History of the old road of Kyro boreal forest

1. The oldest land connections

Previously it was thought that the Finnish actual roads were met until in the early Middle Ages, mainly in the 13th century formed the administration of castle for the roads of castles. Now we, however, dare to say - even though archaeological certificates are minor - the oldest roads are probably still older, almost prehistoric. Dr. Jaakko Masosen's dissertation, "The Hame Oxen Road" (Tampere 1989) describes the old land connection between Turku and Hameenlinna and expects it to be with reason clearly older than the castle regime, more originally based on connections between old market places already before the medieval castles of the kingdom were born to both end points. This may be the case also in other parts of pre-historic Finland, where ever the need for traffic at ground level has occurred.

In the end of the Iron Age and in the Middle Ages in the so-called Satakunta they lived the time of backwoodsmen. People in the base villages on the banks of Kokemaenjoki river and in the villages of the southern parts of Kulovesi and Kyrosjarvi earned their living primarily by farming, burn-beating, animal husbandry and fishery. The houses, however, had also a different type of privately-owned far situated wilderness, whose cabins they used a few times a year some weeks at a time by hunting and fishing. Thus the bread was widened but also additional incomes were earned particularly by valuable furs for tax payment or trade.

As known, the best lists of wilderness location in hole Finland have been preserved just in Satakunta and Hame from the 1550's, when the harsh King Gustav Vasa withdrew houses wilderness from the houses to state for population use. Professor Jalmari Jaakkola has in his works Pohjois-Satakunnan vanha erakulttuuri 1925) and Pirkkalaisliikkeen synty (1924) precisely published this very interesting historical name material, from which e.g. the ancient location of medieval Kyro-owned (so whose owners lived in Hameenkyro, Viljakkala and Ikaalinen) wilderness can be closely seen.

Initially waterways travelled by boat - and in winter the ice of a lake or river was easy to ski on - were the most important ways from the houses to their wilderness. Thus, the wildness of Kokemanejoki parish located in the issue of the Kokemanejoki river, (in nowadays Kokemaensaari) Huittinen parish in Ahlainen, Sastamala parish on the way from Lavian to Merikarvia and Kyro parish in the issue of Kyronjoki river where the way goes through the Parkano water system and the wilderness of Pirkkala parish by the Nasijarvi water system and headwaters in Ahtari parish up to Ostrobothnia.

I would say that according to the mentioned lists from the 1550's the Kyro houses had not only wilderness by water ways but also numerous by land ways in Jamijarvi, Kankaanpaa, Siikainen, Honkajoki and Karvia districts. As passageways to these were the easily moved eskers of Kyronkangas, Hameenkangas and Pohjankangas, which - as prof. Pentti Alhonen presents - formed like natural roads to an area and back. Because they had to take plenty of supplies and traps to wilderness and get back booty, fish and even heavy loads, we have to assume that as early during historic wilderness owning period people have travelled by horse.

I think that first they have ridden on horseback, and the goods have been hung in saddlebags or others on both sides of the beast of burden. Before long, after the saddle path first created some prominent way on eskers among trees, was it possible to enhanced transport by using stretcher whose other end was leashed to a saddle and the other goes behind on ground. Trolleys became general not until towards the end of 17th century as the old judgment books prove.

Thus, I assume that as early in the Middle Ages the land transport needed when visited in wilderness has gradually created the first line of the Hameenkangas road, still a slight pathway approximately to the place where we meet the way on the first survived maps in the 1650's

At the same time there is apparently established the winter road of Kyro boreal forest which goes a bit straighter through Kyrosjarvi, Parkano, Kihnio and Jalasjarvi to Korsholma. Its detailed location in willages has Viljo Alanen in 1946 published great lore from the 18th century in the Home series of the Student Nation of Satakunta. This road was apparently in use during the Cudgel War in winter 1597, because the master of the house Laurikainen in Parkano seems to belong to those who called cudgel men to Satakunta, and on the other hand, the desolations of Klaus Fleming's revenge tour were largely found by this road in Hoytola in Ikaalinen and the place of his soldiers guard on the border of the province against Ostrobothnia situated in a place called Kruununlukko. In March 1626 King Gustav II Adolf himself travelled by this winter road on his return from Narva around the Gulf of Bothnia to Sweden.

Also later the Kyrosjarvi winter road was in use. So according to Kyro judgment book Soini Martinpoika, the master of Laatu in Parkano, got in 1630 salary one ore from each house because he in previous winter had marked "the Ostrobothnia road through the forest". In the 1660s Sipi Olavinpoika, the master of Kuivasjarvi, marked the road. In 1683 three masters from Kana village in Parkano promised to take care of the bridge of their village by the Ostrobothnia road, against which they were free from other bridge works in the parish.

2 Road buildings during the Great Power period: The Summer Road of Kyro boreal forest

Position as great power in Sweden in the 17th century brought a wide variety of new superpower period knew arrangements within the kingdom. On the administrative side new counties were created, military recruitment, army movement and transportation of taxes to centers were organized, for official journeys created an inn system and for their post delivery a network of post farmers. Because according to the mercantile system trade in countryside was forbidden, many new cities were found. The clearing of new roads were needed, and because economic welfare would increase tax incomes, it was in state's interest. It may be difficult to analyze what single motif base the grown at each time the new road clearance was driving, but as we can see, there behind were many reasons working in the same direction, that it in the 17th century so eagerly forced anyway highly pressed peasants to built roads. Anyway, in the long run, this was the most forward-looking.

To the Northern Satakunta and "The Kyro of Satakunta" (so says Jaakko Teitti in 1556) the start of eight new cities in to the earlier empty northern coast of the Gulf of Bothnia in 1605 -1652, has of course meant a lot. Dr. Jaakko Viertola characterized it in the History of Finnish Roads (1974) as the main reason to road buildings here. It's probably so. But I wouldn't forget the meaning of the roads between Southern Finland and Ostrobothnia concerning tax-transportation from Ostrobothnia to Turku or capability to move Ostrobothnic troops to Vyborg if needed. These is a lot of information in the history of Hameenkyro as early as fron the 17th century. The new roads had, of course, a wide range of meaning to the state.

As early as in the Middle Ages the main-road from Turku runs through the bridges of hundred in Huittinen and Tyrvaa-Vammala to Pirkkala, Kangasala and Hameenlinna. Tree roads branches start off from the main road, the first from Huittinen through Kokemaki to Pori, the second through Hameenkyro and the Hameenkangas boreal forest to Ostrobothnia (in wintertime through Parkano) and the third through Kangasala and Orivesi to Laukaa in Central Finland.

The road of Hameenkangas was probably the oldest and the best connection between Satakunta and Ostrobothnia. This can be seen because just this fork was made and served works as a post-road during 1645 - 1671. As post-houses were mentioned Keimo in Herttuala, Hollo in Jarvenkyla, Luukas in Vaitsiainen and Soini or Hinttu in Jamijarvi, whose duty was to take post-bag to Knuuttila in Kauhajoki in summer. In winter, the post was brought to vicarage in Ikaalinen and from there to Nukka in Karttu and Laatu in Parkano and forward to Jokipii, the house of the rural police shief in Jalasjarvi.

When a permanent settlement in the beginning of the 17th century extended as far as Kankaanpaa area and the Inn of Kyron-Skanssi had worked out at least since the 1650's, was it as early as in the middle of 17th century possible to shorten journeys from one inn to another. In 1685 they named after Tuokko in Hameenkyro, mentioned from the 16th century, new inns like Soini in Jamijarvi and Niinisalo in Kankaanpaa. In that time the inns by the winter road of Kyro boreal forest were Kiiala in Ikaalinen and Laatu and Kuivasjarvi in Parkano. The date when the repair of the summer road of Kyro boreal forest (the historian of Ostrobothnia prof. Armas Luukko uses this name on the basis of references from the 17th century) at the latest became as the regular focus of authorities' attention, we find out from the southern part of the road in Ostrobothnia.