Strömforsin ruukkiyhdyskunta (Strömfors bruk)

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

Strömfors ironworks is, in its overall appearance and building stock, one of the country's best-preserved ironworks communities, with its manor house, church and diverse production buildings. On both banks of the rapids and of the pond above them, a large number of buildings related to ironworks activity have survived, including production, residential and other buildings from the late 18th century and the 19th century.

The most significant surviving production buildings are two hammer forges with their technical equipment. The forges have survived because Strömfors was the last in Finland to end iron hammering using water power, as late as 1950. The ironworks' red-brick bloomery forge with its annexes, now the ironworks museum, is located on the western bank of the rapids. One of the large francecomté bloomery hammers with its water wheel has survived. South of the bloomery forge are log weighing-house and storehouse buildings. Both date from the early 19th century, but they have been altered later. The second hammer forge of Strömfors, the so-called Yläpaja, is also right near the ironworks manor, above the dam.

The large, broad-bodied sawmill building of Strömfors (1887), built mainly of logs, is in a central location in the ironworks area. On the island in the river channel between the sawmill and the bloomery hammer forge stands a mill in its time-honoured location. The present production buildings are on the eastern edge of the area. The former Strömfors ironworks water sawmill is, alongside Noormarkku, another surviving industrial water sawmill building. Its log frame makes it a very rare industrial heritage site.

There is no clear, unified ironworks street in the Strömfors area; instead, workers' dwellings were already located in groups on both banks of the rapids in the late 18th century. The ironworks manor (1892) is also exceptionally located between the hammer forges, surrounded only by a small park, without a monumental view over the dam reservoir or the factory installations. The ironworks' farm buildings and garden are on the north side of the main building.

On Myllärinmäki, south of the ironworks area, stands an octagonal wooden church completed in 1770, the oldest central-plan church built in Finland. The church bells have from the outset been hung in a lantern rising from the centre of the church's roof. The church's neo-Gothic present appearance dates from a thorough restoration carried out in 1898. The altarpiece depicting the Resurrection was painted by Helene Schjerfberck. The war heroes' cemetery area in front of the church was carried out to designs by Ilmari Virkkala.

The three-storey wooden building built for the manager and office staff, the so-called Lutikkalinna or Armonlinna, dating from 1824, is on the western shore of the dam reservoir. Along the village road are some workers' residential buildings from the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. The community also includes the so-called Club building from 1924 and a school centre, the oldest buildings of which date from the 1920s.

The Strömfors ironworks area is part of the Kymijoki valley landscape area, which is of national importance.

History

The Strömfors ironworks was founded in 1698 by Johan Creutz, brother of Lorenz Creutz, who was then the owner of the Forsby, Teijo, Kirjakkala and Kauttua ironworks.

The ironworks was bought in 1744 by the merchants Jakob Forsell (ennobled as af Forselles) and Anders Nohrström. The name Strömfors came into use as a combination of their names. Virginia Christina af Forselles, widow of Vuorineuvos af Forselles, acquired the ironworks at the age of 31 in 1790. As ironworks proprietress, she ran its operations for a total of 57 years. On her initiative, a large part of the buildings that now give the ironworks its distinctive character were built at Strömfors.

In connection with the Strömfors ironworks, a water sawmill was built by merchant Jakob Forssell in 1747. In 1865 a fairly large machine workshop and foundry was also established at Strömfors. Antti Ahlström bought the ironworks together with its forest areas in 1886, and it became part of the Antti Ahlström conglomerate, which included, among others, four ironworks and 14 sawmills. The main motive for Ahlström was considered to be the opportunities that the ironworks' forests and the water sawmill offered for sawmilling operations. By acquiring Strömfors, Ahlström began extending its sphere of influence beyond Satakunta. As its first tasks, Ahlström renewed the machinery of the ironworks' sawmill and in 1889 had the Palosaari steam sawmill built on the island of Vahterpää in Pernaja. The water sawmill at Strömfors continued to operate as an export sawmill for a remarkably long time, right up until 1953.

After the Second World War, iron was still forged at Strömfors using the same method as in 1865, when francecomté-taonta was introduced. When the water hammers ceased operation in 1950, their last order had been a batch of nails forged for the restoration site at Suomenlinna. An electric moulding factory was established at Strömfors in 1947.

The church at Strömfors, built in 1770, is not strictly a so-called ironworks church; rather, it replaced the mother church of Pyhtää, which was left on the Russian side by the Peace of Turku. Strömfors ironworks owner Anders Nohrström donated a site for the church from an area that was "almost in the middle of the parish". The old parsonage, built in 1871, was converted into a municipal hall in 1953.