Tornio River Valley

As a result of the downturn of the international economy, commerce in Tornio suffered immediately after 1800. Shipbuilding declined gradually. The commencement of hostilities with Russia in 1808 interfered with trading very much, even though Tornio was not destroyed during the Finnish War. As of March 1809, Tornio became an important Russian garrison town for over one hundred years, which added its own stamp to the streets.

The 1809 Treaty of Hamina had grave implications for commerce and life in Tornio. While the Russians wanted the border to run along the River Kainuunjoki and the Swedes along the River Kemijoki, a compromise was reached: Alexander I personally determined that the border would run along the deepest channel in the River Tornionjoki. Although Suensaari, the island on which Tornio stood, was by then a headland connected to the west bank of the river, Alexander ordered that the town would belong to Finland. Apparently, Alexander realized how important it was for commercial, military and political interests to own a border town. Possibly, Tornio’s reputation also made Alexander to want to include it in his Empire – after all, it was probably the best known Finnish town in Europe, thanks to visitors and travel books.

A devastating blow to commerce in Tornio was dealt by the loss of its most densely populated and wealthiest market in Lapland as a result of the relocation of the border. Additionally, trading relations with Sweden were broken off. Tornio’s position as a ‘gateway to Lapland’ for all commercial purposes was quickly waning, but as a frontier town it provided access to the West. Additionally, the accumulation of wealth in the hands of a few burghers led to great impoverishment because many well-to-do businessmen moved to the Swedish side, taking most of the capital reserves with them. At the same time, the townspeople lost much of their lands, forests and the shipbuilding site. After several decades of being a vibrant centre of shipbuilding and commerce, Tornio was now transformed into a poor rural town.