From village school to wilderness hostel — a building full of stories
Local resident Pekka Moilanen and his son have researched the meaning of the name Naruska.
The name Naruska derives from the Sami language: Njarbesjukka = flowing stream, Narraska. Narraska has evolved in the modern language into the form Naruska.
Tuntsajoki is also a Sami word, meaning dancing stream.
One incorrect interpretation has been Noruska, which is Russian — and since the letter O in Russian is pronounced A, it directly gives the word Naruska. In Russian fairy tales, Naruska is a mouse that goes into its burrow.
It was the year 1952 when construction of the Naruska school building began. The main building served as the village school until 1992, when the school was closed. At its peak, the school had just under fifty pupils. Naruska village had many permanent residents. The two border guard stations housed border guard personnel and their families, and there were enough children for a two-teacher school.
As the population declined, so did the number of schoolchildren. School consolidations began happening throughout Salla. The reduction in village schools was understandable, as at its peak Salla had as many as 41 schools.
The last village school in Salla closed its doors in 2013, meaning all primary-school-age children begin their schooling at the school centre in the Salla village centre.
The Santala family moved to the Naruska school property in 1995. For a couple of years we lived in the teachers' residence next to the main building. This fine 160-square-metre building proved after a couple of years of habitation to have been destroyed by mould damage. The water damage and resulting dry rot in the foundation had been caused by the municipality's tenant who had previously lived in one end of the house and who, by tradition, was in the habit of carelessly sloshing water onto the floors. The building ended up being demolished by burning on the orders of the health authorities, as the then-owner, the municipality of Salla, had no interest in repairing it. The local fire brigades handled this magnificent building's demise as a training exercise. Only the foundation remains. An outdoor fireplace with benches now stands on top of it.
The municipality sold the remaining buildings — the school building and the yard storage — to Ukka Santala. For a couple of years from 1998, Ukka Santala's eldest brother and his wife lived on the school property. After they moved away, Pirjo and Ukka Santala came with their family to live in the school property's small studio flat. The rest of the building serves as accommodation and service facilities for Naruskan Retkeilymaja.
On May Day 2023, the property welcomed a new owner couple when Irina and Paavo moved from the Helsinki region to continue keeping the house warm.
The forested plot covers 2.5 hectares. The nearest neighbours are just over half a kilometre away, and the Naruska main road passes the hostel at such a distance that traffic noise never disturbs life here.
The room layout of the school building is largely in its original 1952 configuration. Following the major renovation of 1981–82, the building is still in excellent structural condition. The biggest renovation under the current owner has been the sauna wing, which was completely rebuilt and extended in 1998–99. An even larger sauna wing renewal was carried out during the winter of 2019–2020.
The house is heated with wood, with the water central heating system run by a large, efficient Högfors boiler. Sixty to eighty cubic metres of firewood are burned each year to heat this thousand-cubic-metre building. The heating method is original and there are no plans to change it. An oil boiler now runs alongside the wood boiler, intended for temporary use only when nobody is around to stoke the fire.
The hostel continues to serve as a gathering place for villagers in the same way it did when the school was in operation. The village association, the fishing cooperative and the water cooperative hold their meetings in the building. The calendar so far has space for both the hostel's accommodation use and village activities, which are free of charge for local residents.
The area of Naruska and Pulkkaviita villages is a landscape of ridges and fells. The scenery differs from the rest of the Salla area due to its stark, ridge-and-fell character.
Climatically too, the Naruska–Pulkkaviita area stands apart because of its extreme temperature variations. In 1984 the area officially recorded Europe's lowest temperature: −50.4 °C. In 2000 an unofficial reading of −54.4 °C was measured.
The largest fells are Karhutunturi, Joutsitunturi and Sorsatunturi, which rise over 500 metres above sea level.
The dominant waterways of the area are the Naruskajoki, which flows into the Tenniöjoki. Smaller rivers such as the Suoltijoki and Sätsijoki drain into the Naruskajoki. The Tenniöjoki has its headwaters on the Finnish–Russian border, along which the national boundary runs. The largest lake in the area is Naruskajärvi, which is 2.5 km long and 800 metres wide. Saukkojärvi and Haltiajärvi form their own connected water system, connected via their rivers to the Naruskajoki.
Settlement in the area of Naruska and Pulkkaviita villages is known to date back to the Stone Age and early Metal Age, i.e. 7,500–500 years BC.
Ancient heritage sites documented by the National Board of Antiquities in the Naruska–Pulkkaviita area:
Reindeer hunting pits have been found at Koulus and Majavahaijusta. The pits date from the 1500s–1600s.
The most valuable ancient find in Salla was discovered in the village of Koija, now on the Russian side of the border. It is not known what caused a settler named Juho Koija to walk along a ridge slope in 1839 and dig at the base of a spruce. There he found a birch-bark roll containing a valuable silver and jewellery find. The find consisted mainly of English, Danish and Norwegian coins, buried in the ground sometime in the 1100s.
Going back a few hundred years from today, the Naruska and Pulkkaviita area was inhabited and controlled by the Forest Sami of Kola and Viena.
In the 1600s, the Sami had the right to live in Lapland. They had to pay tax for these rights. What made the situation in the parish of Kuolajärvi particularly unusual at the time was that tax had to be paid simultaneously to both the Swedes and the Russians. The tax was ten livres of dried pike for every person who had turned 17.
The place names of the area are a legacy of the Forest Sami. There are also likely influences from the Viena Sami. A few place names worth mentioning:
Right up until the 1800s, the present-day Naruska–Pulkkaviita area was an uninhabited wilderness inhabited and controlled by Forest Sami, who were pushed ever further north by so-called new settlers.
Old documents reveal that widow Karin Ollintytär Sam and Pekka Tuomaksenpoika Millo from Tenniöjärvi appeared in court in February 1733, when Matti Kallunki had without permission hunted and caught wild reindeer on their lands. Moreover, the Kallunkis had moved with their household and cattle onto their territory. They had also fished in the Kuolajoki without permission. For these reasons the Kallunkis had violated their old usufruct rights. Now he was planning to take all the meadows as well.
Kallunki explained that great hardship had forced him to these actions. He flatly denied the accusations regarding the meadows. The witnesses, however, spoke in favour of Sari and Millo.
The court found that Kallunki had caused the plaintiffs great harm. Kallunki was fined 40 marks and ordered to compensate the plaintiffs for damages and costs totalling six viol. Kallunki paid the compensation but served the fine with four pairs of lashes.
The boundary between the then Keminkylä and Kuolajärvi ran in the early 1700s through the Tenniöjoki to the Maltiojoki.
At the turn of the century, the main livelihoods in Salla were agriculture, forestry and reindeer herding. People lived mainly by subsistence farming, deriving their daily livelihood from farming and reindeer husbandry. Opportunities for additional income were limited.
It was only when various timber companies spread into the area that it became possible for many households to earn money. Forestry work became an important source of income for many families.
Logging and floating operations spread into the channels of the Naruskajoki and Tenniöjoki. Even the smallest tributaries were used for floating timber. The waterways were the determining factor in the spread of logging operations into the area at that time.
There was a shortage of local labour to run the logging operations. Labour had to be brought in from outside. As a result, many migrant workers arrived for procurement work. This served to enliven relations between the local population and the workers who came to the area. The logging work that had started was a welcome source of income for the local population as well. Forestry work was almost the only opportunity to earn money for the households.
Earning money was so important for many households that even reindeer work was left undone. The reindeer were left uncared for and "scattered into the forests".
Good hunting grounds and fishing waters brought people to settle along the Naruskajoki and Tenniöjoki. Many logging camps of that era were conveniently located along the Naruskajoki and Tenniöjoki. The camps also found use as family homes.
The first permanent settlers in the village of Naruska are generally considered to be Matti and Olga Tomper and their family, who had moved from the Kuolajärvi church village. He had in his time moved for work to Kuolajärvi, from where he made his way to Naruska, to a logging camp at the foot of the Saukko-ojansuun ridge on the west side of the river.
The year was probably 1918. Matti's wife Olga was from Aatsinki. Into that logging camp Matti brought Olga and their eight "wet children".
After living in the logging camp for a while, Matti and Olga moved with their family a good mile to the north, settling in a logging camp near the present-day house of Onkamon Erkki. The camp seems to have been located at the top of Pystökoski rapids. Jahvetti and Liisa Repo had moved into the camp slightly earlier.
Jahvetti handed over his dwelling to Matti and Olga. Jahvetti himself moved to the Naruskajoki riverbank, nearly three miles downstream to a camp at the lower end of the Kuutsisuvanto pool. The camp became known as "Repon kämppä" (Repo's cabin), a name the place still goes by today.
The third family to settle in the Naruska wilderness was Benjam Moilanen with his wife Selma in 1919 and, almost simultaneously — though a few months later — Juho and Iita Pulkkinen, who were the fourth settlers in the area.
Benja and Selma brought their family to a logging camp above the mouth of Saukko-oja, which they used as their home for a few years. Later they built their own house a couple of kilometres downstream at Saukkokangas.
Juho and Iita Pulkkinen moved with their family to Naruska in 1919. The house was built near where Onkamon Erkki's house stands today.
The fourth person to settle permanently in the Naruska wilderness was Kotala Antti in 1925, better known as Kota-Antti. His first dwelling was a kota (a traditional Sami tent). Perhaps it was from living in this kota that he got his nickname Kota-Antti. Work brought Antti to Naruska. His task was to serve as the watchman of the Naruska dam.
Later Antti brought his wife Kristiina. Together Antti and Kristiina chose Moivaissokka as their place of residence. Moivaissokka means "land of troubles" in Sami.
Onkamo Erkki and Liinu came to Naruska in 1925. They bought the house from Juho and Iita Pulkkinen. The agreed price for the house was a hunting rifle. The Pulkkisens moved in 1925 to the Tenniöjoki riverbank at Torassiolehtoo, next to a rapid called Liinahattu, where they built their own house.
Matti and Olga Tomper moved to the village of Särkelä in 1928.
Kotala Antti, Onkamo Erkki and Benjam Moilanen with their families remained as permanent residents of Naruska.
Livelihoods were earned in many different ways at that time. Hunting and fishing were what the household economy primarily depended on. Birds, elk and other game were hunted from the forest for food. Fish were caught from the river.
As people settled more permanently, cows were also brought into the households. Keeping cows diversified the food economy considerably. It could even bring additional income, when a few litres of milk, cheeses and meat could be sold outside the household.
When the border between Finland and Russia was "open", it offered the opportunity for trade with the Russian side.
Kota-Antti was a merchant. He obtained goods for sale from the Russian side, travelling as far as Juonni, Kantalahti and Näsö. The goods obtained for sale were flour, spirit, fabrics and the like — everything the Finns didn't have available. The trading trips across the wilderness to Russia were made mainly by reindeer. At the longest, a trading journey might last two to three weeks. Some of the goods bought in Russia were sold on as far as Norway.
The connection of the Koija villagers to Naruska had developed over the years through good natural meadows and logging camps. In summer, haymaking was done in the Naruska direction, and in winter there was an opportunity for paid work through the logging camps.
Every household had its own meadows. The people from Koija came together as far as Puolivälilampi, where the haymaking groups parted ways to their respective areas. The Niemelä family's meadows were in Sorakkakuru, below Nilitunturi and at Puolivälilammit; the Sipola family's at Kiekärövuotso and at the mouth of Käärmeoja. Along the Naruskajoki from the mouth of Kaitaoja upwards were first the meadows of Santeri Niemelä, then Matti Niemelä, then Veini Niemelä, and at the top on both sides of the river those of Anselmi Iivari.
When the Winter War broke out in 1939 and the Russians invaded Finland, the news did not reach the Naruska residents living deep in the wilderness. There had, however, been signs of a war breaking out even in the remote interior.
The suspicion that war had broken out was confirmed when a Russian reconnaissance plane flew over Benjam Moilanen's house. The sighting was certain when the plane's fuselage bore a clear red star.
Someone had to go and find out what the situation really was. Leevi Moilanen, then only a 17-year-old youth, was sent on the errand. He had to set out by reindeer across the wilderness to the then-border-stranded Salla church village.
When it was confirmed that the Winter War had truly broken out, Leevi had to return "post-haste" to Naruska. The round trip from Naruska to old Salla covered 70 km by reindeer in a single day.
The outbreak of war and its consequences fundamentally changed the development of Naruska village. Under the peace terms agreed with Russia, more than half of Salla municipality's area was lost. The population of the lost area had to be resettled.
People from the lost area, mainly from the village of Koija, moved to Naruska. A total of 14 households. From Koija village came the Sipolat, Iivarit, Niemelät and Salmelat families. From Vuorikylä came the Vuorelat.
After the war, Finland enacted a resettlement law particularly concerning the evacuees who had returned from the ceded territory. The resettlement law enabled intensive resettlement and associated agricultural and forestry development to benefit Naruska village as well.
In 1949 the draining of Varpuoiva began. The plan was to drain Varpuaapa into cultivable bog. Houses, cowsheds and barns were built, fields were cleared, roads were constructed, and faith in agriculture was strong throughout.
In July 1948 there were already 11 houses under construction along the Naruskajoki: Auno Sipola, Otto Sipola, Santeri Niemelä, Onni Salmela, Leunart Niemelä, Ennä Sipola, Anselmi Iivari, Vilho Iivari, Vihtori Vuorela, Vilho J. Iivari, Veikko Kokkare.
The Naruskajoki was used in summer as a transport route for goods. A rough cart track from Kotala did lead to the village.
In 1948 a proper motor road was already under construction to Naruska. The road was built 18 km to the house of Auno Sipola, from where it continued north as a cart track all the way to Kota-Antti. The road work was a state emergency relief project. The road-building base camp was kept at Repon kämppä.
In 1952 construction of the Naruska border guard station began.
In 1952, five veteran settlers' plots were established at Naruska and main building construction began. The plots went to Leevi Moilanen, Assari Turpeinen, Väinö Sarivuo, Leevi Elo and Johan Peuna.
In 1953 construction of the road north from Sipola began. The work team's base camp was a house called Louhelakki, known as the Salmela house. The decades-long logging camps of the Suoltijoki were about to open.
In August 1955 a telephone line was built from Kotalankylä to the Naruska border guard station.
In 1956 a road to the Naruska dam was completed.
In 1956 the concrete Naruska dam was built.
In January 1958 the Suoltijoki logging operation had 244 men, 14 women and 14 tractors on the payroll. There were probably nearly 70 horses.
In 1958 an unemployment register was officially opened in Salla because "part of the population was without work".
On 19 November 1958 construction of the Käärmeoja border guard station began as a public employment project.
In 1960 the Käärmeoja border guard station began operations (later renamed Karhutunturi).
In 1960 the Tuntsa forest fire.
In 1960 road construction began from the Naruska dam to Tuntsa. The road was completed to a driveable standard in 33 days, covering 33 km.
In 1961 the temporary Tuntsa border guard post began operations.
Regular bus service began from the Salla church village to Tuntsa when the "charcoal logging" operation started.
The bus ran daily for a few months all the way to Papulampi. The round trip over rough roads covered nearly 300 km.
The first residents of the Pulkkaviita settler plots were Eino Sulasalmi and Mauno Ylitalo. First, some kind of shelter had to be built for the family to sleep in and cook meals. The temporary dwelling was nothing special — planks knocked together, just good enough to manage until the new house was finished. The same went for the cowsheds. The cows had rough temporary shelters.
The main buildings of the plots were constructed in the following order:
At the same time as building the houses, fields had to be cleared, cowsheds built, and children raised. There was no shortage of work in those days.
On 18 November 1966 TV broadcasts began to be received in Naruska.
In July 1977 a terraced house was completed at the Karhutunturi border guard station.
The history compiled for the village plan by Pekka Moilanen, using original source material from his history of Naruska.