Rapola hill fort ( fi, Rapolan linnavuori) is a

hill fort A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...

Sääksmäki Sääksmäki is a village and a former municipality, currently part of Valkeakoski in the Pirkanmaa region of Western Finland. A past president of Finland, Pehr Evind Svinhufvud, the Finnish film producer and director Veikko Aaltonen, eminent Fin ...

in the municipality of Valkeakoski,

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...

. Its walls have circled an area of 58 000 square meters and it is the biggest hill fort found in Finland. In 1921 senator and archaeologist

Julius Ailio Julius Ailio (19 July 1872 – 4 March 1933) was a Finnish archaeologist and a Social Democratic politician. He was a member of the Senate of Finland. He was born in Loppi Loppi (; Swedish also ) is a municipality in Finland. It is locate ...

raised the question in his article if the fort had been the main fort of

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 (Häme) and speak Tavastian dialects ...

. This view has also faced criticism later. According to excavations, the fort seems to have been in operation at least during the 13th and 15th centuries. This timing gives the postulation that it was built by the inhabitants in their struggles against invading Novgorodians and

Swedes Swedes ( sv, svenskar) are a North Germanic ethnic group native to the Nordic region, primarily their nation state of Sweden, who share a common ancestry, culture, history and language. They mostly inhabit Sweden and the other Nordic countr ...

. Parts of it may be even earlier, since the area has been inhabited already in the 7th century. In excavations there have been found 80 depressions that have been interpreted as a place of residence and 13 places of hearths. Only one percent of the area of the hill fort has been excavated. A Papal Bull from 1340 mentions a person named ''Cuningas de Rapalum'' (King of Rapala) in a list of peasants who refused to pay taxes to the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

. The medieval Sääksmäki church is located nearby, and the oldest signs of farming in Finland (dated 200 BC) is also found there. The fort was partly constructed on a natural hill that was eventually entirely fortified. Remains of the earth walls are still visible. The fort was 400 meters long and 200 meters wide.

References

External links

Rapola fort at the Finnish National Board of Antiquities
Archaeological sites in Finland History of Pirkanmaa Valkeakoski Buildings and structures in Pirkanmaa {{Finland-struct-stub