Munkkivuori - History

History

Finland was suffering from a severe housing shortage in the postwar era. As a measure to solve the housing shortage various professional bodies and civic groups founded housing cooperatives to build new houses. Munkkivuori had housing cooperatives for war veterans, nurses, teachers, foresters and civil servants among others which launched the construction of Munkkivuori residential area in the late 1950s. Architect Olavi Terho got the responsibility for the land use planning of the area then known as "Pohjois-Munkkiniemi" ("North Munkkiniemi"). The name "Munkkivuori" was adopted when the plan of the site was confirmed. The elevated bedrock of the area was the basis for the name that is adapted from Munkkiniemi of which Munkkivuori ("vuori" is Finnish for mountain) is part of. The etymology of the name is analyzed in more detail in Munkkiniemi article.

Munkkivuori was built according to "forest city" philosophy that scatters the buildings sparsely within the plan of site leaving a lot of space and forest among the houses. Other neighbourhoods built according the same philosophy include Herttoniemi and Maunula in Helsinki and Iso-Heikkilä in Turku. The homogeneous communities that built the housing have since dwindled away but many long-term residents still live in Munkkivuori. It is not uncommon for the offspring of the first generation Munkkivuorineans to return to live in Munkkivuori after living elsewhere in between.