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Verla

Verla is a village in the municipality of Kouvola, in the Kymenlaakso region of southern Finland. It is best known for the Verla Groundwood and Board Mill, a late-19th-century industrial complex that has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The mill was established in 1896 by a local industrial company to process wood into groundwood pulp

The plant operated for several decades before ceasing operations in 1964. After closure, the complex was preserved

In 1996, UNESCO inscribed the Verla Groundwood and Board Mill as a World Heritage Site, highlighting its

Today, Verla functions as a protected heritage site and museum complex. Parts of the site are open

and
later
into
board
products,
using
water
power
drawn
from
a
nearby
watercourse.
The
site
comprises
the
main
mill
building,
a
power
plant,
and
workers’
housing
and
facilities,
illustrating
the
organization
and
scale
of
Finland’s
early
wood-processing
industry.
as
an
example
of
industrial
heritage,
with
its
machinery
and
layout
largely
intact.
exceptional
preservation
and
its
representation
of
the
Finnish
pulp
and
paper
sector
at
the
turn
of
the
20th
century.
to
visitors,
with
exhibitions
on
the
history
of
the
Finnish
wood-processing
industry
and
the
daily
life
of
mill
workers.
It
remains
an
important
reference
point
in
studies
of
industrial
design
and
heritage
conservation
in
Finland.