally recognised brand of beer.

The Buildings of Pahaoja

The current main building is made up of two parts. The side which is closer to the river was floated from a kilometre away, from the mouth of Vuijemihaara brach. The other side of the building, on the left if looking from the porch, which has an open fireplace, probably originates from the beginning of the 1900s. Outside, on the corner of the building, there is a short piece of rail, which was used as a bell for calling the workers for meal breaks during the time of Lapin Kulta Oy.

The huts of Pahaoja fell into ruin in the 1950s and 1960s, when Lemmenjoki became the most important gold digging area. By an initiative from the Lapin Kultala Foundation, the National Board of Antiquities organised renovation of the buildings in the 1970s, and built a shelter for the steam engine and a suspension bridge across River Sotajoki. A 12-km-long trail was also marked from between Patatunturit Fells to Kultala Village of River Ivalojoki.

Nowadays the buildings of Pahaoja are managed by Metsähallitus. One room of the main building serves as a rental hut and the other room as an open wilderness hut.

Kultala (Gold Village) of Ritakoski

In the old days, the gold diggers stayed at Ritakoski or stopped there on their way to Kultala from Kyrö Village (Ivalo was formerly called that). Ritakoski was also the dream destination of Heikki Kivekäs, one of the most famous gold diggers. He settled permanently at Ritakoski around 1910. He built a house, a horse stable and a cowshed, and cleared land for agriculture. In addition, he set up a saw mill and a planing mill. After all, gold digging was not successful there, and Kivekäs ended up in prison for forging a spirit prescription. He died in prison.

The main building of Ritakoski has been renovated for hikers to use. Moppe's Hut (Mopen tupa) serves as Metsähallitus maintenance base. Moppe was a daughter of Italian - Swedish circus family, who ended up in Lapland on her adventures, and stayed there for the rest of her life.

Literature

  • Mäkipuro, Viljo 1975: Kulta - Lappia ja kullankaivajia. Porvoo. WSOY. 303 s.
  • Stigzelius, Herman 1987: Kultakuume. Lapin kullan historiaa 2. Helsinki. Suomen Matkailuliitto. 256 s.