Herrainmäki, literally “Hill of the Lords”, is a very small, quite unknown park in the heart of Tampella and owned by Tampere City. As the highest and a very quiet spot in the city centre, it is the regural place for my early morning stroll. If you’re not an early bird, I recommend visiting Herrainmäki when it’s dark because it is one of the best places in the city centre to see the stars.
On Herrainmäki there are five great villas that represent different styles of architecture. They were built to accommodate the factory managers of Tampella, the largest company of its time in Tampere.
When the oldest villas were built, the surroundings of Herrainmäki were quite different; lake Näsijärvi offered great views from the windows, there were no other neighbours, and in the 1970s a busy road was built just by the hill. Things have changed quite a lot during the last two decades: the busy road has been put to Finland’s longest tunnel and nowadays Herrainmäki is quiet again, although surrounded by modern blocks of flats.
Herrainmäki is a nice place to stop to think about the history of Tampere. I like sitting on a picnic blanket on the grass under the noble deciduous trees and to admire lake Näsijärvi which can still be seen behind the brand new block of flats of Ranta-Tampella. And my favourite part is that there is a good chance of seeing wild rabbits and squirrels on the hill as well!
