Rosendal is a small farm in Raseborg, southern Finland. The plot is situated on the north side of a lake above Pojo bay. A stream feeds this lake from a higher lake and creates a small pond and boggy area running north-south across the fields.
The old farmhouse is a log building which was constructed almost 100 years ago. There is a sauna building, an old barn and the foundations of another barn long since gone. On the eastern side of the pond, there is a modern barn (which we built in 1999) and down by the lake there is a log sauna, built in 2010 using logs from the forest.
The land was once owned by Fiskars - the company known internationally for its orange-handled scissors. In those days Fiskars was making cutlery and farming tools at the ironworks in Fiskars village about 7 kms east of the farm. When Fiskars eventually sold the land, the deeds stated that the company would retain ownership of the trees for a period of ten years. Fiskars used the wood in its foundries and smithies. (One interesting anecdote: In 1750 the Fiskars ironworks had a new set of owners, Robert Finlay and John Jennings. My paternal grandmother's maiden name was Jennings...)
Today Rosendal is something between a mökki (summer cottage), a smallholding and a farm. Our neighbour grows cereal crops in the fields, we graze sheep, keep bees and produce honey, have a few hens and a rooster, grow fruit and vegetables (some for the freezer and some to sell) and we try to look after the forest. Since moving here, we've rejuvenated the forest felling mature spruce, birch and pine and planting alder, larch, curly birch, and more pine.
You can now find us on Facebook too.
The old farmhouse is a log building which was constructed almost 100 years ago. There is a sauna building, an old barn and the foundations of another barn long since gone. On the eastern side of the pond, there is a modern barn (which we built in 1999) and down by the lake there is a log sauna, built in 2010 using logs from the forest.
The land was once owned by Fiskars - the company known internationally for its orange-handled scissors. In those days Fiskars was making cutlery and farming tools at the ironworks in Fiskars village about 7 kms east of the farm. When Fiskars eventually sold the land, the deeds stated that the company would retain ownership of the trees for a period of ten years. Fiskars used the wood in its foundries and smithies. (One interesting anecdote: In 1750 the Fiskars ironworks had a new set of owners, Robert Finlay and John Jennings. My paternal grandmother's maiden name was Jennings...)
Today Rosendal is something between a mökki (summer cottage), a smallholding and a farm. Our neighbour grows cereal crops in the fields, we graze sheep, keep bees and produce honey, have a few hens and a rooster, grow fruit and vegetables (some for the freezer and some to sell) and we try to look after the forest. Since moving here, we've rejuvenated the forest felling mature spruce, birch and pine and planting alder, larch, curly birch, and more pine.
You can now find us on Facebook too.