The Puijo tower is an

observation tower An observation tower is a structure used to view events from a long distance and to create a full 360 degree range of vision to conduct long distance observations. Observation towers are usually at least tall and are made from stone, iron, an ...

at the top of

Puijo Puijo is a hill, the famous landmark of city of Kuopio in Finland and a tourist attraction. It is located near the Puijonlaakso district. Puijo Ridge The ridge of Puijo is a well-known and popular recreation area. A observation tower, Puijo t ...

hill in

Kuopio Kuopio (, ) is a Finnish city and municipality located in the region of Northern Savonia. It has a population of , which makes it the most populous municipality in Finland. Along with Joensuu, Kuopio is one of the major urban, economic, and cult ...

, Eastern Finland. Opened in 1963, the tower is tall and has a

revolving restaurant A revolving restaurant or rotating restaurant is usually a tower restaurant eating space designed to rest atop a broad circular revolving platform that operates as a large turntable. The building remains stationary and the diners are carried on ...

with 100 seats. It was the first tower with a revolving restaurant in the

Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; literal translation, lit. 'the North') are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmar ...

. The restaurant was an inspiration to Erkki Lindfors, the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Tampere Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...

, who got the idea to build a similar one in his home town, resulting in the

Näsinneula tower Näsinneula (; ) is an observation tower in Tampere, Finland, overseeing Lake Näsijärvi. It was built in 1970–1971 and was designed by Pekka Ilveskoski. It is the tallest free-standing structure in Finland and at present the tallest observati ...

, which opened in 1971. The current Puijo tower has been visited by over 5.5 million tourists. The current tower is the third overall. When it was completed on 27 July 1963, the second one, built in 1906, was dismantled. The first tower was built in 1856. On the western side of the tower there are three ski jumping hills.

Gallery

File:Puijo2.jpg, The first Puijo tower, 1893 File:Old Puijo tower.jpeg, The second Puijo tower, built in 1900 File:Puijo 1963 adjusted.jpg, Both the second and third Puijo towers in 1963. The new tower had just been completed and the old was to be dismantled. File:Kuopio, Finland from Puijo tower.jpg, View of central Kuopio from the tower, 2003 File:Puijo (2008-06-11) All Hills (2).jpg, The ski jumping hills and Puijo tower, 2008 File:Puijon mäki.JPG, Puijo hill and the tower pictured from

Kallavesi Kallavesi is a medium-sized lake in Northern Savonia, eastern Finland located around the town of Kuopio. Combined with the lakes Suvasvesi, Juurusvesi–Akonvesi, Muuruvesi, Melavesi, and Riistavesi Kallavesi forms an lake system named Iso-Kall ...

lake, 2005

References

External links

*
Puijo Tower
– Official website (in Finnish, English and Russian) {{Kuopio Cityscape Towers completed in 1963 Observation towers in Finland Kuopio Towers with revolving restaurants Buildings and structures in North Savo Tourist attractions in North Savo