Photos

A typical old ostrobothnian house which has not been modernized too much. It is said that the more windows a house used to have facing the road the wealthier were the people living in it. True or not, it is a fact that in this area of Finland, people have even built their house bigger than everyone else - just to parade. This house would not have won that competition, since the big ones are twice as long and/or have a second storey.

This house may have been built in late 19th century. In the attic there might be one or two bedrooms that could have been used only during summer (no heating) and downstairs typically is separated into one big room with the stove which was also a kind of living room. Other rooms were mostly bedrooms. For example, the sauna was always outside.

In those days, the building material had to come from a fairly close distance. That is why the houses are mainly made of wood and stones. Metal and glass were very expensive materials (even the nails especially in window frames might have been made from wood). Tar was used to protect wood that was in close contact with stone and it could also protect metal against the rust. The painting was made using a self-made paint, that contained rye or wheat flour. Insulating materials were sawdust, moss, sand, and peat. The bricks for the chimney have usually been also locally made.