Ironworks on the Coast of the Archipelago Sea – Enjoy the Village Walk in Taalintehdas

The quaint seaside village of Taalintehdas (or Dahlsbruk in Swedish) is found on the Kemiö Island in Southwest Finland. From the ruins of an old blast furnace begins a network of walking trails. We drove there during a late winter spell, with snowbanks still dominating the landscape, though the sun was blazing from a cloudless sky, doing its best to undo the late winter. Seeing the local snow conditions, we decided to choose a trail that would nicely follow the thawed and dry streets – the Village Walk.

Circular route 3.5 km

Starting point on the map (Tullinmäentie, Kemiönsaari)

We arrived on a Saturday afternoon. We came by car, but it’s also possible to reach Taalintehdas by bus, which runs regularly from the city of Salo, where one can arrive by train, for instance.

From the parking lot of the now-closed village library, we could see buildings that fit the old ironworks’ atmosphere. The photo below shows an old mechanical workshop built from slag bricks and behind it, a red building named Mustepullo (Ink Bottle), both from the 19th century.

I’ll mention right away that had we decided at home to walk this specific route, the Village Walk, I would have researched it more in advance. Dear reader, I recommend you do so. The route is not marked as you walk, and there’s no information about the sights along it on street signs. However, information can be found on the Kemiö Island’s website, revealing a wonderful story map and interesting information about the buildings along the route, if one looks up this page.

This time, the piercing bright spring sun made glancing at the phone annoying at every street corner. Without the phone, though, we wouldn’t have known where to turn. It would have been wise to take a photo of the guide map at the beginning or print out a map in advance.

The photo above shows the actual starting point of the circular routes. My husband described the building as a Viking barbecue hut, which is quite an apt description. Behind the hill’s knoll opened up the frozen Dammen pond, from where the area’s nature trails start. We glanced there, but after assessing the snow conditions and comparing them to our already complete exhaustion with snow for the winter, we decided instead to enjoy the offerings of the Village Walk.

It was a good decision, as the Village Walk gave us exactly what we hoped for: leisurely strolling in lovely weather and beautiful seaside scenery!

Above is a photo of the starting point’s information board, where the routes are distinguished by different colors. The Village Walk is the blue route, which runs close to the shoreline, while the other routes head inland towards the Large and Small Masuunijärvi Lakes. The starting point and location of the information board are marked with a red “i” in the photo.

We set off clockwise. We passed the Taalintehdas market square, still quietly slumbering from its winter nap, and a hill named Widows’ Rock after the sailors’ wives according to the digital story map. Jackdaws, my favorite birds, frolicked on the dry, quiet road, making a lot of noise, and the occasional human passerby greeted us with a smile. We also saw a couple of finches and blackbirds. The building at the intersection of Hertsbölen Road and Valurintie Road was one of many very similar, almost identical buildings in the area, but I couldn’t fish out its name or history.

Traveling down Valurintie to Rantatie, I enjoyed watching and sniffing the sea freed from ice. The spring sun of the Archipelago Sea dazzled even through sunglasses, but I let it dazzle peacefully – we’ve certainly been waiting for summer! Bring on the heat! Waves crashed onto the shore, having already eaten away the snowbanks. Boats lay between ice and water on the shore, and seagulls filled the soundscape. A motorboat arrived from the sea, its final stretch through the ice giving off a sweet and carrying buzz.

We found a bench on the shore where we sat for just a moment. Lovely sea. Lovely upcoming summer. As I write this, only a short time has passed since our trip, but even during this time, the temperatures have started to rise, eating away the snow’s power to freeze the archipelago. If the Village Walk is a pleasant route during snowy times, it must surely be a real gem in the summer!

We reached a place with a cluster of grey stone buildings that stood out from the rest of the building stock, which were intriguing. I learned that they were charcoal kilns, also from the 19th century, and originally there were 28 of them. Now, 11 remain. Wood was burned in these kilns to make charcoal, needed for iron production. Iron, in turn, was made in blast furnaces – presumably where this route began. Apparently, in their day, the charcoal kilns used to belch thick smoke and soot into the skies of this village. Now, they stood in the spring day’s landscape, almost radiant against the white snow, blue sky, and blinding sun.

At the corner of the kilns, we had to remove a layer of clothing – it was so warm. We arrived via Malmintie Road to Tallimäentie Road, where the fine yellow buildings basked in the sun. There would have been a restaurant too if we had been hungry, but we were content just to look at the buildings and admire their yellowness. I felt a small surge of joy realizing that there, side by side, were the stable and pony – Stall’s Bar & Food and the movie theater Bio Pony.

By the way, there were many parking spaces around here, where one could probably start the Village Walk quite well.

Following the map, we walked around the bend of Taalintehdas Road, passing a dog park and heading towards the stone chapel, standing in a wooded slope somewhat sheltered by trees. From its corner, it was just a short and brisk descent back to the starting point. Just before arriving, I noticed on the left side of the hill some beautiful old red buildings, which turned out to be the oldest surviving buildings in Taalintehdas, the Norrbacken cottages from the 18th century. They were originally built as homes for the ironworks’ workers.

I recommend the Village Walk to everyone who comes to Taalintehdas and wants to get acquainted with the village through such a pleasant leisurely walk, regardless of the season!