The archipelago of the northern part of Lake Ladoga interests Finnish environmental activists and environmental officials for many reasons.
The islands are a unique habitat in many respects. Nowhere in Europe has a similar lake archipelago been left so free of construction.
The area has dozens of plant and fish species. Most of the nearly 5,000 Ladoga Seals, which are relatives of the Saimaa Ringed Seal, live in the northern part of the lake.
The archipelago is also a very important cultural landscape. Agriculture has been practiced in the area for at least 1,000 years, and the area has been kept open since then.
Finns cultivated the fields on the islands until the Second World War.
The ruins of old Finnish farmhouses can be still seen on the edges of the meadows.
During the Soviet period, the cows of the Soviet state farms prevented the islands from being over grown by brush. After a brief pause, grass on the meadows has been cut again, and taken to the mainland.
The islands also contain ancient castles and quarries which have been used for the needs of St. Petersburg.
The Finnish Environment Institute has mapped out the cultural landscape of the islands.
At the end of the 19th century and in the early 20th century many Finnish artists travelled to the islands of the north of Lake Ladoga to seek inspiration from the landscape.
Helsingin Sanomat - first published in print 10.8.2005
