Historiallinen Sääksmäki

English translation (from the Finnish)

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Description

Sääksmäki is one of the most important ancient parishes of Central Tavastia, and the Rapola ancient fortress in Sääksmäki once controlled some of Tavastia's most important waterways. Settlement and farming have continued on the southern slope of Rapolanharju since the Iron Age.

The Vanajavesi water system divides Sääksmäki geographically into three parts: Kirkonpuoli, Saarioispuoli and Pohjois-Sääksmäki. From the top of Rapolanharju there is a view of a highly representative cultural landscape, in which individual features stand out: Sääksmäki church, the Voipaala and Rapola manors, the village of Huittula on the southern side of Rapolanharju, and the surrounding fields and water areas.

Rapola Castle on the crest of Rapolanharju is the largest prehistoric fortification in the country. To the west and north-west of Linnavuori there is an extensive Iron Age cemetery area. The medieval church, which testifies to the continuity of the settlement that grew around the Rapola ancient fortress in prehistoric times, is a visually integral part of the area's cultural environment. The church follows the basic type of medieval church. On the north side, however, instead of a sacristy there is a 19th-century extension, and on the south side there is an extension from the 1930s that follows the form of an asehuone.

The large cross-shaped recess that forms the brick decoration of the church's east gable recurs on the west gable, and the associated round and band recesses also have painted decoration. The nave is covered by a pointed-arched concrete vault which, together with its decorative paintings, has formed part of the fixed interior since the early 1930s. The stone lower part of the bell tower in the churchyard belongs to a bell tower already on the site in the latter half of the 18th century. The present form, in which the upper part of the tower is of concrete, is the work of architect Kauno S. Kallio. He also designed the mortuary cellar building on the north-west side of the stone wall.

The Rapola and Voipaala manors are situated at the foot of Rapolanharju. In the Rapola manor yard, in addition to the main building dating from 1813, there is a pirttirakennus, a long stone cowshed and an old aittarakennus. The English-style park dates from the mid-19th century. An idyllic tree-lined avenue leads to Voipaala manor, which is located on the southern slope of Rapolanharju. Voipaala's present Art Nouveau main building, designed by Heikki Tiitola, dates from 1912, but the grouping of the buildings and the geometric Baroque garden on the slope go back to the late 18th century.

Huittula village, with its buildings on the southern slope of Rapolanharju, is one of the best-preserved Tavastian villages. The buildings are situated at the edge of the cultivated area, and an old village road runs through the village parallel to the slope in the direction of Ritvala. To the south of the road, relatively large open fields stretch out, bordered by the shore forests of Pappilanlahti on Rautunselkä. The built cultural environment also includes the terracing of the slope, lush garden plots, idyllic village roads lined with trees, and a well-preserved stock of old buildings. The most significant buildings are the Kelhi farmers' association building, the old elementary school of Huittula village, Rauhala, the former curate's parsonage Käläs, and the old main building of Kiiliä.

The Jutikkala manor, located in Saarioispuoli, has a neoclassical main building. North of it is a residential building from the 1860s, and between them is the so-called käräjärakennus. The yard contains numerous outbuildings, among them a pakarirakennus with its ruokakello, and a grey stone cowshed whose oldest parts date from 1872. The only building predating the fire of 1839 is a large grain storehouse. In the manor's English-style park there is a viinarännirakennus built of unfired bricks.

Scenically significant is the old main road running along the eastern side of Rapolanharju, along which are the Kelhi association building, the Renvall villa and the Kemmola old people's home. On Niemenkärki, a headland projecting into Rautunselkä, there was a medieval village site of Vanha-Annila village. The oldest site of Annila village is now pasture. The village mound was presumably abandoned in the early decades of the 17th century.

Historic Sääksmäki lies within the nationally valuable Sääksmäki - Tarttila landscape area.

History

From the Middle Ages until the end of the 19th century, Sääksmäki district covered the whole of western Tavastia and extended southwards from Somero as far as the north side of Päijänne.

Originally planned as a two-aisled church, Sääksmäki church was probably built at the very end of the 15th century or at the beginning of the 16th century. The church was extended into a cross-plan church according to a proposal drawn up in the Intendant's Office of Finland, in 1839-1841. Its interior was renovated in the mid-1920s, but it burned shortly afterwards, on the evening of Easter Monday 1929. The rebuilding of the church and of the bell tower, which was also destroyed in the fire, was carried out to designs by architect Kauno S. Kallio in 1932-1933. The decorative paintings of the new concrete vault were the work of painter Kalle Carlstedt, assisted by artist Paavo Leinonen. The appearance the church acquired in the 1930s formed the basis for the restoration carried out under the direction of architect Ulla Raholа in 1998-1999.

A papal letter of excommunication from 1340, issued by Pope Benedictus, mentions a peasant named Rapolan Kuningas, which points to an ancient Tavastian tradition of chieftains. The person referred to was evidently the owner of Rapola manor at that time; the manor was formed as a ratsutila in the 16th century. Rapola belonged to the Svinhufvud family from the 18th century to the mid-19th century. The cowshed was built in the 1860s and is one of the largest stone cowsheds in the area. The park was planted in the mid-19th century. President Svinhufvud was born at Rapola in 1861. Voipaala manor was formed as a ratsutila in 1588 and later became a rälssisäteri. Among others, the Stienkors, Ruuth, Ignatius and Grinpenberg families have owned the manor.

Permanent settlement at Huittula probably formed already in the Iron Age. In historical documents Huittula was first mentioned in 1416, and Anajala and Liattula in 1405. These villages, which were situated close to one another, grew into a single village in the late 17th century. The villages of Huittula, Anajala and Liattula had a total of 26 farms in 1640. The farms of the different villages were intermingled, and a single farm had several separate plots. Part of the land was left undivided for the common purposes of the village. Fields and meadows were regarded as the common land of the village. The sarkajako was carried out at the end of the 15th century.

Jutikkala became a rälssisäteri when, at the end of the Middle Ages, it came into the possession of a noble family. The manor belonged, among others, to the Hufvudsköld and Blåfield families. The manor's main building was completed around 1840. The park was planted by Adam Ramsay in the 1840s.