Iittala Glass Capital

The Iittala Glass Capital is a cozy destination for the whole family, less than a two hour’s drive from both Helsinki and Tampere. Within the grounds visitors will find the Iittala Glass Factory; the Iittala Glass Museum; an Iittala Outlet; an exhibition area where the works of native artists from the Hämeenlinna region are exhibited; the homemade chocolate factory, Kultasuklaa; Pottery House Anubis; and the Arts & Crafts Boutique Linnanrouva.

In the Iittala Glass Factory you can follow the production of all kinds of glass artefacts, as talented glassblowers create Aalto vases as well as Oiva Toikka birds from molten glass. The factory is nowadays part of the Fiskars Corporation.

The Iittala Glass Museum, forming part of the Finnish National Design Museum, presents the history of the glass factory. The museum building is an old barn of the Orvo Estate. It was opened as a museum in 1971. There are five different exhibitions in the museum. The largest of them is the basic exhibition that presents the glass history of Iittala, and displays internationally acclaimed glass art and prominent serial design products from the late 19th to the 21st century.

The small red cottage in the Glass Capital hides a sweet surprise since it is actually a chocolate factory where chocolate is made with the experience of over twenty-five years. The chocolate is hand-made using the best possible ingredients. Kultasuklaa produces elegant chocolate boxes, confectionery, and chocolate blocks, as well as organic raw chocolate.

In the heart of the Glass Capital in the Pottery House Anubis, the naïve artist Markku Mäki has a pottery house and store with a warm welcome. Anubis is the place to admire and buy naïve sculpture, high-fired ceramics, and Finnish hand-made knives.

In Arts & Crafts Boutique Linnanrouva you can find beautiful hand made gifts and selected home decor products and candles. If you are a d-i-y person you will be happy to find a nice selection of jewelry and crafts accessories for reasonable prices along with quality Drops yarns.