TRADITIONAL SURROUNDINGS FOR CENTURIES

The Vehkaniemi estate is an old family estate, whose history derives from the middle of the 16th century. Its earliest records are from 1565. The name Vehkaniemi appears first time in 1776 as a croft of Salo estate. It became independent in 1837 having then many crofts of its own. The place of the main building has changed only 200 meters during the last 400-500 years. Originally it was situated closer to the lake shore. According to oral tradition the main building was moved higher on the hills in 1730's when the ownership of the estate changed from brother to brother. In the beginning of the 20th century the estate has functioned as a selfsufficent unit, where nearly everything was produced by own hands. It could employ dozens of people seasonally. There has also been a successful draper's shop in the sidebuilding.

The estate's courtyard consists of many buildings: the main buildings ( from the 1840's, partly from the 1700's), the sidebuilding (partly from the 1700's), the two-story outbuilding with a loft ( 1939), the L-shaped two-story cowhouse ( the wooden upper floor from the 1940, the granite stone lower floor from the 19th century), the barn (1840), the hay store (likely from the same time), the ground cellar (20th century), the so called lower ground cellar, and the two-story grain store (1840's). Their building style represents a typical red ochred local peasant architecture. They form an entity which has been preserved unusually well as a whole. On the lake shore, there is situated the estate's tiny but cosy little sauna (built in 1999). Close to it, there is a summer kitchen and a good shore for swimming.