Finlayson site
The Finlayson site is a historic industrial site in the center of the city of Tampere . The factory was founded by the Scottish industrialist James Finlayson on the Tammerkoski rapids . The site has not been used industrially since the early 1990s, but most of the old buildings are still in use.
terrain
The Finlayson site is also known as the Old Town of Tampere. The features of the site are the red brick buildings with white plaster. There used to be dozens of buildings. Some were destroyed in fires, but most of them have been rebuilt.
The oldest and most valuable building on the site is called Kuusvooninkinen and represents one of the top achievements of the 19th century. It was completed in 1837. Kuusvooninkinen has six floors and was a real skyscraper at the time compared to the rest of the building stock. Kuusvooninkinen is one of the buildings of the old factory.
One of the most significant buildings on the site is Finlayson Church , built in 1879. It is the most popular wedding church in Tampere. It was designed by Tampere's first city architect FL Calonius .
history
In 1820 the Scot James Finlayson founded a machine shop and foundry in Tampere. At that time, the factory produced scraping and spinning machines for the textile industry. The company did not have much success in the beginning and switched from machine manufacture to spinning cotton and wool threads and the production of fabrics. In 1828 Finlayson became a cotton factory. James Finlayson sold his factory to Carl Samuel von Nottbeck and Georg Adolf Rauch in 1836 . One condition for the sale was that “Finlayson” remained in the factory's name. The new name of the factory became Finlayson & Co. (now Finlayson Oy). The new owners immediately started expanding the factory.
Finlayson has long been Finland's most important employer. In 1860, half of the population of Tamperes worked at Finlayson and in the 1870s a quarter of all industrial workers in Finland worked there. For the first time industrial employment was also offered to women. At the end of the 19th century, the Finlayson property was like a small state of its own within Tamperes: it had its own school and police force, hospital and money, for example. The factory also opened the first savings bank and the first consumer store Tamperes.
Finlayson was the largest industrial workplace in the Nordic countries until the 1920s . In 1877 Finlayson also built the largest weaving mill in the Nordic countries of that time, which was named Plevna . Plevna is also a historically significant place because it was the first time electric lights were on in the Nordic countries.
Finlayson today
In 1988, a design competition for the future use of the site was announced, which was won by the architectural firm 8 Studio Oy. The new development plan was adopted by the Tamperes City Council in 1995.
Nowadays there are many different businesses, museums, restaurants, leisure facilities, and a business center called Siperia ("Siberia") on the site. The editorial office of Aamulehti , the second largest newspaper in Finland, is also located here. Tamperes' largest cinema is located in the old Plevna weaving room, and it still bears the name of the room today. The Plevna brewery restaurant is also located in this building. Other well-known destinations are the Central Museum of the Werstas Labor Movement (Työvänenmuseo Werstas) and the Spy Museum (Suomen Vakoilumuseo).
Although Finlayson gave up textile production on its old site in the 1990s, there is still a factory outlet on the site. Around 800 people live in the new buildings. In the buildings of the nearby stable yard (Tallipiha) nowadays craftsmen work instead of the stable master. Various events are organized there all year round, and at Christmas there is a Christmas village in the stable yard.
Finlayson site building
The following buildings are located on the Finlayson site: Kuusvooninkinen (factory building), Plevna (a former weaving mill, now a cinema), the Central Museum of the Werstas Labor Movement (Työvänen keskusmuseo Werstas), Siperia ("Siberia", business center), the stable yard (Tallipiha , Handicraft shops ) as well as the Finlayson Palace (Finlaysonin palatsi; the former home of the factory owner, now an exclusive restaurant) and the Finlayson Church (Finlaysonin kirkko).
Web links
Coordinates: 61 ° 30 ′ 6.1 ″ N , 23 ° 45 ′ 35.2 ″ E