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Founded: 1746Category: Industrial sites in Finland
Historical period: The Age of Enlightenment (Finland)
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In 1746 Brynolf Brunou was granted to establish an ironworks to the Juankoski rapids. Juankoski was in the periphery of Sweden borderlands with no roads or cities. Water routes were the only way to transport goods. Juankoski became the only ironworks in Finland which used only the bog iron to manufacture different kind of tools.
The heyday of Juankoski was between 1851 and 1900 when it was owned by Anastasia Ponomareva, a Russian aristocrat. In her time the manufacturing process became more efficient and better transport routes were built to ship products. The village around grown to 1,000 inhabitants. The iron manufacturing ended in 1915 when Juankoski was acquired by Kemi Oy and moved to carton mill.
The ironworks area is a well-preserved sample of the industrialism history in Finland. The oldest building is the empire-style mansion built in 1826. The blast furnace is today a museum exhibiting the life of the ironworks society. There are also a bakery, cafe and handicraft shops. Guided walking tours are available in summer season.
Duino Castle was built by the Wallsee family in 1389 on the cliffs overlooking the Gulf of Trieste. It replaced an older castle from the 11th century. Over time, the Wallsee family disappeared and the castle, after having been used as a prison, became the residence of the Luogar and Hofer.
At the end of the 19th century it became the property of Prince Alexander von Thurn und Taxis from the Czech branch of the House of Thurn and Taxis. It remains with the family to this day with his great-grandson Prince Carlo Alessandro della Torre e Tasso, Duke of Castel Duino the current owner. The castle has been opened to the public as a museum and park.