Fiskars 1649
The Fiskars 1649 exhibition is an introduction to the village's industrial history and to Fiskars Corporation today. The exhibition is located next to Fiskars Shop / Iittala Outlet.
Open 13 May - 30 Sep daily 10 am - 6 pm, other times daily 11 am - 5 pm. Free entry.
Venue: 12 Clock Tower Building, Fiskarsvägen 22.
1649
Originally from the Netherlands, Peter Thorwöste, a wealthy businessman, founded the Fiskars ironworks in 1649. Queen Christina granted Thorwöste privileges that permitted him to set up a blast furnace and bar hammer in Fiskars.
An ironworks village grew up around the industrial operation. Key to the founding of the ironworks was its woodland location close to waterways, which provided power for the works and timber for making into the charcoal needed in the process of producing iron.
1700
The great northern war and years of famine did not leave Finnish ironworks villages untouched. Fiskars Village was in ruins and production at the ironworks had stopped. Impoverished by war, Finns had no money to restart the works. Wealthy Swedes invested in Finland and for the next 84 years, Fiskars was owned by merchants in Stockholm.
1800
In 1822 the ironworks was purchased by the pharmacist John von Julin of Oulu. A learned man with many skills, Julin did much to improve the industrial operations and social life in Fiskars. Under Julin, Fiskars moved away from the manufacture of iron to the refining of it, and production diversified into steam-powered and agricultural machinery. A school was founded in Fiskars Village, and the works employed a doctor.
1900
After Julin’s death, a caretaker administration was created to manage Fiskars, and in 1883 it became a limited company. After the founding of the Helsinki Stock Exchange in 1912, Fiskars was listed on it in 1915. During the twentieth century Fiskars grew and diversified into a multi-divisioned company. The end of the millennium saw the current focus on products for home, garden and the outdoors.
2000
In 1967, Fiskars manufactured its first orange-handled scissors in Fiskars Village. The scissors were a success and a new plant was built in Billnäs. As the industrial operations have left Fiskars Village, new inhabitants – artisans, designers and artists – have moved in. Today, Fiskars Village is home and workplace to more than a hundred creative people.
