Moominvalley ( sv, Mumindalen, fi, Muumilaakso) is a fictional place, where the

Moomin The Moomins ( sv, Mumintroll) are the central characters in a series of novels, short stories, and a comic strip by Finnish writer and illustrator Tove Jansson, originally published in Swedish by Schildts in Finland. They are a family of white, ...

s live in the tales by Finnish author

Tove Jansson Tove Marika Jansson (; 9 August 1914 – 27 June 2001) was a Swedish-speaking population of Finland, Swedish-speaking Finnish author, novelist, painter, illustrator and comic strip author. Brought up by artistic parents, Jansson studied art from ...

. Especially in the early books Moominvalley is depicted as a beautiful place with green slopes, rivers, fruit trees, flowers and a place for calm and peaceful life as in the tradition of

pastoral poetry A pastoral lifestyle is that of shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. It lends its name to a genre of literature, art, and music (pastorale) that depicts ...

, and yet it is still threatened by natural forces such as flooding and volcanoes. The valley is surrounded by Lonely Mountains in the east and by other mountains in the south, while the west faces the sea. Thus, travel on land is often preceded by mountain climbing in the stories. It was inspired by Ängsmarn, a family retreat in Sweden, which is also situated on a grassy field facing the sea and surrounded by rocky outcrops. The Moominvalley is also a manifestation of Jansson's

escapism Escapism is mental diversion from unpleasant or boring aspects of daily life, typically through activities involving imagination or entertainment. Escapism may be used to occupy one's self away from persistent feelings of depression or gener ...

; she often fantasized about establishing a colony in

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria ...

or moving to

The Basque Country The Basque Country ( eu, Euskal Herria; es, País Vasco; french: Pays basque) is the name given to the home of the Basque people. Trask, R.L. ''The History of Basque'' Routledge: 1997 The Basque country is located in the western Pyrenees, str ...

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

.Karjalainen, Tuula: Tove Jansson – Tee työtä ja rakasta, s. 94–96. Helsinki: Tammi, 2013. . Moomin Valley leading down to the sea, Moominworld

Moominpappa at Sea ''Moominpappa at Sea'' ( Swedish: ''Pappan och havet'', literally "The Father and the Sea") is the eighth book in the Moomin books by Finnish author Tove Jansson. It is based primarily around the character of Moominpappa, who was heavily inspire ...

, Moominvalley is depicted as a place of boredom. Moominvalley is also the former name for the Moomin Museum in

Tampere Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclo ...

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 Bo ...

References

Bibliography

* {{The Moomin Series Fictional elements introduced in 1945 Fictional valleys Moomin locations