Who was Oleff Kinnunen?
From Savonia to Central-Finland
According to the legend Oleff Kinnuinen sold the Swedish king Gustav Vasa his farm in Rantasalmi and then bought wilderness areas in Kivijärvi and Kinnula where he then founded Niemi mansion in 1555. Historical books tell that Oleff Kinnunen paid tax more than three times the average of Sääksmäki district. He was one of the richest men in Häme. Kivijärvi was the wealthiest of the villages in the Viitasaari region in late 1500's, largely due to Oleff Kinnunen.
We don't know the exact origin of Oleff Kinnunen. Rantasalmi county comprised at this time a vast area of Savonia. However we can follow the tracks of Oleff Kinnunen on a map (refer to below). According to records Oleff Kinnunen was present in Rautalampi (1552, 1559, 1561-1562), Viitasaari, Ilmolahti (1554), Viitasaari, Suovanniemi, Suovanlahti (1561) and finally Kivijärvi, Kinnula, Savijärvi, Niemi (1565).
Click on the icons in the map for more information.
Oleff Kinnunen Memorial
The memorial is located in Kinnula, refer to map >>. Translation of the engraved text on the memorial:
"Oleff Kinnuinen sold the Swedish king Gustav Vaasa his farm in Rantasalmi and then bought wilderness areas in Kivijärvi and Kinnula where he then founded Niemi mansion in 1555"
