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.
The origins of Mathildedal ironworks go back to 1686. Mr Lorenz Creutz from Teijo was granted a right to build a forgery in Hummeldal.
In 1825 Mr Robert Bremer discovered ironstone in the ground starting the glory days for Hummeldal factory and the whole area. His son Viktor Zebor Bremer continued running the ironworks after him.
The last ironworks factory was established in Hummeldal in 1852 by Viktor Zebor Bremer and he renamed the village to Mathildedal after his wife Mathilda. The whole environment represents a typical 19th century ironworks milieu. And today the remaining buildings serve as a centre for cultural tourism.
The naturally beautiful area is the gateway to Archipelago. We offer a variety of occasions and services thoughout the year. The high class meeting and festival service guarantees a successful day with its cosy meeting room, tasty food and additional activities. For culture enthusiasts we have an exhibition of the old ironworks, guided tours, open air summer theater, concerts, art exhibitions and other events.
The colourful café Kyläkonttori & Puoti and the restaurant Ruukin Krouvi serve tasty delicacies for food lovers. Ruukin Kehräämö & Puoti is a lifestyle boutique specializing in knitted alpaca wool clothing. In Huldan Puoti you can make great findings among vintage and antiques.
Old factory buildings, friendly service and the park-like surroundings near the sea offer experiences, harmony and rugged beauty for all senses.
References:
Easter Aquhorthies stone circle, located near Inverurie, is one of the best-preserved examples of a recumbent stone circle, and one of the few that still have their full complement of stones. It consists of a ring of nine stones, eight of which are grey granite and one red jasper. Two more grey granite stones flank a recumbent of red granite flecked with crystals and lines of quartz. The circle is particularly notable for its builders' use of polychromy in the stones, with the reddish ones situated on the SSW side and the grey ones opposite.
The placename Aquhorthies derives from a Scottish Gaelic word meaning 'field of prayer', and may indicate a 'long continuity of sanctity' between the Stone or Bronze Age circle builders and their much later Gaelic successors millennia later. The circle's surroundings were landscaped in the late 19th century, and it sits within a small fenced and walled enclosure. A stone dyke, known as a roundel, was built around the circle some time between 1847 and 1866–7.