Juutila Foundry is the oldest working

bell foundry Bellfounding is the casting and tuning of large bronze bells in a foundry for use such as in churches, clock towers and public buildings, either to signify the time or an event, or as a musical carillon or chime. Large bells are made by casting ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. 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 Kaavi is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Northern Savonia region. Kaavi is also a part of historical Karelia. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . It is fr ...

Northern Savonia North Savo (or Northern Savonia; fi, Pohjois-Savo; sv, Norra Savolax) is a region in eastern Finland. It borders the regions of South Savo, Central Finland, North Ostrobothnia, Kainuu, and North Karelia. Kuopio is the largest city in the r ...

. Juutila Foundry Museum is in the old foundry building. It is a unique museum in the Nordic countries introducing the traditional

sand casting Sand casting, also known as sand molded casting, is a metal casting process characterized by using sand as the mold material. The term "sand casting" can also refer to an object produced via the sand casting process. Sand castings are produced i ...

method of the foundry.
Juutila Foundry, Municipality of Kaavi, January 12, 2013

History

Juutila Foundry casts products out of bronze and

brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other wit ...

. 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 Vyborg (; rus, Вы́борг, links=1, r=Výborg, p=ˈvɨbərk; fi, Viipuri ; sv, Viborg ; german: Wiborg ) is a town in, and the administrative center of, Vyborgsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Karelian Isthmus n ...

and

Sortavala Sortavala (russian: Сортавала; Finnish and krl, Sortavala; sv, Sordavala); till 1918 Serdobol (russian: Сердоболь) is a town in the Republic of Karelia, Russia, located at the northern tip of Lake Ladoga near the Finnish bor ...

in Karelia. Some of the products found their way even to

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

.
Salminen, Anja: Valumestari Eljaksen kellot kaikuvat jouluna kautta maan, Taloussanomat, December 24, 1998, 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.
Pohjois-Savon kulttuuriympäristöselvitys, Kaavi, Pohjois-Savon liitto, 2009 Nowadays Juutila Foundry manufactures about half a dozen church bells annually. 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) 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 Juankoski is a former town and municipality of Finland. In March 2014, the Juankoski city council decided that the town would merge with Kuopio in the beginning of 2017. Juankoski is located in the province of Eastern Finland, part of the Northern ...

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. 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.

Products

Juutila Foundry makes many kinds of bells (church bells, jingle bells, sleigh bells), candlesticks,

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

s, grave crosses, business gifts, etc.Leskelä, Hilkka: Kaskenviertäjien ja kivenraivaajien Kaavi, Jyväskylä, 1998, In the 21st century Juutila Foundry has also been casting the medallions of Cranbrook chairs (new production) designed by

Eliel Saarinen Gottlieb Eliel Saarinen (, ; August 20, 1873 – July 1, 1950) was a Finnish-American architect known for his work with art nouveau buildings in the early years of the 20th century. He was also the father of famed architect Eero Saarinen. Lif ...

Commissions

Juutila Foundry has manufactured church bells e.g. of these churches in Finland: * HankoKaavin kellot kumajavat Hangossa asti, Savon Sanomat (newspaper), March 7, 2012, page 3 * Hartola, Hartola Church *

Iisalmi Iisalmi (; sv, Idensalmi) is a town and municipality in the region of Northern Savonia in Finland. It is located north of Kuopio and south of Kajaani. The municipality has a population of (), which makes it the second largest of the five towns ...

, Luikonlahti Orthodox Chapel *

Kangasala Kangasala is a city in Finland which is situated about 16 kilometres East of Tampere. The city was founded in 1865 and had a population of people as of . Kangasala covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Finnish auth ...

, Sahalahti Church *

Kempele Kempele is a municipality south of the city of Oulu and south of the Oulu Airport in Northern Finland. Historically it was in the province of Oulu, but today it is in the region of Northern Ostrobothnia. The population of Kempele is () and the m ...

, Kempele Church *

Kiuruvesi Kiuruvesi is a town and municipality of Finland located in the Northern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbour municipalities are Iisalmi, Pielavesi, ...

, Lapinsalo Church *

Kontiolahti Kontiolahti ( sv, Kontiolax; literally meaning "bear bay") is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the North Karelia regions of Finland, region, about north of Joensuu. The municipality has a population of () and ...

, Kontiolahti Church * 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 * Kuopio, Juankoski Orthodox Church * Kuopio, Murtolahti Chapel in Nilsiä ** brass bell (since 2005) ** diameter about 41 cm (about 16 inches)
Lappalainen, Katja, Arkipäiväisistä katseilta suojatuiksi – Nilsiän emäseurakunnan alueen kirkonkellot, pdf, 2006, University of Jyväskylä, January 12, 2013 *

Lahti Lahti (; sv, Lahtis) is a city and municipality in Finland. It is the capital of the region of Päijänne Tavastia (Päijät-Häme) and its growing region is one of the main economic hubs of Finland. Lahti is situated on a bay at the southern e ...

, Mukkula Parish Centre *

Lapinlahti Lapinlahti (; sv, Lapinlahti, also ) is a municipality of Finland. It is part of the Northern Savonia region, located north of the city of Kuopio. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The populati ...

, Alapitkä Church *

Lappeenranta Lappeenranta (; sv, Villmanstrand) is a city and municipality in the region of South Karelia, about from the Russian border and from the town of Vyborg (''Viipuri''). It is situated on the shore of the Lake Saimaa in southeastern Finland, and ...

, Orthodox church of Lappeenranta ** bronze bell, weight 180 kg *

Nivala Nivala is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the Northern Ostrobothnia region. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality is unilingually Finnish. Ge ...

, Karvoskylä Chapel *

Nokia Nokia Corporation (natively Nokia Oyj, referred to as Nokia) is a Finnish multinational telecommunications, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation, established in 1865. Nokia's main headquarters are in Espoo, Finland, i ...

, Pinsiö Church *

Pyhäjoki Pyhäjoki (; literally the "Holy River") is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the defunct province of Oulu, which was split in two regions; Pyhäjoki is part of the Northern Ostrobothnia region. It is located southwest of the city of O ...

, Pyhäjoki Church *

Pyhäjärvi Pyhäjärvi (1993–1995 ''Pyhäsalmi'') is a town and municipality in the south of Northern Ostrobothnia region, Finland. Pyhäjärvi also borders the Northern Savonia and Central Finland regions. The town belongs to the subregion of Nivala–Ha ...

, Pyhäjärvi Church *

Ristijärvi Ristijärvi is a municipality of Finland. It is part of the Kainuu region. The municipality has a population of (), which make it the smallest municipality in Kainuu in terms of population. It covers an area of of which is water. The populati ...

, Ristijärvi Church ** since 2007 ** weight 160 kg
Toimitilat, Kirkko ja kellotapuli, Ristijärven seurakunta, January 13, 2014
Ristijärven kirkko 200 vuotta - Ristijärvelle rakennettiin kirkko kesällä 1807, Ristijärvi tiedottaa, pdf, 2007, Ristijärven kunta, January 13, 2014 *

Savonlinna Savonlinna (, , ; sv, Nyslott, lit=New Castle) is a town and a municipality of inhabitants in the southeast of Finland, in the heart of the Saimaa lake region, which is why the city is also nicknamed the "Capital of Saimaa". Together with Mikke ...

, Haukiniemi Orthodox Chapel ** three bells ** largest bronze bell weight 40 kg *

Utsjoki Utsjoki (; sme, Ohcejohka ; smn, Uccjuuhâ; sms, Uccjokk; no, Utsjok) is a municipality in Finland, the northernmost in the country. It is in Lapland and borders Norway as well as the municipality of Inari. The municipality was founded in 18 ...

Nuorgam Nuorgam () is a village in the Utsjoki municipality in the region of Lapland, Finland. It has approximately 200 inhabitants. It is the northernmost point of Finland and the northernmost point of the European Union. It is situated on the De ...

Molempikätisyys, lehmän hermot ja pikkutarkkuus ovat hyvän valajan ominaisuuksia, Koillis-Savo (newspaper), November 19, 2015, page 11 The Venehjärvi Orthodox Chapel in Republic of Karelia,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

, and a church in Koltuši (Колтуши), Russia, have bells from Juutila Foundry. Juutila bells have also been exported to Australia, Bolivia,

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

, and

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

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 Finnish Heritage Agency ( fi, Museovirasto, sv, Museiverket), previously known in English as the National Board of Antiquities, preserves Finland's material cultural heritage: collects, studies and distributes knowledge of it. The agency is a ...

the items of the old foundry were counted. They listed almost 2,000 objects from the foundry. The old foundry got a new location in the other side of the yard, and it became a museum introducing especially the traditional

method of the foundry.
Kaavi, Juutilan kellovalimon siirto, Finnish National Board of Antiquities, January 12, 2013 Juutila Foundry Museum was opened in 2004. It is open in summer.

History

Craftsmanship since 1881

Products

Commissions

Juutila Foundry Museum

References

See also