In Kihniänkylä, people chat and enjoy treats together

Two women are inside a tent selling raffle tickets.
Active members of the Kihniänkylä youth association sell raffle tickets at the Peräseinäjoki market.

Kihniänkylä means peace, safety and closeness to nature for Susanna Kangasniemi.

– There’s room here to be yourself and to pursue your own things. The village offers opportunities and facilities for, for example, keeping horses. Many also enjoy hunting, an active member of the Kihniänkylä youth association describes.

Traditional Father’s Day and Mother’s Day lunches are enjoyed together

The village hub is the Sampola youth association, whose activities Susanna also takes part in.

– It’s very community-oriented. Through the youth association you get to know people who live in the village and their strengths. There you can genuinely influence matters concerning the village.

Shared activities also bring broader benefits. At traditional Father’s Day and Mother’s Day lunches people enjoy good food together, and in the chit-chat circle they talk about the past and the future. On the banks of the Kihniänjoki you can enjoy the recently completed village house with saunas.

It is a richness that people of all ages take part in the activities and everyone is united by the same passion.

– A desire to work together, helping each other and learning from one another, so that living in the countryside remains possible in the future.

Looking ahead, Susanna hints at hopes for a cycle path and countryside-suitable businesses, such as a riding school, and also new residents.

– It’s the villagers’ shared wish.

A red old wooden house with a large yellow entrance porch.
Kihniänkylä youth association

Susanna’s tips for Kihniänkylä:

  • The village lane lined with beautiful, well-maintained traditional Ostrobothnian cottages is a sight.
  • The illuminated fitness trail has truly wonderful forest scenery and a large kota (hut) built by the youth association, which serves even in cold weather.
  • On the fitness trail there’s an opportunity to delve into history, as Hiiroonkallio is located in the terrain and exercisers can learn about it at the end of the trail. Did you know, for example, that the foundation of Peräseinäjoki Church originates from that rock?