Oy Forcit Ab:n tehdasalue (Oy Forcit Ab:s fabriksområde)

English translation (from the Finnish)

The text above is the record as published by the Finnish Heritage Agency (Museovirasto), in Finnish. The English below is a machine translation made by TreeAlive, not by the Finnish Heritage Agency (Museovirasto); it has not been checked by a person. Where the two differ, the original is the record. Report a translation error: privacy@treealive.com

Description

The industrial area of Oy Forcit Ab is connected with the early industrial history of Hanko and is significant for the development of the Finnish explosives industry.

The explosives factory is situated on the north shore of the Hankoniemi peninsula, about 7 km north of the town, in a sparsely populated area along good railway connections, near the harbours of Hanko and Lappohja. The so-called dynamiittivaihde branches from the Hanko-Hyvinkää line to the factory area.

The factory's production area is divided into three main parts. The office, laboratory and other buildings form their own group. The production line consists of three successive rows of buildings parallel to the shore, whose building stock dates from the 1920s and 1930s. Slightly apart lies the storage area. Most production and storage buildings are protected by earth ramparts and placed as small units separated from one another. Most of the buildings are built of Tvärminne sand-lime brick, which gives the area a distinctive and unified appearance.

The factory's landmark is the raised tower of the office building at the end of the straight road leading to the factory area. It was formerly used as a water tower but has since been converted entirely into office space. The factory's storage area lies to the north-northeast of the production lines, and its buildings are dispersed and protected by earth ramparts. Most storage buildings are low, gable-roofed, timber-framed and horizontally clad.

The factory's residential areas were built on the Björknäs and Furunäs promontories. The residential building erected in 1883 at the tip of Björknäs now serves as accommodation for the factory's guests, and the private villa of the factory director, built in 1902 at the tip of the Furunäs promontory, is owned by the factory. Along the road leading from the factory to Furunäs there are residential buildings from 1898 and 1902, as well as sand-lime brick houses from the 1930s. On the other side of the road is the factory fire station, built of sand-lime brick and completed in 1939.

History

After Alfred Nobel developed dynamite and detonators in the 1860s, industrial production in this field also began to be planned in Finland. In 1893 Suomen Forsiitti Dynamiitti Osakeyhtiö, Finska Forcit Dynamit Aktiebolaget, was founded under the direction of the Belgian Compagnie de la Forcit Dynamit. The choice of the factory's location was influenced by safety factors and transport connections.

Expansion of the factory began in 1920 and continued until the late 1930s. The majority of the buildings were built of Tvärminne sand-lime brick. In the 1920s workshops, a power station and production buildings were built, and also workers' residential areas on the Björknäs and Furunäs promontories for the increased staff. In the 1930s new production buildings were built, and by the outbreak of the Winter War the number of storehouses had risen to thirteen. The office and machine-shop building, whose tower was raised to form a water tower, was built in 1938-1939.

In 1940-1941 Soviet personnel used the area for military accommodation.