Päijälän raittikylä

English translation (from the Finnish)

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Description

The traditional structure of the Päijälä raittikylä, closely lining the roadside, is well preserved.

North of Ala-Karkjärvi, along the old nelostie, the raittikylä consists of farmyards inhabited by merchants, craftsmen and farmers, arranged along the line of the village road. Of the densely built village, some thirty buildings still survive today, the oldest of which date from the 19th century. The building stock is best preserved at the Nuutti, Muistola, Kanerva and Kotila farms.

History

Päijälä is mentioned as early as the Middle Ages, and in the 1539 land register the village had seven savu; of the farms, Hukki, also known as Knihtilä, was the largest. By 1698, the parent farms (kantatalot) of Hukki, Kopola, Kuttila, Juntteri, Teppinen, Korola, Leisala, Muurahainen, Hyrkkälä and Sorkkala had been formed in Päijälä. Through the village ran the western Päijänne road, which had medieval origins.

When the isojako of 1841 established private land ownership near the Kuhmoinen church village, the farms began to sell plots, and as these were built on, a dense village arose along the Päijälä road. The main buildings were built lining the raitti. The first shops were established after land trade was freed following the mid-19th century, and by the early 20th century there were already several shops along the Päijälä raitti. The last shop in Päijälä closed its doors in the 1970s. A new road alignment bypassed the raitti centre in the 1980s.