Published in: Helsingin Sanomat, 10th of July, 2004

 - THE IRON WORKS OF STRÖMFORS IS STILL OPERATIONAL

- Once it was a very hot here, like in a smoke sauna: The fires were burning, the smoke hurt your eyes and men were sweating. From morning till evening the smiths were manufacturing for example different kind of tools here in the iron works of Strömfors in Ruotsinpyhtää. First they were making the tools for the needs of the Swedes, then for the Russians and finally for the need of the independent Finland. When the day was over, everyone was like they would have been sitting in a sauna all day long, but they weren't very clean. The huge mechanical hammers which were operated with the help of a water-power station, would make everybody deaf and sometimes the carbon monoxide would hurt lungs. 

- Now here in the very picturesque area of the iron works of Strömfors, the only thing that's hot is the coffee pan and the sun. The only noise is mostly coming from the birds, which are living in the area. You can still however imagine what kind of working conditions have been a reality here, as the area of the iron works has been kept in a perfect condition. In the upper work shop, the museum office is giving a display with an old mechanical hammer, how the work was done. But still things are not like they use to be points out an old smith who use to work in the Strömfors iron works. The house where the old smith was living, was build in the early part of the 19th century and is now a hostel. The old work shop now contains a cafeteria. The old smith is greeting people while he is walking in the area, everybody knows him and respects him. He is a very respected man and when the area was renovated into a tourist sight, we listened the opinions and suggestions of the people who used to work here says the managing director of the iron works area. The managing director also sometimes acts as a guide. The smiths were the second one after the directors in the hierarchy. Even their cows were kept in a separate field from the cows of the ordinary workers, says the old smith.

- The old smith was fourteen when he followed the footsteps of his parents and started working in the iron works of Strömfors. The work was learned as a apprentice and when you had started your work career, you didn't stop. The smiths could work even as old as eighty, there was no pension. The pictures in the museum confirm this detail. The mechanical hammers are operated people with gray hair and a crooked back. In one picture you can see the old smith too, at that time being around twenty years of age and forging nails. The smith can still operate the tools quite easily and explains the working process. I would have continued to work here, if they would have let me, says the smith in a sad manner. The Strömfors iron work continued to work using the old mechanical hammers, which were operated with the help of the water-power station till 1950, when the iron work was closed. The old smith was forced to find a new job from somewhere. The area however remained quite lively and the buildings which were build for the workers to live in, remained in use when a plastic factory was build behind the saw. Ten years later, a museum was opened which presented the history of the iron works and slowly the area was turned into a tourist sight. Today, the living quarters are mostly populated by artists and craftsman who give the area a lively and a colorful image. There is constantly coming new people to the area.

- This building contained the iron works spirits factory, where they manufactured the spirits for the smiths, says the artists who has lived eighteen years in one of the buildings. It was thought that one snaps of spirits, would clean the lungs from the carbon monoxide. But it didn't go like that as the spirits were used immediately when it was received and the rest of the time, they were without any spirits. The tourist can find refreshments and other things from the restaurant which has been established in the old mill. There's also some salmon sandwiches which can be bought from the fish smokehouse, in the old cowshed. You can sit in the upper part of the old cowshed and watch the people walking in the yard of the new and lively iron works. During the best days, there's hundreds of tourists here. From the nearby beach, you can also go and swim to the Kymi-river, if the sun is too hot or the multitude of people starts to stress you. I bet that many of the smiths in the old days, would have liked to go and swim, while working among the hot furnaces.