The birth site of the world renowned classic, the Kalevala, lies in the Viena Karelian villages, an area still surrounded by primeval forest. The Finnish national epic owes its existence to the folklore collected from the region´s unlettered peasants.

These internet pages, complete with texts, panoramas and examples of folk poetry, allow you the opportunity to become acquainted with the past, present and future of the Viena folklore villages. For decades the idyllic Viena villages were not accessible, because of the "Iron Curtain". Finally, in the 1990s, the home of one of Europe´s only surviving indigenous cultures can be visited once again.

(c) Juminkeko 1999