Suuri Rantatie (Stora Strandvägen)

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 Great Coastal Road, alongside the Hämeen Härkätie, is the most important historical land route in Finland. Among the best-preserved sections of the Great Coastal Road, built to connect Turku and Viipuri, the course of the medieval road across the coastal area of southern Finland can be readily traced. Much of the road that follows the coast, passing medieval churches, manors, harbour sites and ancient fortresses, is still in use.

Finland Proper

The Great Coastal Road originally ran from Turun linna to the Suurtori next to the cathedral, where the road continued as Karjakatu towards Uuttamaa. In Kaarina, in the area of Tuorla manor, the road alignment has been well preserved. Via the Rungo inn, the road curves to Piikkiö church and continues northeast through Makarla village. In Paimio, the road passes the Kampparla kylämäki and bypasses the Nakolinna ancient fortress before reaching the medieval church of Paimio. From there the road passes the Trömperi coaching inn towards the Halikonjoki and Uskelanjoki valleys and the medieval church of Halikko. The old bridge at Halikko is one of the museum bridges selected by Tiehallinto. In Salo, the road passes through the Uskela churchyard and heads south along the Perniönjoki.

Uusimaa

The Great Coastal Road bypasses the medieval church of Tenhola and continues towards Pohja church, where the Rantatie has had a connection to the sea. The road forms the Billnäs ruukinraitti. In the built-up area of Karjaa, the Great Coastal Road branches into the so-called Ylempi maantie and Alempi maantie routes, which rejoin at Sunnanvik in Siuntio. The northern route of the Ylempi maantie runs along the Lohjanharju ridge into the Siuntio river valley. The so-called Alempi maantie, leading to Raasepori linna, runs through the Snappertunanjoki valley in Inkoo. Fagervikintie is a museum road selected by Tiehallinto. Once the roads have joined, the route heads to Pikkala in Siuntio, where there has also been a connection to the sea. As it passes through Kirkkonummi, Espoo and Vantaa, the road bypasses the medieval churches of those parishes. In the area of Espoonkartano, the Mankinjoki is crossed by a stone vault bridge from the 1770s, which is also a museum bridge. The road passes Träskända manor and, in Vantaa, the cultural landscape of Hämeenkylä manor, Vantaanlaakso and Backas, as well as the church village of Helsingin pitäjä.

Kymenlaakso

In Sipoo, the Rantatie bypasses the Myras coaching inn site on its way to the parish churches. At the Porvoo boundary, beside the road, stands the erratic boulder and boundary stone Götstene. In Porvoo, the Rantatie passes, among others, the old inn of Yli-Vekkoski village. The road climbs to the medieval church, continues from the church square via Kaupunginha to Postimäki, and, where it has survived, crosses the forest area on the boundary between Porvoo and Pernaja. In Pernaja, the road continues to the Vanhakylä cultivation clearing, and at Koskenkylä ironworks it forms part of the ruukinraitti. After bypassing the medieval church of Pernaja, the road continues towards Degerby, that is, the present-day town of Loviisa. In the Garnisoni district, the Rosen and Ungern bastions were built to protect the road. In the Tesjoki valley in Ruotsinpyhtää, the Rantatie passes through the courtyard of Holmgård manor, which lies on an island in the river and once served as a post station. The western stone vault bridge has survived. The sandy road section between Holmgård and Myllykylä winds through terrain marked by red stones. At Vähä-Ahvenkoski, the road crossed the Kymijoki via Kirmusaari island, where, after the power plant dam raised the water level, some road sections were submerged. The present crossing point over the Kymijoki is the Savukoski reinforced concrete bridge. The bridge has been selected as a museum bridge and is open only to light traffic.

At the junction of the Rantatie and the Pyhtäänhaara of the Kymijoki stands the medieval church of Pyhtää. Past the church, the Rantatie continues as an unpaved forest track and further east along the course of the Länsi- ja Siltakylä streams. At Kyminlinna in Kotka, the road now visible was formed after the fortification works of 1790-1810. The Rantatie continues northeast to Korkeakoski and through the village of Saksala, on the Nummenjoki of the Kymijoki, to the village of Neuvottoma in Hamina. The old road branches off from the new main road before Summa manor and becomes a gravel-surfaced road section about 1,5 kilometres long. The two-vaulted stone bridge over the Salmenvirta in Hamina belongs to the Tielaitos museum bridge selection. Within the fortress town, the road runs from Lappeenrannanportti to Viipurinportti. The 35-kilometre section of the Suuri Rantatie between Tallimäki in Hamina and Virojoki in Virolahti has been selected as a museum road. Its alignment still follows, with its hills and bends, the line shown on maps from the 18th century. At Ravijoki, the road alignment crosses the Salpalinja fortifications and passes the Pyterlahti stone quarries.

History

The Suuri Rantatie, linking Turku and Viipuri, the principal administrative and fortress centres of Finland, is thought to have developed alongside the sea route following the coast of Finland as early as the 14th century. The most important villages and defensive fortifications were located along river mouths and valleys, so the line of the road was formed by passing from one village and church to the next.

From the Middle Ages onwards, an ordinance of 1649 regulated the coaching inns that provided lodging, refreshment and transport to those travelling on the road. In the same connection, the erection of milestones was ordered for the first time. Following Finland's first regular postal route, established in 1638, the Suuri Rantatie became a significant part of the postal route between Stockholm, the Baltic region and Russia, which in the 18th century developed into the most important land connection in the Nordic countries. The importance of the Rantatie as a channel for traffic and communication declined in the 19th century, when new inventions (steamships, the telegraph and the railway) offered new alternatives.

Responsibility for maintaining road sections and bridges rested for a long time with landowning peasants. The construction of bridges passed under the supervision of the Yli-intendentinvirasto in Tukholma in 1776. The state took responsibility for building public roads in 1918. The alignment of the roads was straightened at different times as traffic grew and means of transport developed; the oldest known straightenings were made at the end of the 18th century and from the middle of the 19th century onwards. Motorisation increased the straightening and widening of roads, and most well-preserved sections of the Ranatatien were left out of traffic in the road improvements of the 1920s and 1930s. Parts of the Suuri Rantatie have also been left under new roads and buildings, as well as under built-up area and urban construction.