Foundation for Old Village Cape’s Mansion was built by cavalry master Nils Stålhana in the early seventeenth century. At the end of the century the mansion had 10000 square kilometers of land and 20 peasant families, hired labour and 4 supporting ranches who all paid taxes to the mansion.
The current main building dates back to the middle of the nineteenth century and it is the oldest building still in use at Järvenpää. It was originally built for the wedding of mansion’s owner Henrik and Vilhelmiina Åström. Later Vilhelmiina and her daughter Anni set the affairs of the mansion and the village in order.
The mansion has been used as a restaurant and camping reception for years. There have been several entrepreneurs. The last one, before the City of Järvenpää took over, was Luovat Palvelut Oy. They brought a lot of life and events to the Old Village Cape. Unfortunately the remote location and huge costs especially in winter led the company to the point where they had to give up. The area is still under consideration for future operations. Meanwhile, the City keeps the mansion partly open as a cafeteria with help of restaurant students, who now have a place to learn and get degrees.
On the grounds, there is a small villa open for private events for a reasonable booking fee. The villa is named after the location on the Cape. It’s called Niemennokan huvila. In english Cape Peak’s Villa. The villa is the perfect place for a small wedding party or a birthday party. There is a nice sand beach right next to it and of course a Finnish sauna. The villa’s location next to the public beach makes it a little uneasy in day time, but in the evening you enjoy a more private atmosphere.
At summer time, Järvenpään Blues-Jazz Diggarit ry (Lake’s end blues fans) organize a huge international blues festival called Puistoblues (Park Blues). There have been many international artists over the years. My favorites are Status Quo and ZZ-Top. Last year (2020) it was cancelled due to the Covid19 situation. Read more: https://www.puistoblues.fi/english.
The Cape’s park is a great place to spend a summer day. Locals have small boats for fishing and enjoying the lake. There is a walk path that goes around the Cape and continues all the way to the center of the city. There was also a popular camping area at Cape. Currently it is on the table for the future, since there is no entrepreneur to manage camping facilities. The area has places for campers and tents but also around 10 camping cabins.
I hope you enjoy these few photos I took last August.
The Lake's End - Järvenpää Finland 