Restaurant

History of Neituri Canal

Plans to connect the lakes north of Jyväskylä by canalisation were made as early as the 1880s, and in 1911, with the help of an appropriation from the Senate, studies were started on the Keitele-Konnevesi-Iisvesi route.

The decision to build the canals was delayed by the outbreak of World War I in 1914.

Construction of the canals was finally completed in 1918, after the Senate had allocated funds for the work at the end of the previous year. The final plan, drawn up in 1921, called for the canals to be enlarged from their original dimensions.

Canal buildings

At the same time, spacious apartments for canal workers and housing for other canal staff were built next to the canal. These buildings are now also home to the Neitur Kievari.

The moats of Neituri

While Finland was still an autonomous part of the Russian Empire, Russia decided to prepare for a possible German invasion of St Petersburg through the Finnish interior.

Therefore, in 1916-17, defensive moats were dug on both sides of the Konnevesi Neituri Canal to protect the strategically important canal and prevent the advance of a potential enemy.

Although fortunately not needed, the moats still stand out surprisingly clearly from the landscape.