Peasant architecture of Siikainen

Siikainen once had large forest reserves and, in addition to them, good floating opportunities for nearby sawmills. The forest stores made the peasants prosperous, and they wanted to show their prosperity through great buildings. The gems of the peasant architecture of Siikainen are decorative glass porches with nomerous small windows and beveled corners. The decoration of the porches was usually done by itinerant builders who had learned from shipbuilding. They could get paid a coin for each window pane.

The main buildings of peasant farms are long and narrow in frame, and in addition to beautiful glass porches, the buildings are often crowned with bells. Well-preserved examples of the building stock can be found, for example, in the villages of Vuorijärvi and Leppijärvi.