Finland · Finnish landscape Koli

Issue date28 May 2018

Total mintage1,000,000

EU maximum1,000,000

Editions4

Edge letteringSUOMI FINLAND + 3 lion heads

Inscription2018 / FI

DesignerErkki Vainio

mintSuomen Rahapaja OY, Vantaa, Finnland

Issue occasion

The commemorative coin is dedicated to the Finnish Koli National Park. The design shows the view from the summit of Mount Koli over the national park of the same name. Also depicted are the year of issue “2018”, the abbreviation “FI” and the mint mark.

The design

The inner part of the coin depicts a view from the summit of Mount Koli over the eponymous national park. The issue year “2018” is indicated at the bottom in the centre. The abbreviation of the issuing state, “FI”, is shown in the centre left and the mintmark in the centre right.

The outer ring of the coin depicts the twelve stars of the European flag.

Background on the topic

Koli is located in Nordkarelien in eastern Finland, on the western shore of Lake Pielinen. The hills consist predominantly of resistant quartzite. They are the remnants of a very old mountain range shaped by erosion and glacial ice. The highest point, Ukko-Koli, reaches 354 metres above sea level. Other peaks bear names such as Akka-Koli and Paha-Koli; they refer to figures and concepts from pre-Christian Finnish tradition.

Since the late 19th century, Koli has played a role in the formation of a Finnish national visual culture. At that time, Finland belonged to the Russian Empire as an autonomous Grand Duchy. Artists, writers and composers sought motifs for an independent Finnish culture in the landscapes of Karelia. The painter Eero Järnefelt depicted Koli several times. The writer Juhani Aho, the photographer I. K. Inha and the composer Jean Sibelius also visited the area. Through paintings, photographs and travel accounts, the view across the wooded hills and Pielinen became a widely known landscape motif.

The protected area includes not only forests and rocky peaks, but also traces of traditional land use. For a long time, slash-and-burn cultivation was practised in Karelia: areas of forest were burned and temporarily used as arable land. Meadows and grazing areas also developed. Within the park, parts of this cultural landscape are maintained through mowing, grazing and controlled burning.

The national park was established in 1991. Koli is also one of Finland’s 27 “National Landscapes”, selected in 1992 on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of Finnish independence. This designation refers to landscapes closely connected with the country’s history, culture or regional identity; it is not a separate category of protection.

A specific anniversary was not the occasion for the issue in 2018. Rather, the choice reflects Koli’s position as a recognisable national landscape symbol in which natural history, traditional agriculture and the Finnish cultural movement of the late 19th century converge.