Siuntio

Sister cities

• Türi Rural Municipality
• Lindesberg Municipality

History

Siuntio has been inhabited since the Stone Age, with the oldest evidence of farming settlements discovered in the river valley around the medieval Siuntio church. Many Bronze Age burial sites can also be found in Siuntio, such as Krejansberget hill and Luntoberget hill near St. Peter's Church. Some Iron Age sites, like Ekeberga Burial Site, are also found in the municipality. Apart from burial sites also a prehistoric hill fort, Skällberget, is found opposite to the church. The oldest known document mentioning Siuntio is from 1382. The document addresses a donation to the Church of St. Lawrence in Lohja. During the Middle Ages two large manor houses, Suitia and Sjundby, were built in Siuntio. The earliest mention of Suitia Manor is from 1420 in a document addressing a border conflict between Suitia estate and an estate owned by the bailiff of Häme Castle. Later, the estate came to the possession of the Fleming family. Over time, the Flemings acquired new land for the Suitia estate; at one point, Suitia had its own harbor by the sea near the mouth of Pickala river. The Flemings also built the first ironworks in Finland, located on the grounds of Suitia Manor, in the 1530s. The Sjundby Manor House is first mentioned in a document from 1417. The manor was owned by a number of nobles and royals, including Queen Christina of Sweden. The stone St. Peter's Church was built around 1480 on the site of previous wooden church buildings. The sacristy, the oldest part of the church, and armory were removed after the church caught fire in 1823. The National Author of Finland, Aleksis Kivi, lived in Siuntio in Fanjunkars croft from 1864 to 1871. The old municipality center around the church started to lose its significance after the coastal railway was built. The new railway…