Genius loci - The spirit of place in historical Central Ostrobothnia - Kokkola University Consortium Chydenius
Welcome to the Old harbour route
Several parts of the old harbour of Pietarsaari are relatively well preserved. When you start this route from Satamakatu, you can visit destinations from the 1700s and 1800s that represent seafaring, shipbuilding, international trade and early industry. Unfortunately, wars have also left their mark on the structures and people in the area.
Because of land uplift, the harbour has been moved further and further north of the town centre over the centuries. Even today, you can see old loading docks and tar storehouses, and smell “tar floors” in the Kittholma area.
The history of sailing ships is present in the Vega hall, which features the war indemnity schooner Vega. At the pier next to it, rests Jacobstads Wapen, a replica of an 18th-century galleass. The boatyard Jakobstads Båtvarv, established in the early 1900s, also represents woodwork skills transferred from one generation to the next.
In Pavis you can dine and enjoy the unique atmosphere of this over century-old sailing pavilion. From here you can also see Varvet, a boatyard on the other side of the bay, where dozens of world-class sailing ships were built in the 1800s.
Welcome to the Old harbour route!
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Introduction
In the 1700s and 1800s, the harbours of Ostrobothnia were lively places where one probably heard a cacophony of noises from smithies, shipyards and cartwheels, as well as men shouting and horses snorting. The air was thick with the strong smells of tar, pitch and horse manure. Local residents would gather at harbours to watch the launching of new sailing ships or the vessels returning from long journeys abroad, hoping that the crew would be okay, or at least alive, after the trials and tribulations of their journey. The dangers on journeys included shipwrecks, accidents, disease and even hijacking. For instance, when the frigate Concordia returned to Pietarsaari from distant seas in autumn 1785, more than ten of its crew had died of diseases during the journey. Concordia was the first Finnish ship to sail to the East Indies. Hercules, a ship owned by Peter Malm and skippered by Petter Idman, also attracted attention in the 1840s by being the first Finnish vessel to sail around the globe.
Shipbuilding, seafaring and trade increased the wealth of merchants and provided work and income for other locals. Carpenters and joiners were needed in shipbuilding, seamen and officers in seafaring. These livelihoods had an impact on a large area because shipbuilding and trade were possible only by utilising forests inland. Timber and tar were transported to Kokkola from the Perhonjoki river valley and to Pietarsaari from the lake district of South Ostrobothnia. The depletion of forests, which was a cause of concern already in the 1700s, was the flip side of the “green gold” received from forests.
The old harbour of Pietarsaari – which due to land uplift in the 1600s, 1700s and 1800s was gradually moved from the town to a location north of it in Kittholma – has been a place of economic, cultural and historical significance for the whole of Finland. The harbour with its surroundings was a centre of seafaring, shipbuilding, trade and industry. Tar, pitch and timber were exported from the harbour while salt, coffee, spices, tobacco and dyes, among other goods, were imported.
The location of the harbour was regarded as excellent because it was protected against strong winds. The crown vessel manager Påhl Lijthen noted in the late 1600s that the entrance channel to the harbour was deep enough and without larger rocks, so that ships could anchor near the waterfront sheds for moving cargo. The Kittholma forest, where tree felling was forbidden already in the early 1700s, provided natural protection against northern storms.
The harbour was later said to be perfect also in order to get full navigation freedom and customs rights for Pietarsaari. The merchants of Stockholm naturally defended their own privileges and were against the granting of staple rights to Finland’s coastal towns. After a long, multiphase political struggle, Pietarsaari finally received staple rights in 1793, and Kokkola had received them about thirty years earlier. The staple rights were advocated above all by Anders Chydenius, who represented the clergy at the Diet, and by the mayor of Pietarsaari, Natanael Häggström. They were brave enough to imply in Stockholm that the loyalty of Finns towards Sweden could be put to the test if trade rights were not granted.
Stockholm thus restricted trade in small towns, but arguments were common on the Finnish coast as well. Just like the bourgeoisie, Finnish farmers also traded by the sea – even as far as Stockholm – even though there were efforts to restrict their sailing. The bourgeoisie hoped that the farmers would focus on taking care of fields and meadows instead of confusing the business of the bourgeoisie. Overall, trade was strictly regulated and monopolised by trade companies in the 1600s and 1700s. In addition, customs supervised trade and imposed taxes on it.
Ships were being built in the old harbour area already in the 1660s by the Dutch Momman brothers. The internationally significant shipyard Carlholm (or Calholm) started its operation west of the harbour bay in the late 1700s. Other industrial activity was also started in this area. In the early 1750s, a pitch factory (Pikiruukki) was established near the harbour, in Nätinabban (Verkkoniemi). In the 1850s, there was a bone mill in Piispansaari that produced bone fertilisers. At about the same time, a brewery and spirit distillery were established in the area. A machine shop started operation in the late 1800s. From 1860, one of Finland’s first steam sawmills operated in Tukkisaari.
Wars and trade conditions naturally also affected the operation of the Pietarsaari harbour as well as life in general. During the Great Northern War in the 1710s, ships were lost due to Russian terror. Almost the entire town was burned. During and after the Finnish War (1808–1809), shipbuilding stagnated. The situation improved only at the end of the 1820s. In the Crimean War in the late 1850s, people lived in fear because the English were besieging the harbour area and tried to attack. Just like in the neighbouring town of Kokkola, the English invasion did not succeed. This war paralysed shipbuilding and trade for some time as well. The heyday of sailing ships lasted until the late 1800s, when they started to be replaced by steamships, which were more competitive.
The harbour was moved to Alholma at the end of the 1800s. After that, the old harbour has been mainly a leisure area and a small boat marina. Water treatment, dredging and landscaping have preserved the rich natural beauty of this cultural-historically valuable environment. Visiting the harbour, you may still find former loading places, where you can see and smell “tar floors”. Mixed with the tar, there may still be ballast stones, which were needed to balance the sailing ships.
Actors and sources
Manuscript: Kari Ilmonen (translation by Sirpa Vehviläinen, University of Jyväskylä Language Services)
Photos: Kari Ilmonen and Pietarsaaren kaupunginmuseo
Graphic layout: Creamedia
Team: Kari Ilmonen, Guy Björklund, Maria Lunabba, Tiina Pelkonen, Daniela Mårtenson, Ulla Nyström, Gun Snellman, Marja-Leena Hyytinen, Jan Ehnvall, Silvia Rinne, Carola Sundqvist, Tuomo Härmänmaa, Veli-Matti Tornikoski and Matias Meriläinen
Sources:
Ahlsröm, Al: Med Jakobstadsfregatten Concordia till Ostindien åren 1782–1785. JT: Pedersöre Jul- och hembygdsblad. Jakobstad 1939. S. 6–10.
Björklund, Guy: Bataljen på Busköskatan. JT: Pedersöre Jul- och hembygdsbilaga. Jakobstad 2004. S. 14-16
Björklund, Guy: Beckbruket – Jakobstads första fabrik. JT: Pedersöre Jul- och hembygdsbilaga. Jakobstad 1987. S. 6–9.
Björlund, Guy: Gamla hamn: en kulturhistorisk resurs. I Annika Sander (red.) Bottnisk kontakt IV: maritimhistorisk konferens, Skellefteå museum 5-7 februari 1988. Maritimhistorisk rapport.2. Skellefteå museum 1989. S. 16-20.
Björklund, Guy: Jakobstads bayerska ölbryggeri 1852–1871. JT: Pedersöre Jul- och hembygdsbilaga. Jakobstad 1993. S. 14–17.
Hj. B.: Ur Jakobstads sjöfartshistoria. JT: Pedersöre Jul- och hembygdsblad. Jakobstad 1930. S. 14–15.
Kempe, August: Loveri – Loverets Gränd – Laveret. Jakobstads Tidning 15.11.1963.
Kronholm, Jan: Fregatten Concordia av Jakobstad första finländska ostindienfararen. Jakobstads Tidning 19.4.1984. S. 7.
Manninen, Tiina: Kanaalin historia ulottuu 1900-luvun alkuun. Pietarsaaren Sanomat 27.5.2011. S. 7.
Nyman, Jan-Erik: Fornminnesinventering i Jakobstad år 2012. Svensk Österbottniska samfundet 2015. https://www.kyppi.fi/palveluikkuna/raportti/read/asp/hae_liite.aspx?id=120648&ttyyppi=pdf&kansio_id=598
Nyåker, Kjell-Ove: Gamla hamn, Jakobstad – Vanha satama, Pietarsaari. Jakobstad-Pietarsaari 2001.
Ojala, Osmo: Satamien ja teollisen historian jalanjäljillä. Pietarsaaren Sanomat 23.9.2012. S. 6.
Perinnerakentaminen – Köydenpunonta. https://sites.google.com/site/perinnerakentaminen/koeydenpunonta
Pietarsaaren vanha satama. Valtakunnallisesti merkittävät rakennetut kulttuuriympäristöt RKY. http://www.rky.fi/read/asp/r_kohde_det.aspx?KOHDE_ID=4527
Pikiruukki. Museovirasto. Kulttuuriympäristön palveluikkuna. https://www.kyppi.fi/palveluikkuna/mjreki/read/asp/r_kohde_det.aspx?KOHDE_ID=1000026940
Purjehduspaviljonki Pavis. Esittelytaulu Paviksen eteisessä.
Serlachius, Birger: ”Meidän niittokoneemme kysyntä..” Kauppalehti 9.10.1912. Helsinki.
Skata – puutaloreittiesite. Skata – trähusrutten. https://www.jakobstad.fi/matkailu/nae-ja-koe/nahtavyydet/skata-fi
Sotakorvauskuunari Vega – Krigsskadeståndskonaren Vega. Vega-säätiö – Vega-stiftelsen 2018.
Stürmer, Wava: Det är helvete att måla himlar. Söderström & Co. Borgå 1970.
Stürmer, Wava: Väntansväg. Författarrnas Andelslag. Jeppo 1985.
Söderhjelm, Alma: Jakobstads hälsobrunn. Pedersöre julalbum. Jakobstad 1909. S. 5–6.
Söderhjelm, Alma: Jakobstads historia. Första delen. Vasa 1974.
Söderhjelm, Alma: Jakobstads historia. Andra delen. Vasa 1974.
Söderhjelm, Alma: Jakobstads historia. Tredje delen. Vasa 1974.
Toivanen, Pekka, Finnäs, Fjalar & Hoffman Kaj: Pietarsaaren historia osa IV. Pietarsaaren kaupunki 2002.
Vega m. m. – Förstudie av området kring skonaren Vega. Vega-stiftelsen 2018.
Virrankoski, Pentti: Pohjanlahden ja Suomenselän kansaa. Keskipohjanmaa-säätiö. Kokkola 1997.
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