Näsin hautausmaa (Näse begravningsplats)

English translation (from the Finnish)

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Description

Näsi cemetery is one of the oldest cemeteries in the country established outside a town. It is also one of the most beautiful examples of cemetery culture in the country, with gravestones of artistic and cultural-historical value.

The cemetery, located on Näsinmäki west of the Porvoonjoki river, has protected oldest sections and retains a large number of family and household graves of prominent figures who influenced the economic and cultural life of Porvoo. The grave monument of national poet J.L. Runeberg (d. 1877) and his wife Fredrika, on a grave hewn into a rock mound, is an unadorned black granite obelisk decorated with a star and a lyre. The monument, financed by a public subscription, was unveiled in 1888. It was designed by architect Ferdinand Öhman and made by the stonecutting workshop of K.V. Bergman in Helsinki. The red granite monument erected on the grave of Eugen Schauman (d. 1904) in 1910 was designed by architect Valter Jung. The war heroes' graves from the recent wars feature a large cross designed by Lennart Segerstråle.

On the northwestern edge of the oldest part of the cemetery are the burial chapels belonging to the Jackarby, Stensböle, Boe and Drägsby manors, which bear witness to the rich gentry culture of the Porvoo area.

Next to Näsi cemetery is Näsi manor. Its main building, which resembles 18th-century manor architecture in its exterior and floor plan, probably dates from the 1830s, from the time of barrister and town councillor Johan Holm. In the manor's courtyard there is a residential building dating back to the 19th century, as well as outbuildings. To the north of the courtyard is a large erratic boulder made into a viewpoint, the so-called Näsi kivi.

Café and catering services have operated on Näsinmäki since the early 20th century, when Mrs Hanna Carenius opened a kiosk called Turisthyddan at the popular walking spot. The handsome building housing the Honkala (Furunäs) restaurant, extended on several occasions, dates in its oldest parts from the early 20th century.

History

The Näsi cemetery, shared by the town of Porvoo and the surrounding rural municipality, was consecrated for use in 1789. Previously bodies had been buried either inside the church or in the churchyard, but for hygiene reasons this practice was to be stopped in the early 1770s. Näsi cemetery was established on the site where a plague cemetery had previously operated.

The cemetery area has been extended several times, the first time in 1868. The granite and brick chapel, consecrated in 1907, was donated by commercial counsellor Johan Askolin and merchant Oskar Simolin in 1906. The plans for the chapel were drawn up by professor Gustaf Nyström. The chapel was renovated in 1932 and 1969.

Näsi, located alongside the cemetery, is mentioned in historical sources in 1421, and it appears, among other things, on a general map from 1652. The builder of the manor's present main building had received the manor as an inheritance in 1813.