History

The Old Town of Ekenäs is a unique, vibrant, and culturally and historically significant neighbourhood from the mid-1500s.

The Swedish king Gustav Vasa granted Ekenäs city rights in 1546. The town was then just a small fishing village on the promontory, which today is known as the Old Town. Twenty-five years after the city was founded, the number of taxpayers was only 14! In 1650 there were about 100. Ekenäs was the first city founded in Finland after the Middle Ages.

The oldest houses in the Old Town today are from the 18th century, but the street network was created 200 years earlier. Alongside the medieval town of Porvoo, Ekenäs is the only town in Finland where the street plan was not changed in the 17th century into a schematic grid.

The district is one of the few examples in Finland of an authentic, old-fashioned environment with low wooden houses, and narrow streets and alleys.

After some unfortunate demolitions, new constructions and heavy-handed renovations, the city decided in 1956 to preserve the Old Town. Today, it is protected by a city plan from the 1990s, and continues to largely reflect a bygone era, making it both picturesque and interesting.

Street names

Many of the street names indicate that the district was previously inhabited by craftsmen. You can find Hattmakeregatan (Milliner’s Street), Linvävaregatan (Linen Weaver’s Street), Målaregatan (Painter’s Street), and so on. The names are said to have been invented in the 18th century by the then-mayor Gabriel Kepplerus. During a walk with local councillors, he created the street names that are still in use today.

One of the few exceptions to this tradition is Kärrgatan (Marsh Street), which in the municipal merger in 2009 was renamed Helene Schjerfbeck Street.

The outermost promontory in the Old Town is called Barckens cape after a tanner, Carl Gustaf Barck, who lived there.

Block names

On an old map from 1843, all blocks in Ekenäs are listed with names from the animal kingdom. In the Old Town, most of these are names of fish. The students of the local vocational institute made the signs that can be seen here and there on the walls of the Old Town. One may feel lucky to live in the Laxen (salmon) or Gösen (pike-perch) blocks, perhaps less so in the Simpan (gurnard) one. When the blocks were named, they seem to have run out of native fish, as we also have blocks named after the dolphin, whale, and shark.