FISKARS 1649 – 360 years of Finnish industrial history

Fiskars 1649
Fiskars 1649
A carpenter’s workshop now occupies Finland’s first engineering workshop.
On the left: View of the Fiskars River from behind the Granary.
New residents and new services
Twice as many people now live in Fiskars today
than when industrial production dominated the
community. The local population currently numbers
around 600. Many other changes have taken place as
well as a result of the influx of new people. Swedish
used to be the dominant language locally, but the
number of Swedish-speakers has dropped to under
20% in a matter of just a few years. Once threatened
with closure, the local school is now full of children
again. The new residents are also younger than the
national average.
The craftsmen, designers, and artists that have
moved to Fiskars have played a central role in the
transformation of the community and creating new
employment locally. Since Fiskars’ plants moved to
nearby Billnäs are the old premises now occupied by
artists. Fiskars itself has not completely disappeared,
however, as the company still manages its land and
forest assets from its local office.
Nearly all local businesses in Fiskars today are
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