Mäntsälä

History

Mäntsälä is considered to have been founded in 1585, when the community's first church was built. The current church was completed in 1866 after delay. The Crimean War affected also Mäntsälä: funds for building the church were spent on war efforts. All of the churches were located on Kirkonmäki ("Church Hill") at about the same spot. The first common school was founded in 1870 by way of a testament of clergyman Abraham Ehnroos. To his credit is the founding of a public library already in 1840. An intermediate school was not founded until 1945 with a high school following in 1954, previously facilities in Porvoo, Järvenpää and Helsinki were used. In 1854 the first town hall was built on Kirkonmäki. Today a museum is operating in the building, having also served as a morgue, school kitchen and lesson space, and a dormitory. It is deteriorating severely and the museum is only opened upon request. The second town hall was built in 1935, also on Kirkonmäki. It served until the completion of the present town hall in 1992. Now it houses an open college. There is a total of 15 manors in Mäntsälä, 4 of which are open to the public, the rest being private residences. Russian czar Alexander I visited as guest of Ulla Möllersvärd in 1809 in the Mäntsälä manor lying in the town center. The manors emerged in the 17th century as noblemen feoffs. Traditionally the land belonged to the manors. There were many crofts in Mäntsälä and new legislation in 1918 enabled the crofters to claim the land for themselves. In the 1920s the manors were still a sizable land owner in the parish. Mäntsälä is especially known for the Mäntsälä rebellion. About 400 civil guards went shooting to a Social Democratic party rally at Ohkola community hall, interrupting it. In the course of a few days…