Kaarnavuori overhanging cliff

The Kaarnavuori escarpment, which rises about 45 m above the lake, is formed where two rocky outcrops intersect at 110° and 20°. As a more intact part of the surrounding bedrock, Kaarnavuori has acquired its castle-like shape as repeated glaciations have eroded the more fractured rocky areas into deep valleys.

A special feature of Kaarnavuori is the largest rock cave in Finland, measuring about 6x10 metres, at the top of the cliff. The lip was formed by the collapse of the underlying rock mass due to the erosion of the rock by waves and ice, among other things, when the water level of ancient Lake Saimaa was higher. According to one story, there is a door under the lip that leads to the home of a giant inside the rock.

Home of the giants

The beautiful Luonteri lake has a steep cliff called Kaarnavuori. The story tells that a giant and his family lived in Kaarnavuori before people settled in the area. The giants’ home was inside a rock and there was a door under a big rock ledge. The giant had painted door with tar and some of the tar still stands out from the rock surface today. Unfortunately, the giants moved away when the first human settlers arrived around Mikkeli and the rock home was left empty. Nobody knows exactly what the inside of the rock looks like, because there is no magic to open the giant’s door. (Kejonen, Aimo (2008). Kansantarinat, Karttakeskus, p. 69)