Highlights

History

Möhkö, the easternmost village in Finland—and in continental EU—lies in Ilomantsi along the Koitajoki River. The village developed around one of Finland’s largest lake ore ironworks. At Möhkö Ironworks, time passes quickly as visitors explore the manor, iron production, wartime history, and forestry work traditions. The museum exhibitions are located in the ironworks manor, Pytinki, and in the former storehouse building, Ambari. The Möhkönvirta contemporary art exhibition is spread throughout the ironworks area, creating an engaging dialogue between history and modern art.

Permission from the Senate to establish an ironworks in Möhkö was granted in 1836. However, the applicant, Carl Gustaf Nygrén, was unable to begin construction due to financial difficulties. The permit was reapplied for in 1847, and in the same year the founding rights and land were sold to Adolf von Rauch of St. Petersburg. Industrial operations at the ironworks began in 1849, when the first blast furnace, the main building Pytinki (also known as Herrala), the storehouse Ambari, and an early canal system providing water power for the furnace were completed.

As production increased and technology advanced, blast furnaces were modernized and expanded. From 1871 onward, two blast furnaces of different ages operated at the site. These furnaces were massive smelting structures, approximately 12.4 meters high, surrounded by timber-framed protective buildings. In addition to the furnaces, the ironworks included other production facilities such as two forges, a mill, a sawmill, tar and charcoal plants, and facilities for producing by-products like tar and turpentine. At its peak, the ironworks and its operations employed around two thousand workers, who also required services such as crafts and retail. In 1859, the ironworks established the first school in the Ilomantsi parish for workers’ children. Before a dedicated school building was completed, lessons were held in a hall within Pytinki.

The owner of the ironworks did not reside on-site; instead, the operations were managed by a works manager (förvaltare), known locally as “vörri.” He oversaw raw material procurement and transport, iron smelting processes and quality, and distribution to markets. The role also included responsibility for the physical and social well-being of workers, supported by a company-employed medic and active community and cultural life.

The ironworks office employed one or two clerks (cashiers). The works manager and clerks, along with their families, belonged to the ironworks’ upper class and lived in the main building, Pytinki (also called Herrala). One wing housed the manager’s family and servants, the other the clerk’s family, with offices and a reception room located between them.

The upper class at the ironworks lived a refined lifestyle. A scenic walking path, Lemmenpolku, was built for leisure and exercise around the site and along the rapids. A bathing house called Ryöppy was constructed by the river, where cold water from the canal cascaded over bathers like a shower—making it a popular destination even for visitors from Ilomantsi village.

According to tradition, Pytinki was designed by a Polish architect. The log-framed building, clad in wooden paneling, is now painted pale yellow, though it was originally white with light green detailing. Inside, traces of historic paints and wallpapers remain, revealed through conservation work. One particularly fascinating detail is the discovery of old letters and newspapers used as wall lining beneath wallpaper—19th-century newspapers and personal letters that were never intended to be seen again.

When lake ore production ceased in 1907, the site was acquired by the forestry company W. Gutzeit Oy. Workers moved to other industrial jobs or forestry work, and the manor residents left. The two large blast furnaces were largely dismantled starting in 1909, leaving behind stone and brick foundations and traces of furnace structures.

In addition to systematic dismantling, the area suffered significant destruction during the Winter War beginning in 1939, when much of the ironworks and village was destroyed. The Pytinki building narrowly survived. During the Continuation War, the area was occupied by Soviet forces, with thousands of soldiers stationed there. After the war, Möhkö remained in Finland, but the national border shifted eastward, and parts of Ilomantsi were ceded to the Soviet Union.

From the original ironworks buildings, only Pytinki, Ambari, and the forge survived intact.

Museum activity began in the 1970s, when the Ilomantsi Society initiated preservation efforts. Responsibility later transferred to the municipality and subsequently to the Ilomantsi Museum Foundation. The ruins of the two blast furnaces have been protected by structures built by the Finnish Heritage Agency. Development projects have improved signage, events, communication, and marketing in cooperation with local actors.

On the riverbank stands the residential barge Manta, now a summer café operated by the Ilomantsi Museum Foundation. Originally, it served as a floating logging camp for timber workers. Nearby are also the Möhkö Arboretum and a historic cemetery, where the first burial was that of Helvi, daughter of works manager Aksel Berner-Saloheimo, in 1901.