The Pernaja Agricola Society was founded in 2005 to preserve the memory of Mikael Agricola, the founder of the Finnish written language and a reformer, and to organise a commemorative year to mark the 450th anniversary of Agricola’s death on 9 April 2007.
Pernaja Municipality prepared for its anniversary year in 2007 by setting up an Agricola working group, comprising librarian Jenny Olsson (now Korsu), Gustaf Antell, Anne Hovi, Kalevi Lappalainen, Tuovi Putkonen and Marjo Vuokko. It was decided to apply for funding for the anniversary year from the European Union and the association ‘Idässä itää’, but as the municipality could not act as the applicant, an association was formed, the Pernaja Agricola Society, the Agricola Society of Pernaja, with Tuovi Putkonen as chair. The association received generous grants from various sources.
During the anniversary year of 2007, the guided Agricola Trail was completed, along with five information boards about Agricola in the countryside around Pernaja church village, a brochure on Agricola, archaeological anniversary excavations, a DVD based on the play ‘Mikael’ written by Kai Nieminen, a performance of the play ‘Mikael’ in Pernaja Church, and a nationwide anniversary celebration on Twelfth Night, which included a mass from Agricola’s time and a village festival. The Agricola Museum was opened in the old vicarage in Pernaja, in premises rented by the parish, and dramatic guided tours as well as guided Agricola walks were organised for groups and tourists. In 2007, Mikael Agricola, the son of Pernaja, also received considerable attention in various media.
At the autumn meeting in 2007, there was a discussion as to whether the association still had grounds to continue its activities. Tuovi Putkonen was re-elected as chair, Marjo Vuokonen became vice-chair, Jenny Olsson agreed to serve as treasurer only until the final accounts for the Agricola project were drawn up, and similarly, Laura Tennberg served as secretary for only part of the year. The other board members were Mia Aitokari, Anne Hovi, Anni Karlsson, Barbro Gustafsson-Still and Görel Selander. In the years that followed, it proved impossible to find people willing to take on the roles of treasurer and secretary. However, the association organised a public celebration in the Agricola Hall on 30 December 2009 under the title “Kiitos ja näkemiin, Tack och adjö’ on 30 December 2009, when the municipality of Pernaja was incorporated into the town of Lovisa at the turn of the year 2009–2010.
Neither Pernaja nor, above all, Agricola had any influence on local decision-making in the new Lovisa. Nevertheless, the Agricola Society in Pernaja persevered and planned its activities with the aim of preserving the memory of Agricola and spreading knowledge of his life’s work in his home region, as well as organising lectures and cultural events. In 2013, the poet Kai Nieminen, who had been awarded the Agricola Prize for translation, was appointed chair; Tuovi Putkonen was elected vice-chair; and Marjo Vuokko, Kalevi Lappalainen and Elina Mieskolainen, as well as Mia Aitokari, Nina Björkman-Nysten, Matti Tompuri and Anni Karlsson, were elected as deputy members. The Society’s activities were given a new lease of life. Among other things, the town of Lovisa commissioned the Agricola Society to organise the annual Agricola celebration on 9 April, the anniversary of his death.
The Agricola Society celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2015. The society was very active and organised cultural events, concerts and, in collaboration with the parish, the church drama productions *Mikael* and *Taivaan Vallat*, as well as *Viimeinen matka*. The society was also responsible for the Reformation anniversary seminar in Höganås and organised grand St Michael’s Day celebrations on 29 September 2017. At the seminar ‘Agricola, Pernaja, Viipuri and Stockholm’, lectures were given by Finland’s leading Agricola scholars: Professors Markus Hiekkanen, Jyrki Knuutila, Kaarlo Arffman and Kaisa Häkkinen. The Agricola Museum was reopened on 10 July 2020 in Koskenkylä, in a former bank building, as no suitable premises could be found in the church village.
The Agricola Museum moved to the parish village of Pernaja when the Agricola Society rented a former school building from the town in August 2023 and purchased the property in 2024. The Agricola Museum gained new premises and the Society significantly expanded its activities by organising, amongst other things, concerts, lectures, events, exhibitions, Mikael’s herb garden and courses, as well as activities for children, at the Agricola House. The association will receive support from the EU’s Rural Development Fund during the years 2025–27 to develop the centre’s activities. In addition, the association has received support from a number of foundations and from the Finnish government / EVK.
The 2024 Annual General Meeting elected Robert Lemberg as Chair, and he will continue in this role throughout 2026. The association’s board consists of Mia Aitokari as Vice-Chair, Elina Mieskolainen as Secretary, Marjo Vuokko as Treasurer and Mona Fuhrer as a board member. The deputy members are Anni Kovanen, Hanna Hurtta, Mikko Idlax and Monica Wiik. The association has two part-time staff members, Pia Müller and Elina Mieskolainen, who are employed with funding from the EU-funded association Silmu. The Agricola House has established itself as a versatile cultural centre.
Tuovi Putkonen
