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Founded: 1703Category: Industrial sites in Finland
Historical period: Swedish Empire (Finland)
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The ironworks in Kimo was founded by Petter Heijke in 1703. Petter Heijke chose the place because there was an enough deep harbour in Oravainen, waterpower and wood for making charcoal. The ore was brought from Utö in the southern Baltic sea and from Herräng mines in Roslagen. In Kimo it was forged into iron-pigs. The iron-pigs were then tranported further up the river to the forges in Kimo where it was refined into iron-bars.
Kimo was acquired by captain Lars Magnus Björkman in 1818. He renewed ironworks strongly and built for example a lighthouse to the Stubben island. Iron manufacturing ended in 1890s and the factory site started textile business. The heyday of textile manufacturing in Oravainen was in 1920s-1930s.
The original ironworks site and buildings are well-preserved. Today the Kimo Ironworks includes three hammersmith´s workshops: the Lower Mill, the Middle Mill and the Upper Mill. The Lower Mill is the centre of the museum exhibiting the the iron manufacturing. The museum and art gallery are open on order or when there are events arranged on the site. There are also a café and restaurant. Several events are arranged in the ironworks area during the summer season.
Stavanger Cathedral is Norway's oldest cathedral. Bishop Reinald, who may have come from Winchester, is said to have started construction of the Cathedral around 1100. It was finished around 1150, and the city of Stavanger counts 1125 as its year of foundation. The Cathedral was consecrated to Swithin as its patron saint. Saint Swithun was an early Bishop of Winchester and subsequently patron saint of Winchester Cathedral. Stavanger was ravaged by fire in 1272, and the Cathedral suffered heavy damage. It was rebuilt under bishop Arne, and the Romanesque Cathedral was enlarged in the Gothic style.
In 1682, king Christian V decided to move Stavanger's episcopal seat to Kristiansand. However, on Stavanger's 800th anniversary in 1925, king Haakon VII instated Jacob Christian Petersen as Stavanger's first bishop in nearly 250 years.During a renovation in the 1860s, the Cathedral's exterior and interior was considerably altered. The stone walls were plastered, and the Cathedral lost much of its medieval looks. A major restoration led by Gerhard Fischer in 1939-1964 partly reversed those changes. The latest major restoration of the Cathedral was conducted in 1999. Andrew Lawrenceson Smith is famous for his works here.