Rantasipi – Tales from the World of Wilderness Hotels

In the 1960s and 1970s, modern holiday and conference hotels sprang up across Finland, complete with dance restaurants, sauna facilities, and rental cottages. These hotels were designed by architects, and Finnish materials and design played a prominent role in both construction and interiors. The hotels were typically located in scenic countryside settings or on the outskirts of cities. Due to their remote locations, they soon earned the nickname “wilderness hotels”.

Rantaloma is Born in Viitasaari
Rantaloma, later known as Rantasipi Oy, was founded in Viitasaari in 1965. The company’s core idea was to develop tourism in Central Finland by offering high-quality holiday accommodation in the heart of the region’s natural landscapes, particularly targeting the Central European travel market. The company’s origins were influenced by the proactive tourism development efforts initiated by the Regional Council of Central Finland as early as the 1950s, aiming to highlight the region’s tourism potential. By the 1960s, when the economic significance of tourism was increasingly recognised at a national level, Central Finland swiftly took action.

Sipi sipi… fly on the wing!
This exhibition tells the story of Rantasipi in Central Finland and its journey to becoming the country’s second-largest hotel chain—sometimes in brief glimpses, at other times with a touch of embellishment. The exhibition takes visitors on a time-travelling journey through the hotels and holiday villages of the 1960s and 1970s, focusing especially on the company’s Central Finnish locations in Viitasaari, Joutsa, Saarijärvi, and Jyväskylä. At the same time, it offers a unique perspective on Finnish tourism history through the distinctive lens of Rantasipi.

Exhibition inquiries:
Curator Johanna Rekonen
Museum of Central Finland
johanna.rekonen@jyvaskyla.fi
+358 50 313 9743