Ghastly picnic destinations: 5 places in Finland let down by their names
All around the world, forefathers in charge of naming places have on occasion let their morbid sense of humour flourish. Alternatively the job just really gets to you after a while.
Finland is no exception. Hell and murder appear to have been especially attractive and marketable concepts in the old days when examining the naming of certain places.
These are some of the most cheerful and inviting spots in the land of a thousand lakes.
Kuolema (Death)
Short and sweet. The name of this small village in Southern Ostrobothnia certainly gives a hefty impression.
Pieni-Helvetti (Small Hell)
The name gives off a vibe of training wheels for the real deal. This island in the Kallavesi lake in Kuopio has a surprisingly low annual mean temperature of 1°C. Learn more about the meaning of perkele and other related terms.
Kuolio (Necrosis)
This small village in Kuusamo was chosen to be the village of the year in 1993. It beat approximately 67 other villages in Kuusamo despite its arguably underdog position due to its name.
Murha-Kuukkeli (Murderous Siberian jay)
One can never be reminded too many times to not judge a book by its cover. Siberian jays are very innocent and cute looking birds. Like Pieni-Helvetti, Murha-Kuukkeli is also an island in the Kallavesi lake. This lake is rapidly approaching a personal prime spot for least desired holiday destination.
Despite these (un)inviting names, these Finnish destinations aren’t nowhere near as bad as they sound. Actually some are even quite lovely
Little Hell? Where’s big Hell? Helsinki? :) :)
let’s not forget my friend has been in Hell
Would have been better with Google Maps links to the actual places
You forgot “Ripulinjärvi” in the eastern Finnish province of Karelia at Kontiolahti.
Ripuli means diarrhea…
I wouldn’t take a swim in that lake :-)
You forgot “Ripulinjärvi” in the eastern Finnish province of Karelia close to Kontiolahti.
Ripuli means diarrhea…
I wouldn’t take a swim in that lake :-)
There’s also Saaranpaskantamasaari (An Island shat by Saara).
What about sodankylä: village of war!
Love to know what people thought coming up with these names. Perhaps they didn’t want people to go there.
Place you can bet you’ll never see in any tourist brochure :) :)
Story tells that when Finland was part of Sweden, there was a geographers from Sweden to find out place’s names travelling in every cranny and nook. They had to ask local people those place names and because they did not know much about Finnish language, those people were trolling them hard. In Finland there is many silly place names and that could be a story behind that.
Bet a thousand euros they’re not as bad as they sound