The Early History of Loimaa

Hirvikoski village, the place wherein this museum and the main church of Loimaa are located, was settled relatively late. Due to the heavy clay soil of the Loimaa area, efficient agriculture only became possibly in the first half of the 2nd Millennium, when heavy plows and other modern farming methods were adopted from Sweden and Central Europe.

During the prehistoric era, the Loimaa area was not even particularly popular as hunting grounds. The rivers are small and there are no major lakes, which means there is little opportunity for fishing economy. Forests are not particularly lush, sustaining relatively little populations of animals to be hunted. There is evidence of prehistoric dwellings in the vicinity of Loimaa (e.g. Alastaro), but Loimaa proper seems to have been scarcely populated, probably only used for occasional hunting trips or as a shortcut when traveling.

The area around Hirvikoski and Loimaa city was likely settled around the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries. Settlement spread southward along the rivers. Most settlers came from the west coast province of Satakunta. (Historically, Loimaa has been regarded to be a part of Satakunta.) By the 1530s, the entire Greater Loimaa region had been populated.

During the reign of King Gustav I of Sweden (1523–1560), Sweden broke away from Denmark and declared itself an independent kingdom. For Finland, this meant a tightening grip from the state and a shift from Catholicism to Lutheranism.

Between 1651 and 1679, Loimaa was governed by the Wittenberg family, of German origin, as a barony. Finland came under Russian rule in 1809. This meant increased autonomy and gradual democratization of the Finnish society.

Caption: Marshal Arvid Wittenberg (1606–1657), Baron of Loimaa and Count of Nyypori.