Practicalities

I visited this site on a Sunday in May 2025 using public transportation. Besides the Tuesday and Thursday bus services,  Bus Line 15 connects Kouvola central station to Verla, departing at 8:48 and returning from Verla at 17:24. This line runs only on Saturdays and Sundays, and you can purchase tickets or check timetables using the local public transportation app, Waltti. If you're coming from Helsinki, there’s an InterCity train that leaves at 06:54 and arrives in Kouvola at 08:19, making a day trip from the capital feasible, but definitely best suited for early birds.

Access to the interior of the mill and the drying loft is only possible through a guided tour. The rules for photography seem to have changed: photos are now allowed, but video filming during the tour is still prohibited. For non-Finnish speakers like myself, an audio guide is available and runs alongside the tour. You follow the group and manually play the corresponding English recordings by pressing number codes (although I didn’t notice any number labels onsite, it’s easy enough to figure out by observing the machines and the tour flow). That said, the audio guide experience is naturally less engaging than being guided directly by a human. Also worth noting: the owner’s manor is currently under restoration and is expected to reopen in summer 2026.

 

Impressions

Because of the long wait between the tour and the afternoon bus, I had an unusually generous amount of time to explore. For the first time in my experience visiting UNESCO sites, I managed to read nearly every single information board, and even browsed their official website, which is also informative and well-designed. The exhibition felt impressively thorough. Despite the site’s small scale, it seems the curators have left no stone unturned. They’ve explored every aspect of the factory: manufacturing techniques, architectural features, workers’ daily lives, tools, and the factory owners’ history. I still don’t know how I ended up learning so much about a Finnish cardboard factory.

The factory interior also left a sensory impression. The lingering scent, a strong mix of wood and old machine oil, offered a vivid reminder of the site’s industrial past.

In an exhibition held in the bale storage warehouse, I spotted a modern chair (bottom left in the picture) made from a biomaterial developed by Verla’s parent company. It offered an interesting contrast to the traditional pulp industry, showing how cellulose, once used for simple cardboard, now finds its way into contemporary design.

With time to spare, I wandered beyond the museum area. The surrounding landscape is idyllic: quiet river waters, fresh forest edges, and the constant background of birdsong. I imagine swimming in the river would be a great experience in July (though in May, the water was still pretty chilly). There’s even a proper grill rack by the riverbank, perfect for a picnic if you come prepared.

In addition, there’s a 2-kilometer forest hiking trail that loops through the nearby woodland. Along the way, an audio guide introduces Finnish commercial forest management and local biodiversity, making it a meaningful extension of the heritage experience—if you have the extra time, like I did. I spent about 50 minutes on the trail and tried to answer the "Forest Guru quiz" based on the audio and ChatGPT. It’s a kind-of fun way to engage more deeply with the landscape and the broader context behind this forestry industrial site.