Wintteri Storyboards

Wintteri – Roots in the Ground, Eyes on the Horizon

For more than four centuries, life in Uusikaupunki has been lived boldly and authentically. The people here have valued solid foundations—land and sea—but have also embraced progress with open minds. The city’s culture and education have been carried forward with curiosity and confidence, always looking toward the opportunities of future generations.

Skilled hands and visionary minds have always shaped Uusikaupunki. From carved wooden tubs and woven fishing nets to majestic sailing ships, from the local sea’s catch to the harvest of fertile fields, life here has been built with hard work. Feet firmly on the ground, hands in dough and tools, yet always eyes on the horizon, thoughts on tomorrow.

When King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden founded the town in 1617, Uusikaupunki became the heart of Southwest Finland’s wooden tub industry. A few decades later, Finland’s very first glassworks was established here. It’s no coincidence that by the 1850s, the city hosted the second-largest merchant fleet in Finland, or that in the 1960s, two factories of national importance were founded: Rikkihappo Oy (sulphuric acid production) and the Saab-Valmet car plant. These factories are still in operation today, now known as Yara and Valmet Automotive.

Uusikaupunki has always dared to dream—and to do.

That same spirit continues to guide us. In the new multi-use building Wintteri, the gaze is set boldly on the future—on the people who will shape it and the opportunities ahead—while still honoring the legacy of our rich past. Wintteri brings together many layers of society: science, art, entertainment; diverse people, ideas, and conversations.

Each floor’s theme and name reflects the founding values of Uusikaupunki: deep roots, a strong work ethic, pioneering spirit, and pride in a hometown known across the world’s oceans.

Floor 0: Roots
Floor 1: Society
Floor 2: Archipelago
Floor 3: Sailing Ships

Floor 0: Roots

When King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden founded Uusikaupunki in 1617, it became the center of wooden tub craftsmanship in Southwest Finland. This local industry even gave the region its name—Vakka-Suomi. Mentions of the Vackafinnar,  appear in royal Swedish letters as early as the 1500s.

The artisans of Vakka-Suomi discovered how to make wooden tub production as profitable as possible: by dividing the work. Each village specialized in different products, and each household focused on a specific stage of the process. This created an efficient, well-organized production chain. Over time, the wooden tub industry of Vakka-Suomi evolved into one of Finland’s most diverse, wide-reaching, and profitable forms of traditional craftsmanship.

Floor 1: Society

In Uusikaupunki, open dialogue has long been a way of life. The city’s culture and education have been advanced with an open mind and a forward-looking spirit, always with future generations in view. A shared goal has guided it all: to make our hometown better—to develop the city and enhance the wellbeing and quality of life for its people.

Throughout the centuries, Uusikaupunki has been home to pioneers—people who have believed passionately in their work and pursued success with determination. There have always been those willing to take responsibility for the city’s future. And indeed, Uusikaupunki has produced individuals who have gone on to serve in significant national roles, including as members of parliament and senior civil servants.

Floor 2: Archipelago

Just off the coast of Uusikaupunki lies a piece of Finland at its most beautiful: a stunning chain of islands. After the lush inner archipelago, the landscape opens into a rugged outer archipelago, where wind-sculpted pines stand on rocky islets smoothed by the waves of the Bothnian Sea.

Even the city’s founding charter granted townspeople the right to use many of these islands. And for centuries, the islands have been vital to life in Uusikaupunki. Sheep and cattle grazed here in summer, and timber was gathered for building. The archipelago has also supported the region’s important fishing tradition. Today, the islands continue to offer space for rest, recreation, and a deep connection to nature.

Floor 3: Sailing Ships

King Gustavus Adolphus wisely chose the location of Uusikaupunki to ensure it had a sheltered harbor and deep shipping lanes. For centuries, maritime activity has played a vital role in the city’s development, prosperity, and employment. This role became especially prominent at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, when Uusikaupunki’s merchant fleet grew to become the second largest in Finland.

The city’s coastal location has shaped its destiny in many ways. Without direct access to the open sea, it’s unlikely that Uusikaupunki would now be home to the world’s northernmost car factory or Finland’s largest fertilizer plant.

Floor 0: Roots

Vakka

- A traditional wooden container, once central to everyday life in Vakka-Suomi. The region even takes its name from this essential craft.

Pigment

- Natural colors made from earth and plants—used in traditional paints, textiles, and woodenware decoration.

Linen

- A versatile fiber grown and processed locally. Woven into fabric, linen reflects the region’s self-sufficiency and skill.

Kousa 

- A traditional wooden drinking vessel, typically shaped like a small jug or ladle. Carefully carved and often beautifully decorated, the kousa reflects the craftsmanship and aesthetic sense of everyday life in Vakka-Suomi.

Floor 1: Society

Manta Pikala 

– The Joyful Hostess of Festive Feasts

Born in 1875 in the village of Palsa, Kalanti, as the eldest daughter of the large Pikala family, Amanda “Manta” Pikala became one of her era’s most renowned banquet cooks in the region. She worked as a housemaid in the Kalanti vicarage for two different clergy families and had a gift for setting the table for any festive occasion. For decades, Manta served as a trusted hostess at celebrations and parish gatherings across the area. In 1923, she was the chief hostess of the grand regional song and music festival held in Kalanti.

There wasn’t a dish Manta couldn’t prepare—or at least that’s how the stories tell it. She cooked and baked from memory and instinct, always knowing exactly which ingredients to use and what each dish needed. Her banquet tables were famously abundant, and one of her specialties was a sweet local favorite: coconut bread. Manta trusted only one cookbook—the one in her head.

She never left her home village of Palsa, living all her life in a cottage next to the Pikala family farm. Her door was always open to the village youth, and she was remembered as a cheerful, talkative soul—just the kind of person you’d expect at the heart of every grand celebration.

Augusta Olsson 

– Trailblazer and Pioneer of Photography

“Careful work – Low prices,” advertised photographer Augusta Olsson in Uudenkaupungin Sanomat in October 1898. She was just 20 years old when she opened her own photography studio that spring, at the corner of Vakka-Suomenkatu and Rantakatu—right next to her family’s home and market garden.

Born in 1878 as the third child of the Olsson family, Augusta had been fascinated by art from a young age, especially photography. As was typical for the time, she learned her craft through apprenticeships. She trained with local photographer Ludvig Hellén in Uusikaupunki and with at least two professionals in Turku. In the evenings, she attended classes at the Turku Drawing School.

Augusta was industrious and prolific. Her camera captured the people, events, buildings, and landscapes of Uusikaupunki. She photographed confirmation groups, wedding couples, the deceased—nobility and laborers alike, reds and whites. Her lens made no distinction.

For many years, Augusta ran the only photography studio in Uusikaupunki. She documented the town and its people for over fifty years. Tens of thousands of her glass plate negatives have survived. Thanks largely to Augusta Olsson, we can today glimpse life in Uusikaupunki more than a century ago.

Augusta also had a deep love for sailing. She competed with her own sailboat, Necken, which frequently placed among the top finishers in early 20th-century regattas. True to her energetic nature, she was active in a wide range of associations. She helped organize events for the Uusikaupunki Athletes’ club, raised and donated funds for local causes, practiced handicrafts, and enjoyed all sorts of social gatherings.

Agda Blom 

– The Sailing Craft Teacher

Agda Blom, daughter of a local merchant, made history in Uusikaupunki as one of the first women to be accepted as a member of the city’s sailing club. Records show that she was already a member in 1901—years before women were officially welcomed. Agda captained her sailboats, Loveley and Wampo, and competed with great success.

Known for her exceptional craftsmanship, Agda began her teaching career in Uusikaupunki’s primary schools before moving to Helsinki in 1889. There, she became an assistant teacher at the Pedagogical Institute of Handicrafts founded by social reformer Vera Hjelt. After graduating as a certified craft teacher, Agda opened her own carving and woodcraft school on Bulevardi street just a few years later.

“Miss Blom is known to be highly skilled in her field, so great results can be expected from her school,” wrote Uusi Suometar newspaper in January 1893, as her second semester was about to begin.

Agda taught students of all ages—from toddlers to adults—but what made her school truly exceptional was that girls, too, had equal access to high-quality craft education. It’s estimated that over the course of her life, as many as 12,000 students studied under Miss Agda Blom.

Sanni Winter 

– A Life Devoted to Education and Culture

As a young girl growing up in Uusikaupunki, Alexandra “Sanni” Berglund had two heartfelt dreams: to study at the Jyväskylä Teacher Seminary and to one day work in a bookstore. Against all odds—and despite many personal hardships—both dreams came true.

Born in 1859 to a seafaring family, Sanni lost both of her parents at a young age. Her older brother Frans agreed to support her studies financially, and just shy of turning 18, Sanni was accepted to the Jyväskylä Seminary, where she trained to become a teacher.

After graduating in 1881, she returned to her hometown and began teaching in the local primary school. There she met telegraphist Herman Winter, originally from Porvoo, and they were soon married.

In 1888, Sanni took over a small bookshop previously run by her friend Alma Nordman, who had passed away. When Sanni applied to have the official bookseller rights transferred to her, the Finnish Publishers' Association refused—because she was a married woman. Legally, the rights had to be registered under her husband’s name, Assessor Herman Winter, although Sanni ran the shop in practice.

Sanni worked tirelessly at the bookshop while continuing to teach for several years. She was deeply involved in civic life and cultural events, serving as chair of the Uusikaupunki Women’s Association for over twenty years. She remained active in the bookshop she loved until her death in 1938.

Wendela 

– A Pioneer of Finnish Literature

When Den Fallna (“The Fallen One”), one of Finland’s earliest novels, was published in 1848, few knew who the author behind the pen name “Wendela” really was. It was only later revealed that the romantic novel had been written by 25-year-old Wendla Johanna Cumenius, the daughter of a clergyman from Uusikaupunki.

Skilfully written, the novel demonstrated Wendela’s intellect, language skills, and keen awareness of the world around her—despite her young age. The story of the fallen Elisabet was bold for its time, though its arc of remorse and redemption resonated with readers. The book even received praise from none other than Zacharias Topelius.

About a year after publishing her novel, Wendela married Pehr Gustaf Randelin, the mayor of Uusikaupunki. Soon, their home was filled with the footsteps of seven children, and Wendela’s time for writing diminished. She did, however, publish a short story titled Maria in a Swedish-language literary calendar in 1853, and some texts in the children’s magazine Eos. Still, Den Fallna remained her only published novel.

Like many women writers of her time, Wendela’s literary work was forgotten for decades. It wasn’t until 1999 that Den Fallna was finally translated into Finnish and published under the title Elisabet.

Aino Valsta 

– Director Cantus

In 1941, a striking functionalist-style house was built near the top of Sorvako Hill. From its small round windows, music would often drift out—played by music teacher Aino Valsta, her husband Toivo, the parish organist and cantor, or any of their three musically gifted sons. The house quickly became known as a home of music.

Alongside her teaching duties at Uusikaupunki’s upper secondary school, Aino was a lively force in the city’s cultural life. She led the local Lotta Svärd women’s choir in the 1930s and played in the Uusikaupunki Amateur Orchestra, which had been founded in 1888. Without exaggeration, Aino can be called the mother of local women’s choral singing—she was the one who founded the city’s first women’s choir in 1961 and personally conducted it for its first six years. The choir she established still performs today, now known as D’ameni.

The Valsta family was united not only by their love for music, but also by their energetic and enthusiastic spirit. The entire family performed together in the amateur orchestra, and their children, raised in a deeply musical home, went on to pursue careers in music just like their parents.

For her tireless work in music education and community life, Aino Valsta was awarded the ecclesiastical honorary title Director Cantus.

Aina Helander 

– One of Finland’s First Female Church Organists

It was not unusual to see a small girl accompanying Henrik Helander, the first appointed cantor-organist of Uusikaupunki parish. The youngest of seven children, Aina Helander, born in 1866, often followed her father to church services and parish gatherings. While he played, she listened—and learned.

Under her father’s guidance, Aina became so skilled that when Henrik’s health began to decline in the early 1880s, she was able to take his place at the organ. Aina was just 16 years old when she reportedly began filling in for him on a regular basis.

By the turn of the century, her father could no longer work. Aina continued in his role until his death in 1905, also leading the parish women’s choir alongside her organ duties.

At the time, women were not officially allowed to hold church music posts. When the position of cantor-organist was officially opened in 1906, Aina applied for special permission from the Senate to be considered. A year earlier, Maria Castrén had reportedly become the first woman in Finland to be appointed to such a role, in Uusikaarlepyy, with similar special permission.

However, Aina was not selected. In Uusikaupunki, the position was a joint role that included duties as a parish clerk—a role a woman could not legally hold, even with special permission. Her rejection sparked confusion and quiet protest among parishioners. But for the church council, the answer was simple: why appoint a woman, when there were qualified men?

Eventually, in 1908, Aina Helander was appointed organist at the Betel Church in Turku. She served faithfully in that position until nearly the end of her life, in 1952.

Aulis Sallinen 

– A Composer of International Standing

Aulis Sallinen became a resident of Uusikaupunki at the age of nine. Born in 1935 in Salmi, Karelia, he and his family were evacuated during the Second World War and resettled in the wooden town of Uusikaupunki in 1944. It was here that he spent his formative years.

Musically gifted from a young age, Aulis first took up the piano and violin. He practiced classical music, dabbled in jazz, and fearlessly experimented with blending different musical styles. During his teenage years, he discovered the joys of improvisation—and soon began to notate his ideas and melodies. A young composer was emerging.

From Uusikaupunki, Aulis went on to study at the Sibelius Academy, where he later became a teacher of composition. For over a decade, he held a variety of influential positions in the Finnish music scene: as head of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, chairman of the Society of Finnish Composers, educator, and member of numerous cultural boards. After the success of his 1975 opera The Horseman, he was appointed Artist Professor and devoted himself fully to composing. His other well-known operas include The Red Line, Kullervo, and The King Goes Forth to France.

“No one who begins composing at a young age can know where the path will lead. That’s determined by a musician’s inner growth—and it’s unpredictable,” Sallinen reflected in an interview on his 80th birthday in 2015.

It’s unlikely the young Aulis, sketching out his first compositions in Uusikaupunki, could have imagined that he would one day become one of Finland’s most internationally celebrated composers of classical music.

August Widgren 

– A Versatile Musician

August Widgren was born in 1871 into a seafaring family in Uusikaupunki. From a young age, he displayed remarkable musical talent and eagerly practiced both playing instruments and singing. He played the cornet—a trumpet-like brass instrument—for eight years in the Uusikaupunki Volunteer Fire Brigade Band.

Originally, August aimed for a career as a potter. He trained as an apprentice and rose to the level of journeyman, but in the end, music won his heart. And rightly so—his wide-ranging skills and boundless enthusiasm helped usher in a new era of musical flourishing in Uusikaupunki at the turn of the 20th century.

He studied music in Helsinki under some of Finland’s most prominent musicians, including Erkki Melartin and Jean Sibelius. In 1899, he earned a degree in conducting, as well as formal qualifications in singing, instrumental performance, and organ playing. While studying, August played cornet in the Helsinki City Orchestra and the Guards Band, and he conducted the Helsinki Fire Brigade Band.

In 1902, August married his beloved Johanna Blom, and the couple returned to Uusikaupunki. There, August became an active figure in both the city’s cultural and civic life. He served on the city council for decades, worked as a music teacher at the secondary school, and led both the amateur orchestra and the church choir. August conducted the Volunteer Fire Brigade Band for over forty years, continuing until his death in 1941.

Floor 2: Archipelago

City of Peace – The Treaty of Nystad

In 2021, it had been 300 years since the Treaty of Nystad was signed, marking the end of the Great Northern War. Signed between Sweden and Russia on August 30, 1721, the treaty is considered one of the most significant peace agreements in European history.

The Great Northern War began soon after Charles XII ascended to the Swedish throne in 1697. The war continued until 1713, when Russian forces began systematically occupying Finland, ushering in the era known as the "Great Wrath" (Isoviha).

Fearing the Russians, most residents of Uusikaupunki fled to Sweden. A lasting occupation began in the autumn of 1714, and for nearly seven years the city functioned as a fortified military camp.

When peace negotiations between Russia and Sweden finally began, the location was chosen by Russian demand: Uusikaupunki. However, the war-torn city had no suitable buildings for such high-level talks. As a result, a manor house from the village of Mattinen in nearby Lokalahti was dismantled and rebuilt at the south end of the town square to serve as the congress hall. In its central negotiation room, the Russian delegates entered from the east and the Swedes from the west.

The Swedish negotiators, Councillor of the Realm Lillienstedt and Governor Strömfelt, arrived in Uusikaupunki on April 26, 1721. The Russian envoys, Bruce and Österman, joined the negotiations a month later. Discussions continued until August 30, when the treaty was finally signed.

According to the agreement, Sweden ceded Livonia, Estonia, Ingria, the County of Kexholm, and Vyborg to Russia. The Treaty of Nystad had long-reaching consequences: when the Winter War ended in 1940, Finland’s borders were redrawn to closely match those established 219 years earlier in Uusikaupunki.

Today, a peace memorial designed by graphic artist Reino Harsti stands on the Uusikaupunki market square, on the site where the congress hall once stood. The memorial’s bronze relief depicts the city plan of Uusikaupunki as it was in 1721.

City of Peace – Rauha Hammar

Rauha Hammar was born in 1878 in the rural parish of Uusikaupunki, the second youngest child of a farming family. Her family owned the Salmi Manor, where Rauha spent her childhood roaming the wide-open fields.

Raised by progressive-minded parents, Rauha read Terveydenhoitolehti, a health journal published by the Finnish Medical Society Duodecim, from a young age. Fascinated by anatomy and physiology, she pursued medical studies at the University of Helsinki and completed her bachelor's degree in medicine within three years. She graduated as a Licentiate of Medicine in 1908.

Alongside medicine, Rauha studied singing and became deeply interested in the physiology of the voice. Immediately after graduating from university, she continued her studies in Berlin, specializing in ear, nose, and throat medicine. Upon her return to Helsinki, she worked for many years as Finland’s first—and at the time only—“voice doctor.”

Rauha compiled her broad knowledge into published works. Her first book on the physiology of voice was published in German in 1916. The Finnish version, Laulufysiologian perusteet (“Basics of Vocal Physiology”), appeared in 1938, with an expanded edition released over two decades later.

An avid traveler, Rauha spent time in Germany, Hungary, Estonia, the Netherlands, and Turkey, drawing inspiration for an unusual hobby—creating first names. Drawing from Finland’s linguistic relatives, she crafted new alternatives to familiar Finnish names and published calendars listing thousands of her own name inventions. Altogether, her calendars contain more than 7,000 suggestions, most of them strikingly unconventional.

While her names never gained wide popularity, a few—such as Hurma, Kide, Joutsi, and Vire—have occasionally been used. Many others, like Lupikko, Sorma, Sukkula, and Virvelö, remain entirely unused.

Vilissalo 

The lush islands of Vilissalo have been home to leisurely summer living for well over a hundred years. In fact, local residents' rights to use the islands just off Uusikaupunki’s coast were already established in the city’s founding charter of 1617. The city council would lease the islands to the highest bidder.

Those who benefited from these lease rights were usually the city’s elite—merchants and sea captains—who not only had the financial means but also the rare luxury of taking a summer holiday, something uncommon in the 1800s. At first, the islands were mainly used for grazing livestock, but from the mid-19th century onward, the highest bidder was also granted permission to cultivate the land and enjoy its harvest.

Soon, tenants began planting gardens, and amidst this flourishing greenery, summer gazebos began to appear. On Iso-Vilissalo, the larger island close to the city, entire summer villas soon followed. Thanks to the short boat trip to the mainland, fathers of bourgeois families could easily commute to work even during the summer.

By the early 20th century, there were dozens of ornate wooden villas scattered across the nearby islands. Gradually, smaller and simpler summer cottages began to appear, including on Vähä-Vilissalo.

One thing united the summer homes of the archipelago: vibrant, abundant gardens. Along winding sand paths grew fragrant midsummer roses, the branches of fruit trees bent under the weight of their harvest, and vegetable plots yielded produce to last the entire year. Self-sufficiency was both valued and carefully pursued.

Some of the villas later served public functions, but most have since returned to private use. And so, the calm rhythm of summer living on Vilissalo’s green islands continues to this day.

Haidus

Many know Haidus as a relaxed summer destination: an adventure island, a favorite spot for youth camps, and a cozy harbor for a seaside restaurant. But behind the easygoing atmosphere lies a tougher tale—Haidus is where the roots of Uusikaupunki’s stone industry were laid.

In 1896, merchant ship captain I. R. Isaksson was granted the first permits to quarry stone on the island. Three years later, the newly founded company Suomen Kiviteollisuus Oy (Finnish Stone Industry Ltd.) began operations there.

From its very first year, the company was selected to supply stone for the construction of the Finnish National Theatre. The theatre’s striking facade features granite sourced from Haidus and the nearby island of Vähä-Heinänen. Uusikaupunki's grey archipelago granite was used in many other prominent early 20th-century buildings, including Tampere Cathedral and the National Museum of Finland. Locally, the stone can be admired in the 1911 bank building on Ylinenkatu—today home to Gasthaus Pooki.

Each island’s granite had slightly different characteristics. Haidus stone was fine-grained and, when polished, revealed a beautiful bluish-grey tone. It was ideal for street paving stones. “Uusikaupunki grey” was shipped to major European cities like Riga, Tallinn, and Hamburg—and even the cobblestones beneath your feet in Paris may come from this quiet corner of the Finnish coast.

With quarrying came workers. Around fifty men lived on Haidus at any given time, housed in accommodation built by their employer. However, the island had only one long-term household: the Stenberg family, who lived on Haidus for nearly a hundred years, from the mid-1800s to the early 1960s. Despite the small population, Haidus was a lively waypoint—perfectly located along the maritime route from the city to Putsaa and Vekara.

Haidus is also known for the wreck of the Odine, a 75-meter sailing ship that lies partially submerged off nearby Vähä-Haidus. Once one of the largest sailing vessels of its time, the Odine was deliberately scuttled in 1949, following the practice of the era.

Putsaari

Located in the outer archipelago of Uusikaupunki, about 13 kilometers from the mainland, Putsaari rises from the Bothnian Sea with its rugged beauty—dramatic cliffs, lush groves, and exceptional biodiversity. Thanks to its rich and varied plant life, Putsaari has been lovingly called a “botanical paradise in the heart of the sea.”

Due to its location, Putsaari served as a sheltered harbor for seafarers for centuries. The first written record of the island dates back to 1411, and it is believed that sailors maintained a chapel on the island as early as the Middle Ages. On the same site now stands a modest wooden preaching house, thought to have been built in the 1600s. Hidden at the base of a forested cliff, it became known as the “hidden church,” although it was most likely a quiet place of worship for sailors, fishermen, and the island’s residents.

People have lived on Putsaari since at least the 17th century. Life in the harsh conditions of the outer archipelago was never easy—daily rhythms were shaped not only by the seasons but by the winds and weather. Yet despite the challenges, Putsaari sustained a self-reliant and resilient community for generations.

Like many island villages, homes were shared across generations, families were large, and the cottages full of life. Food came from backyard gardens and the fish-rich surrounding waters. The village had its own seamstresses, blacksmiths, and even a small branch library. The opening of a local quarry around 1900 brought new vitality and employment to the island for decades. Though life could be modest, the tightly knit community offered a strong sense of security—everyone looked out for one another.

By the 1960s, Putsaari, like much of the archipelago, began to slowly empty. By the 1970s, only seven permanent residents remained. Today, the village comes alive once again with the arrival of summer residents, alongside the reawakening of Putsaari’s unique natural landscape.

Floor 3: Sailing Ships

Barque Eläköön

The barque Eläköön, built in Uusikaupunki, was launched on October 2, 1920. Her maiden voyage began just over two months later, carrying a timber cargo from Uusikaupunki to Barcelona.

Eläköön sailed mainly in the North Sea and the Mediterranean, but records show she once crossed the Atlantic to fetch a load bound for France in 1924. That same year, she was caught in a fierce storm en route from Härnösand, Sweden, to London. The ship drifted helplessly for up to forty days before reaching safe harbor in Helgeroa, Norway. Part of the deck cargo had been lost to the sea, but the ship was able to continue her journey weeks later.

Misfortune, however, was not done with Eläköön. On the evening of November 6, 1926, while sailing from London back to Uusikaupunki, she collided with the Danish steamship Helga in dense fog on the Sea of Åland. The crash tore a large hole in Eläköön’s bow and snapped her jib boom. The anchor, dislodged by the impact, crashed through the wall of Helga’s officer’s cabin—fortunately unoccupied at the time. Once again, Eläköön sought shelter, this time in Mariehamn, before continuing home.

But trouble struck a third time. In 1930, while sailing between England and Italy, another violent storm severely damaged Eläköön. She was even declared a wreck—until a group of Uusikaupunki residents bought her back at auction from the insurance company and restored her to service on the Baltic Sea.

In the summer of 1938, Eläköön starred in two Swedish films, making special voyages for on-location shooting. In 1939, she delivered one last timber shipment from Finland to Denmark. After running aground in 1948, her final duty was to serve as a breakwater in Nauvo.

It is highly likely that Eläköön was the last wooden barque in commercial cargo service anywhere in the world.

Schooner-Barque Tähti

The proud schooner-barque Tähti was built in Uusikaupunki in 1869 under the direction of shipbuilder H. Kjäldström. For decades, the sailing vessel transported timber between Uusikaupunki and Copenhagen, faithfully serving the bustling trade routes of the Baltic.

Timber was once again in her hold in mid-July 1914, when Tähti cast off from the port of Rauma. At the time, no one aboard could have imagined that this would be her final voyage—and that the First World War would erupt before journey’s end.

When the vessel reached the port of Kiel in early August, German authorities seized her immediately. Tähti was declared a prize of war. The fate of the crew hung in the balance for several months before they were finally allowed to return home—some not until March 1915, after more than half a year in limbo.

Eventually, Tähti was sold on behalf of the German state. What became of her after that remains a mystery.