Finlayson, Tampere, Finland - SpottingHistory.com

Finlayson ironworks and metallurgy factory was established in 1820 by the Scottish industrialist James Finlayson when he was noticed the energy potential of the free rapids in Tampere. Machine business was not very profitable and Finlayson started to manufacture and weave cotton yarn and textiles. James Finlayson sold the factory to Carl Samuel Nottbeck and Georg Rauch already in 1836. Oldest still existing building, "Kuusvooninkinen" or the "Old Factory", was completed in 1837. It was the first modern industrial building in Finland including for example an automatic sprinkler system.

Finlayson factory extended quickly. In the 1850s it was already the largest factory site Nordic countries. In 1900 Finlayson had nearly 3300 employees and it was a “town inside the town”. Finlayson had its own church, school, ships and electric railway. First electric light in Finland was also turned on in a building called Plevna (1882). Nottbeck family built two magnificent palaces near the factory area.

During the Finnish Civil War in 1918 Tampere was the center of red army. Poor living conditions turned Finlayson and near Tampella factory labour to support the socialism and many of them were joined to red guards. Heavy battles were fought in the factory area and city centre. Plenty of Finlayson workers were died in battles of executed when the white army conquered Tampere.

Finlayson textile business was downsized seriously since the 1980s and manufacturing ended in Tampere in the beginning of the 1990s. Today there are museums, offices, movie theater and shopping centre in old factory buildings. The rapids together with old red-brick factory buildings make the area one of Finland's national heritage landscapes.

Risto (SpottingHistory admin) said 8 years ago

Thanks Mari, very good clarification. I updated the description.

Mari from Switzerland said 8 years ago

In your article you mention that James Finlayson is English industrialist, however, I need to correct that he is Scottish.

User Reviews

Heroify! (4 months ago)
Beautiful old factory area right at the city centre. Features many shops, restaurants and a brew house. Great place to walk and explore, and you can get an awesome view of the city at the rooftop bar. Best of it all is a swimming spot behind the factory where you can safely dip into the Tammer rapids.

Harri Kirjonen (9 months ago)
Bunch of good restaurants in a very nice milieu.

Sami Pentti (11 months ago)
Its beautiful and romantic place. Especially nice looking during the summer. Also has a nice working class vibe to it.

Konsta Haapaniemi (11 months ago)
It is a very traditional place, considering that the city of Tanpere has gone through some very large-scale building phase. Finlayson is a very nice part of the city, if you want to see some nice factory buildings.

Petri Vahtera (11 months ago)
Everyone visiting Tampere should go and see this area. Great industrial history, interesting museums and restaurants, cafes and bars.

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The Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius is a world famous spiritual centre of the Russian Orthodox Church and a popular site of pilgrimage and tourism. It is the most important working Russian monastery and a residence of the Patriarch. This religious and military complex represents an epitome of the growth of Russian architecture and contains some of that architecture’s finest expressions. It exerted a profound influence on architecture in Russia and other parts of Eastern Europe.

The Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, was founded in 1337 by the monk Sergius of Radonezh. Sergius achieved great prestige as the spiritual adviser of Dmitri Donskoi, Great Prince of Moscow, who received his blessing to the battle of Kulikov of 1380. The monastery started as a little wooden church on Makovets Hill, and then developed and grew stronger through the ages.

Over the centuries a unique ensemble of more than 50 buildings and constructions of different dates were established. The whole complex was erected according to the architectural concept of the main church, the Trinity Cathedral (1422), where the relics of St. Sergius may be seen.

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In 1993, the Trinity Lavra was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

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