Picturesque Ironworks of Finland South Coast

Fiskars is the best known of a number of ironworks villages that were established in the early 17th century to the Pohja area. A crushing mill was established by the lower rapids in 1649, with a blastfurnace on the opposite bank. The founder of Fiskars ironworks was the Dutch businessman Peter Thorwöste, who was allowed by Queen Christina of Sweden to manufacture cast iron and forged products, with the exception of cannons.The Russian occupation of Finland (the Great Wrath) affected also Fiskars. Nearby was a center of Russian civilian and military administration, and in 1713 the ironworks at Fiskars and Antskog were plundered and wrecked by the Russians.The heyday in the history of Fiskars began in 1822 when it was bought by Johan Julin (1787-1853). Under Julin, work at the ironworks focused on refining iron. The ironworks and the village of Fiskars started to grow quickly. In 1850 there were about 500-600 employees and the total number of inhabitants was approximately 1400. Throughout the period from into the 1960s, Fiskars purchased several works and companies in the steel business. In the 20th century the industrial operations required more up-to-date facilities, production was moved to Billnäs.Today there are many workshops and boutiques providing Finnish handicrafts, arts and design thoughout the Fiskars village and visitors can spend time just wandering around in the beautiful ironworks area.

Strömfors Ironworks is one of the oldest in Finland. It was founded in 1695 by Johan Creuz. The ironworks was renamed to Strömfors in 1744, when A. Nohrström and J. Forsell acquired the site and business. They also expanded Strömfors by building a new forge and sawmill.In 1790, the iron works got a new manager, the 31-year-old Virginia af Forselles, who managed Strömfors Iron Works for almost 60 years. A large part of the well-kept environment and constructions currently on display at the iron works are from this period.The iron manufacturing ended in 1950 and sawmill business couple of years later. Now the Strömfors Ironworks area is a historically significant environment. In addition to the museums and handicrafts shops, the area has a restaurant and a café. All year long, visitors can stay at the Krouvinmäki inn, which is partly made of clay.

Fagervik ironworks, one of the oldest in Finland, was founded in 1646. The ironworks consisted of two iron forges and one blast furnace. The remarkable rococo-style manor was built in 1773 by Johan Hisinger. It’s located near the "King’s Way", a road from Turku to Vyborg. Both Gustav III (the king of Sweden) and Alexander I (the tzar of Russia) have stood overnight in Fagervik. The large baroque-style park with the Chinese pavilion surrounds the manor. It was built by Mikael Hisinger in the end of the 18th century.There’s also a privately owned church built in 1737 and several small labour’s houses near the ironworks. Fagervik is well-preserved and solid sample of the early industrial architecture in Finland. The Fagervik-Snappertuna area is defined as National Landscape Heritage.The ironworks, manor and museum with café is open to the public in summertime. Also guided walking tours are available for visitors.

Billnäs ironworks was founded in 1641 by Carl Billsten. It faced many difficulties during 17th and 18th century. Local peasants destroyed the ironworks already in 1659 because of too heavy taxation. During the Great Wrath Russians occupied and destroyed it again in the 18th century.Billnäs Ironworks moved to Hisinger family's possession in 1723. Bar hammer workshops with forges and waterwheels, and coal rooms were built to both sides of the rapids in Billnäs Ironworks. Johan Hisinger was especially active in building and developing the Ironworks’ operations. Billnäs manufactured many kind of forge products until 1920, when it was incorporated into Fiskars Corporation (the another ironworks site nearby).An industrial business ended in Billnäs in the end of the 20th century. Today it’s moved to the use of service industry. Various public events, concerts and exhibitions among others, are organized in the Billnäs Ironworks. In the long run, hotel- and restaurant operations are planned to the area as well as a full renovation of the valuable real estates. The ironworks area is today a well-preserved national heritage. The most valuable building is the great forge from the 17th century.

Mathildedal is one of the three Teijo area ironworks villages. It offers all the elements of an idyllic environment: Wooden houses painted with traditional red paint, buildings of the ironwork, history, culture, nature and of course the living village itself.

Teijo ironworks was established in 1686 to the lands of old Teijo manor by Lorentz Creutz. The industrial work ended in 1908, but today there still exists old buildings, restaurant and fascinating manor building and park. The manor is privately owned, but you can walk the road adjacent to it.

Teijo church on the hill near the manor is the smallest stone church in Finland. It was built in 1830.