History

History of Strömfors Ironworks

Come and discover one of the oldest ironworks in our country.

Strömfors Ironworks is one of the oldest ironworks in our country. In 1695 the baron Johan Creutz founded the first hammer mill in the village of Petjärvi. The location along the westernmost branch of the Kymijoki River was ideal; the water power of the rapids that powered it was plentiful in all seasons, and there were extensive woodlands nearby.

The new owners named the mill after the Peace of Turkuin 1744, when Anders Nohrström and Jakob Forsell bought the mill. They expanded the business by setting up a manufactory, a sawmill and a mill.

In 1781, Henrik Johan af Forselles, son of the nobleman Jakob Forselles, became the owner. His widow, Virginia af Forselles, inherited the extensive ironworks estate at the age of 31, as the mother of two small children. The time of the governess was known as the 'Age of His Grace'. She ruled the Ironworks with an iron grip and pursued its interests with vigour for nearly 60 years, until her death. Virginia af Forselles was the architect of the present appearance of the ironworks, the central building being the three-storey red wooden building she built on the river bank. The house is known as the Armonlinna.

The iron and steelworks remained in the hands of the af Forselles family for a total of 132 years, until 1876. Antti Ahlström, a merchant councillor, bought the ironworks and the surrounding land in 1886. He focused particularly on developing the sawmill business. The sawmills ceased production in 1950, after operating with almost the same technology for more than 250 years. When the methods became obsolete, the sawmill operations were also closed down in 1953. A new factory producing plastic and electrical goods was established in 1947 by A. Ahlström Oy.

Strömfors Ironworks has always been a multifunctional company. In addition to the iron foundry, sawmill and mill, it has also been home to a brewery with a distillery, a crowery and a brickworks. In addition, agriculture, forestry, horticulture and milling have been carried out.

The environment, created by the generations of Swedish patricians, has remained almost unchanged to this day as a strong, distinctive, charming entity.

Architectural history surveys of the Iroworks area

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