Hämeen Härkätie (Oxen Road of Tavastia) is an ancient road in Finland, connecting

Turku Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...

Finland Proper Southwest Finland, calqued as Finland Proper ( fi, Varsinais-Suomi ; sv, Egentliga Finland), is a region in the southwest of Finland. It borders the regions of Satakunta, Pirkanmaa, Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme), Uusimaa, and Åland. The regi ...

Hämeenlinna Hämeenlinna (; sv, Tavastehus; krl, Hämienlinna; la, Tavastum or ''Croneburgum'') is a city and municipality of about inhabitants in the heart of the historical province of Tavastia and the modern province of Kanta-Häme in the south of F ...

Tavastia Proper Tavastia or Tavastland may refer to: * Häme (Swedish: ''Tavastland'', Latin: ''Tavastia'') * Tavastia (historical province), a historical province of the kingdom of Sweden, located in modern-day Finland * Tavastia (constituency), formerly Tavasti ...

. The 162

kilometers The kilometre ( SI symbol: km; or ), spelt kilometer in American English, is a unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), equal to one thousand metres (kilo- being the SI prefix for ). It is now the measurement unit used for ex ...

long road has been in use at the latest in the 9th century and in many parts it has been in use since. Today, fulfills the same purpose as the connection between Turku and Hämeenlinna, but it follows the original route only near Turku.

History

The Oxen Road links two major

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

settlement areas in Finland, the valley of the

Aurajoki The Aura River (Finnish ''Aurajoki''; Swedish ''Aura å'') is a river in south-western Finland. Its sources are in Oripää, and it flows through Pöytyä, Aura and Lieto before discharging into the Archipelago Sea in the middle of the city of ...

river and the Lake Vanaja region of

Häme Häme (; Swedish: ''Tavastland'', Latin: ''Tavastia'') is the name of a geographical region in Finland, associated with the Tavastians, or Häme people (''hämäläiset''), a subgroup of the Finnish people. The precise area referred to can vary ...

. Vanaja region was one of the main areas in Finland in prehistoric times to acquire articles for export, such as furs and hides. The Aurajoki river valley was the region where these exports passed through to the Baltic sea. The road was a joint institution of several ancient parishes in Western Finland. The road passes through two ancient provinces,

Lieto Lieto (; sv, Lundo) is a a city and municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Southwest Finland region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The p ...

in Turku and ancient Vanaja in Häme which has probably required some kind of agreeing upon on the rights of transit. The road was also probably used to link other prehistorical provinces together.

Etymology

The origin of the term "Hämeen härkätie" - the Oxen road of Tavastia is not known. The term occurs mainly in Häme at the far end of the road in folk poetry of the road-side parishes. The folk poetry in Finland proper exclude the term "Oxen road" with some exceptions in the environments of the Halikonlahti bay in present-day

Salo Salo or Salò may refer to: Places Finland *Salo, Finland, a town in Western Finland **Salo sub-region, a subdivision of Finland Proper and one of the Sub-regions of Finland since 2009 *An old name of Saloinen, a former municipality in Ostroboth ...

. Halikonlahti bay has been traditionally seen as the ancient port of the

Tavastians Tavastians ( fi, Hämäläiset, sv, Tavaster, russian: Емь, Yem, Yam) are a historic people and a modern subgroup (heimo) of the Finnish people. They live in areas of the historical province of Tavastia (historical province), Tavastia (Häme) ...

Route

The first known description of the route of the road is made by Jaakko Teitti in 1556. At the time the road was 162 kilometers long and the route started from the Aura river valley and continued via villages of

Tarvasjoki Tarvasjoki () is a former municipality in the region of Southwest Finland, in Finland. It was merged with the municipality of Lieto on 1 January 2015. The municipality had a population of 1,959 (30 November 2014) and it covered an area of of whi ...

Marttila Marttila (; sv, S:t Mårtens, i.e. " Saint Martin's") is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Southwest Finland region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of ...

, Koski,

Somero Somero () is a town and municipality of Finland. It is part of the Southwest Finland region in the province of Western Finland, located northeast of Salo, east of Turku and northwest of Helsinki. The municipality has a population of () and cove ...

, Tammelan Letku, Tammelan Porras and

Renko Renko is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated with Hämeenlinna on 2009-01-01. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Tavastia Proper region. The municipality had a population of 2,378 (30 Novembe ...

continuing through sparsely populated uplands of Tammela to

Häme Castle Tavastia Castle or Häme Castle ( fi, Hämeen linna, sv, Tavastehus slott) is a medieval castle in Tavastia Proper, Finland. It is located in Hämeenlinna, the city between Helsinki and Tampere. Originally located on an island, the castle now sit ...

. Winter time

winter road A winter road is a seasonal road only usable during the winter, i.e. it has to be re-built every year. This road typically runs over land and over frozen lakes, rivers, swamps, and sea ice.Proskin et al, 2011. Guidelines for the Construction an ...

s were used and the route of the road varied on small degree. Journey from

took approximately 4–6 days. In 1938 the route was designated , but in 1962 a new road with a different route was built to replace Hämeen Härkätie as a new road 10. The route is currently scattered among multiple regional roads, private roads and streets. Parts have been designated as a

scenic route A scenic route, tourist road, tourist route, tourist drive, holiday route, theme route, or scenic byway is a specially designated road or waterway that travels through an area of natural or cultural beauty. It often passes by scenic viewpoints ...

for tourism purposes.

Gallery

File:Hämeen Härkätien matkailutien opaste.jpg, sign File:View_from_Vanhalinna_in_Lieto.jpg, Lieto File:Kosken_kellotapuli.jpg, Koski Tl. File:Savenvalajamuseo_Kultelassa.JPG, Kultela

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hameen Harkatie Hämeenlinna History of Turku Medieval Finland

History

Etymology

Route

See also

Gallery

References