Ainola. The Home of Jean and Aino Sibelius is a lavishly illustrated book that presents Ainola with modern and historical pictures. At the core of the book is the story of Ainola as told by four experts: its development and Sibelius’s life there, including everyday life at the house when enough information about it has survived. Much attention is also paid to the composer’s wife Aino, without whom the major task of running the household could hardly have been successfully accomplished.
The book approaches Ainola from several different points of view. Ainola as it is today is presented both in words and, especially, in newly taken, high-quality photographs. Its developments over the decades – starting with the Sibelius family’s selection of Järvenpää as the location for their new home and the construction of Ainola – are explained, illustrated with a large archive of historical photos. Everyday life at Ainola is depicted in both words and pictures.
Ainola is one of Finland’s most remarkable cultural monuments. Internationally, too, it is unique because everything that we see there is original and genuine. Resolute endeavours have been made to preserve Ainola in precisely the condition that it was in when Aino Sibelius passed away in June 1969. The door to this world is now opened to readers of this new book about Ainola.
The authors of the texts in the book are the architect Severi Blomstedt, the researcher Julia Donner, Professor Esko Häkli and Professor Riitta Konttinen. The researcher Markku Hartikainen has served as special adviser to the project. The modern photos taken especially for this book are by the photographer Taneli Eskola. Many of the historical photos, too, are previously unpublished.