As far back as the Finnish Middle Ages a fleet of peasant sailing ships from Vakka-Suomi sailed the waters of Velhovesi. One of the peasants’ shipping lanes went past the Vintrinrauma sluice gates. The ships were loaded as full as possible, and probably also brought back some contraband goods from the Baltic ports with which to entice people to the market place. One gets an idea of the size of the commercial fleet from a mention in old catalogues from the 1500s: the ships were sometimes used to carry the king’s horses, of which around ten fitted in one ship.
”The ships of Uusikaupunki, as the learned Wexionius tells it, were fully loaded like swimming mountains. When their holds were already full of eating vessels, more pots, larger wooden pots and buckets were stacked on the deck, to half way up the mast, and tied skilfully with ropes. There was no need to worry about sinking in these ships, because the cargo had so many cavities in it. Still, the customs men suspected that the bottom pots may have contained more than just air, namely butter and other foodstuffs, the export of which was strictly forbidden.”
Rauhankatu 10, P.O.Box 37, 23501 Uusikaupunki
Puh./Tel.
matkailu@uusikaupunki.fi
Tarinat kerännyt ja kirjoittanut: Johanna Pakola, Terhi Raumonen, Mikko Paana, Heli Walls
© Mainostoimisto Tekokuu
