Gravedigger Marko Ruuskanen carves bird houses

In his spare time, gravedigger Marko Ruuskanen carves birdhouses, which are miniature models of old buildings. They have become an attraction in Savonlinna.

Marko Ruuskanen at the edge of the Little Kakkonen park in Savonlinna. A birdhouse is attached to a tree, a scale model of the Kerttula sauna that used to stand on the same spot. Photo by Petteri Tuohinen / HS

A nest made of hay and moss falls to the ground from the birdhouse. Marko Ruuskanen from Savonlinna is doing spring cleaning of the birdhouses. Now a new resident can make his own nest in the box. And it’s not a bad nesting place either. In a park in Savonlinna, right on the shores of Lake Saimaa. And a nice-looking box it is, too. It’s a meticulous scale model of the villa-like public sauna, known as the Kerttula Sauna, which used to stand on the site.

The ornate miniature building is one of the bird’s-eye view toilets built by Ruuskanen to adorn Savonlinna’s cityscape. Ruuskanen, who works as a gravedigger, makes the bird boxes in his spare time. He has been building them for about 15 years. There are already dozens of Ruuskanen’s bird boxes in Savonlinna’s parks. They are meticulous reproductions of buildings in Savonlinna. Most of them depict historic buildings that no longer exist. “My heart tells me to make these. I like to give people good cheer and my good heart,” says Ruuskanen. “And they tell people about the cultural history of the city. What the city once was.”

Ruuskanen’s birdhouses are well-liked and well-known. They have become a tourist attraction in the city.

Savonlinna Tourism organises guided tours of the aviaries. A guide map has been compiled on the tourism website for self guided tours of the birdhouses. A book about Ruuskas and his birdhouses has also been published.

Source: HS – Photos: Petteri Tuohinen