Konstar

History

The house was owned by the bourgeois Erik Cajander in 1800. He owned real estate including a field, a meadow, a granary, two reefs and two barns, a share in a boathouse and a beach house.

Fire insurance

The fire insurance was taken out in 1867 by J. Heljander, a master lapidary. At that time, there were six buildings on the corner of Vanhankirkonkatu and Pappilankatu. The main building was on the Pappilankatu side, in the eastern part of the plot. The building was recently built and in good condition, panelled and painted in red. The roof was made of boards. The apartment had two halls, a pantry, a kitchen and a hallway. Adjoining this building was another, slightly narrower building, which was not boarded up and painted in red brick. This building had a hall, two chambers and a hallway. There were two buildings attached to each other along Pappilankatu. The southern building was a lean-to, old, in fair condition, unplanked and painted red. In addition to the bakery, the building contained a pantry. The second building, slightly narrower in frame, was also in fair condition, old, unplanked and painted red. It had a washroom with a fireplace and a wood stove. On the eastern side of the plot was a recently built outbuilding in good condition, partly built of logs, partly of boards and painted in red paint. The building contained a shed, a stable and two barns. There was also a shed on the northern boundary of the property, which was not insured.

Modification drafts

A modification drawing of the buildings on the plot from 1886 shows that there were three residential buildings on the plot, two in a row along Vanhankirkonkatu and the third along Pappilankatu. There were also two outbuildings, one tall and one smaller, on the other side of the courtyard, apparently used as a barn. In the middle of the courtyard was a well. The façades of the buildings had empire-style horizontal brickwork and the windows had classical panelling. The smoothly lined attic floor had narrow windows. The themes of contrasting styles were emerging. The plan features corner pilasters with Neo-Renaissance carvings, turned knobs and chamfered blocks. The attic floor of the end of the building on Pappilankatu has scribbled vertical moulding and a diagonal window with arched mouldings and turned knobs. The doorway is also drawn in a neo-renaissance style. The buildings on the street side of the Vanhankirkonkatu are covered by the same roof and lined on the roof side to form a single unit. On the courtyard side, it is clear that the frame width of the buildings was also different. The larger building was a semi-detached house, with the street-facing rooms used for residential purposes. On the courtyard side there was an entrance hall and a small porch-like kitchen attached to the building. The smaller building had two rooms across the width of the building frame, the larger in the middle and the smaller at the end. At the other end was a porch and hallway, with a small kitchen adjacent to it on the courtyard side. In front of the entrance was a porch. At one end of the building along Pappilankatu, was a large room with a baking oven, and at the other end a hall. Between them on the courtyard side was a hallway and on the street side two chambers. The building also had a porch.

In 1896, a double door is made in the building facing Pappilankatu, which is why the window was moved. The alteration drawing by E. Ikäläinen shows that the building has been given cross-shaped windows and nickel-style window panelling ending in a lily motif. In 1902, an extension was made to the building facing Pappilankatu on the courtyard side, and a kitchen with a baking oven was added. The oven was demolished and replaced by a tiled oven.

In 1906, a porch-like extension was built at the end of the building facing Vanhankirkonkatu on Pappilankatu, which became the door to the commercial building.

In 1910, a porch was built next to the kitchen in the residential building facing Vanhankirkonkatu. At the same time, the exterior was also renovated. The old shed was replaced by a new part of the outbuilding, which connected to the building on the eastern boundary of the plot. The outbuilding was modified to include a three-cow barn, a stable with a three-compartment latrine, and various sheds and sleeping quarters. The cattle sheds, as well as the old part of the barns, are of log construction, the new sheds are of board construction. The plans were drawn up by L. Ahti.

1916 was another year of change. The plans were made by Arvi Leikari. The building on both the Vanhankirkonkatu and Pappilankatu side of the street was to be a commercial building with shop windows. On the Vanhankirkonkatu side of the building, an extension was added to the courtyard, which housed two kitchens. The positions of the partition walls and fireplaces were also changed. The new entrances are made so that there are six exterior doors on the courtyard side and two on the street side, one of which is new. A brick section was proposed between the east end of the building facing Vanhankirkonkatu and the building on the neighbouring plot, through which the new commercial building would be accessed. There were three separate apartments, two of which also contained commercial premises.

In 1922, shop windows and a second entrance to the shop were built along Pappilankatu.

In 1925, a large, two-storey stone building with work and storage rooms was constructed in the courtyard of a plot of land then owned by F. W. Mere. The entire basement was also put to good use. The building is plastered and has a pent roof. It was designed by Kaarlo Wirtanen.

The building on Vanhankirkonkatu is a workshop and was used as a warehouse in 1948, when a central heating boiler was installed. In 1954 it was decided to build a partly open and partly closed storage canopy on the side of the building on the courtyard side. In 1959, the log building was converted into a nickel-plating and galvanising department for the metalworks. Part of the building also housed the iron and steel store of a hardware store. The partition walls were demolished and the interior walls were lined with brick and asbestos sheeting. In parts of the building, the roof had been opened up to the water ceiling. The ceilings were also covered with asbestos sheets. The building along Pappilankatu is still a residential and commercial building, but the outbuildings have been replaced by a two-storey stone workshop building. The plot is shared with the neighbouring plot.

In 1987, a new commercial building was built on the site of the building along Vanhankirkonkatu. The old building had become dilapidated and unfit for repair when it was used as a workshop. The new building follows the scale of the old building, but its design language aims to be both different from the old one and to fit in with the neighbourhood. In 1988, the building along the Pappilankatu was renovated. The premises were equipped for a home kitchen and a restaurant on demand. In 1989, changes were made to the stone building. The two floors were renovated for office use, and a boarded staircase was built on the courtyard side. In 1991, a sauna was added on the ground floor. The plans were drawn up by Jukka Koivula.

Current situation

Building on the side of Pappilankatu
Long-cornered residential building, neo-renaissance lining from 1902 (Arvi Forsman), vertical planking on the courtyard facade, display windows, saddle roof

Building on the side of Vanhankirkonkatu
New building from the 1980’s, commercial premises. (Designer Jukka Koivula)

Outbuilding
Plastered two-storey workshop building, now used as an office

Gate
A new gate from the 1880s, built in the old style on Vanhankirkonkatu.