Fiskars: Ironworks Culture, Forest Trails and Handicrafts

Fiskars combines a long history of ironworks with forest trails, handicrafts and nature. The Fiskars ironworks was founded in 1649. At the Fiskars Museum, the story of ironworks culture spans the 17th century to the present day. If you are looking for a holiday apartment for your trip, you can first consider whether you want your stay to focus mainly on culture, outdoor activities or both.

Discover history and handicrafts

At the Fiskars Museum, history is presented through stories, exhibitions and demonstrations. This makes a visit a way to explore the development of ironworks culture in different ways. The cultural trail through the upper ironworks offers another way to experience it outdoors: the trail is about 2 km long and can be explored independently with the help of a media guide.

Handicrafts are also part of the cultural offering. Onoma is a cooperative of craftspeople, designers and artists from Fiskars. In a historic barracks building in the centre of the ironworks, it runs a members’ shop as well as the year-round Galleria360 and CUBE galleries. At KWUM, permanently displayed works, mostly from Karin Widnäs’ own collections, are shown alongside changing exhibitions featuring work by Finnish and international ceramic artists. KWUM’s architecture combines wood and ceramics and is considered an exemplary use of ceramics in architecture.

Forest trails and nature at your own pace

The Fiskars ironworks lies in a green river valley whose natural landscape is characterised by deciduous trees and lakes. The 2 km-long tree species trail introduces 25 different tree species. If you would prefer a longer route, the Rissla Forest Trail is about 4 km long and starts and ends near the centre of the ironworks. It passes through a cultural landscape with nature reserves, fields, managed forest and reforested fields. There is a lean-to shelter and a campfire site along the trail; it also leads to the buildings of the old Rissla power plant.

When choosing between these trails, the main considerations are length and focus: the tree species trail centres on trees, while the longer Rissla Forest Trail connects natural and cultural history. A calming forest-bathing walk led by Reetta Ranta combines experiencing nature with stories from Finnish mythology and folklore, as well as rituals connected with the lunar cycle and the seasons.

Explore by bike and sample local products

If you want an active stay, the Fiskars Village Trail Center offers more than 60 km of marked and maintained mountain bike routes across the Fiskars ironworks grounds. The routes cover four difficulty levels, from Green to Black. When planning a ride, you can take both the route length and its designated level into account, without treating the different options as if they were all the same difficulty.

Food and drink also offer an insight into local businesses. Veitsitehdas has a shop and tasting bar for products from Fiskars Brewery and Noita Winery. Cafe Antique serves Korvapuusti and, whenever possible, favours locally produced and organic ingredients. You can therefore choose accommodation to suit your interests: culture, trails, cycling and local products can each provide a different focus for your stay.

Plan your journey and accommodation

You can reach Karjaa from Helsinki by bus or train in about an hour. For the roughly 15 km onward journey to Fiskars, you can take a local bus, taxi or bicycle. You can factor this leg into your travel plans when looking for a holiday apartment in Fiskars. Your choice of transport depends on whether you would like to make the onward journey by local bus, taxi or bicycle.

Discover more places: Kalajoki, Kauhajoki, Tyrnävä, Kukonkylä, Ruka, Yli-Valli, Alastalo, Oulu.

Back to the main travel overview: North Ostrobothnia.