Welcome to Fagervik
History
The Manor Church
Museum & Information
Agenda 2024 |
Fagervik iron works were founded in
1646 by a Swede named Carl Billsten. The iron works consisted of two
iron forges and one blast furnace. There were some
cottages but no manor house. Today there are no
buildings left from Billsten's era.At the end of the
17th century war and the plague reduced the population in
the region almost by half, and there was a shortage of
wood as well. As a result of these factors combined
the production of iron ceased and Fagervik fell into
ruins at the turn of the century.
In 1723 two
Swedish brothers named Johan Wilhelm and Michael Hising bought the
estate along with its
industrial rights. They rebuilt the iron works quickly,
and in the mid 1720's Fagervik had two new iron forges
and a blast furnace producing iron that was shipped
over to Sweden. Most of the blacksmiths were skilled
workers brought from Germany. The blacksmiths held a
high social status within the community, but their
work was hard, working in three shifts with the huge
forge hammers thumping loudly 24 hours a day. With
them the German blacksmiths also brought the potato,
which was unknown in Finland at that time. Finland's
first potatoes were grown in Fagervik.
Michael's
son Johan Hisinger represented the next generation in Fagervik. His
was a grand era, Fagervik
obtained the sole right in Scandinavia for the
production of Fagervik's speciality, tin-plated iron. This
product brought Fagervik wealth and the mansion,
planned by C F Schröder, was built in 1773 and the vast
French garden began to take form.
Johan's
son Mikael Hisinger followed in his father's footsteps in 1790.
During his time many greenhouses,
holding exotic flowers and plants such as lemons,
grapes, orchids, mulberry trees, were built. A Chinese
pavillion, the large stables and most of the
cottages are from his era as well.
Fagervik
has been visited by many noble guests, among them Gustavus III and
Alexander I.
The
winter garden, the Orangeria, was built in 1844, by Mikael's son
Fridolf. He was interested in agriculture
and gardening and worked with the breeding of many new
plants and trees that he imported to Finland.
Fridolf also foresaw the inevitable decline of the iron
industry in southern Finland. As Finland became part
of Russia in 1809, the markets for iron had shrunk due
to regulations and a weak currency. Furthermore, new
technology made the large waterfalls in mid-Finland
more effective than Fagervik's rather small power supply.
During
his successor Eduard's era, the iron works were closed down in 1903
and agriculture became the
major source of income for Fagervik. A structural
development that the owners had seen coming and thus
were prepared for. Today, Fagervik Estate is a modern
production unit within forestry and agriculture,
employing five persons. The present owners of Fagervik are
Eduard's great-great-grandchildren and
descendants in 9th generation of the same family.
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