Kirjakkala Ironworks Village is the smallest of Teijo National Park’s three historic ironworks villages
Kirjakkala Ironworks Village, located in the northern part of Teijo National Park, has roots going back to the late 1600s. A dam was built at Lake Sahajärvi to channel water to the ironworks and harness water power. While the original ironworks buildings have not survived (mainly stone foundations remain), the area’s 19th-century log buildings—originally used as housing—have been restored to their original exterior appearance. Today, these buildings host accommodation, meeting facilities, and businesses.
The restored buildings sit in a lush, grove-like landscape, and a river runs through the area towards the sea at Teijonselkä. In summer, there is a café here. Nearby, on the shore of Lake Hamarinjärvi in Teijo National Park, you’ll also find the Onnelannummi camp centre, which is rented out for larger events as well.
More information about what Kirjakkala Ironworks Village offers is available via the village’s own website.
Kirjakkala’s history
Kirjakkala ironworks was founded by Lorentz Creutz in the late 1600s. By the mid-1700s, ironworks industry in Kirjakkala and Teijo was thriving: in addition to pig iron, production included items such as anchors, axles for cart wheels, nails, iron bars, and iron buttons.
Although industrial activity in Kirjakkala slowed in the 1900s and ended in 1956 when the button factory burned down, the legacy of the original industry continues: after the fire, a new button factory was built in the village of Teijo, where it is still operating today.
From Kirjakkala to the other ironworks villages
The three ironworks villages in the Teijo area—Kirjakkala, Teijo and Mathildedal—are located by the sea: Kirjakkala at the northern edge of the national park next to Lake Hamarinjärvi, Teijo in the middle next to Lake Sahajärvi, and Mathildedal at the southern edge next to Lake Matildanjärvi.
The distance from Kirjakkala to Mathildedal is about seven kilometres. A great day-trip idea is to start in Kirjakkala, hike either the coastal route or along the western edge of Teijo National Park to Teijo, and then—after a lunch break—continue to Mathildedal for dinner or afternoon coffee.