Fiskars (

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

; fi, Fiskari) is a village, now part of the town of Raseborg, in western Uusimaa, Finland. The village is the site of the former Fiskars Bruk, which was founded in 1649 and gave rise to the company Fiskars. The most notable architectural attraction of Fiskars is a mansion designed in 1818 by Italian-born architect

Charles Bassi Charles (Carlo) Francesco Bassi (12 November 1772, Turin – 11 November 1840, Turku) was a Finnish architect of Italian descent. He was the first professionally trained architect who permanently worked in present-day Finland. He worked, both as an ...

. The village, which has less than 1000 inhabitants, is a popular tourist destination in summer, and hosts an artisan and artist community. The river Fiskarså (Swedish), Fiskarinjoki or Fiskarsinjoki (Finnish) has contributed to the industrialisation of the village.

History

The village of Fiskars developed around the

ironworks An ironworks or iron works is an industrial plant where iron is smelted and where heavy iron and steel products are made. The term is both singular and plural, i.e. the singular of ''ironworks'' is ''ironworks''. Ironworks succeeded bloomeri ...

founded by German-born Petter Thorwöste in 1649. The ironworks also produced copper. In 1822,

John Jacob von Julin Johan (''John'') Jacob Julin, (since 1849 von Julin; 5 August 1787 – 11 March 1853) was a Swedo-Finnish pharmacist, factory owner and ''vuorineuvos''. His son was Albert von Julin, a businessman and also a ''vuorineuvos''. Through his daught ...

bought the ironworks and founded a fine production facility in 1830 and Finland's first workshop in 1836. The development of the industrial community was fast, and the factories and workshops produced utility items from scissors and puukko knives to ploughs and power transmission devices. To transport the products, a narrow-gauge railroad from Fiskars to the Pohjankuru harbour was in use from 1891 to 1952. The history of the Fiskars company begins from the Fiskars Bruk, but the company no longer has active factories in the village.

Current situation

Nowadays, the factory is a lively centre of Finnish art and design. There are about 600 people living in the factory area and it is very popular among artists, artisans and designers. Especially in summer, the Fiskars Bruk is a popular tourist destination. Also in winter, various exhibitions and conference, accommodation and restaurant services, as well as workshops and shops provide things to see and experience. In 2019, the village launched a new festival, the Fiskars Village Art & Design Biennale. Several leading Finnish designers and design brands are based in the Fiskars village, including

Kim Simonsson Kim or KIM may refer to: Names * Kim (given name) * Kim (surname) ** Kim (Korean surname) *** Kim family (disambiguation), several dynasties **** Kim family (North Korea), the rulers of North Korea since Kim Il-sung in 1948 ** Kim, Vietnamese f ...

Karin Widnäs Karin may refer to: *Karin (given name), a feminine name Fiction * ''Karin'' (manga) or ''Chibi Vampire'', a Japanese media franchise *Karin Hanazono, title character of the manga and anime ''Kamichama Karin'' *Karin Kurosaki, a character in ''Bl ...

, Nikari and Feathr.

Sport

Fiskars hosted the inaugural World Orienteering Championships, 1–2 October 1966.

References

External links

Official site

Porvoo & Fiskars: idyllic & creative towns near Helsinki
– Visit Finland {{Raseborg Cityscape Villages in Finland Populated places established in 1649 1649 establishments in Sweden