FISKARS 1649 – 360 years of Finnish industrial history

Fiskars 1649
Iron and Europe
Without water power and blast furnaces to
smelt iron ore, the industrial production
of iron would be impossible. Even in the
Middle Ages, blast furnaces were beginning to replace
small pig iron furnaces in the Nordic region. Ore was
no longer lifted from lake beds; it was economical to
transport it over longer distances. Finland was rich
not only in water power but also in woodlands, and
it had a number of suitable harbours.
Iron-making was discovered in Asia more than
3,000 years ago. From there it spread slowly into
Europe via the Caucasus. For a long time, iron
production was very regional. The earliest flowing
furnaces were dug into the ground and had a natural
ventilation system. Gradually, small individual
furnaces powered with hand-worked bellows
became common. In the course of the Middle Ages
this small-scale iron production gave way to more
efficient ironworks, which used iron ore from
domestic mines. Water power and blast furnaces
were important technical advances of the time. The
ore was smelted in a blast furnace to turn impurities
into slag. However, the high carbon content of the
crude or pig iron produced this way made it brittle.
Mine elevator from 16th century.
On the left: German craftsmen making cross-bows in 1568.
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