Priia

History

Plots 76, 77 and 77½ formed the Pappila plot, originally a parsonage. However, after a fire in the town in the 1530s, the vicar was given the parsonage from the monastery buildings.

The list of plots of land annexed to the 1756 map mentions that the entire parcel of land was used as tobacco land. In the 1800 tax list, part of the original plot was deserted, but the owner of the Priia plot was Adolph Mandelin.

Fire insurance

In the fire insurance book of 1858, the owner of the land was J. W. Wallenius. There were two residential buildings and two outbuildings on the plot. According to the fire insurance policy, the buildings were erected in ‘earlier times’, i.e. they were more than one male generation old. They were probably built in the early decades of the 19th century.

The buildings formed an enclosed courtyard. The western boundary of the plot was bordered by a board fence. The main building was an angular building on the corner of Kauppakatu and Itäkatu. Its south wing was a semi-detached house with an additional outhouse at the south end. Another semi-detached building was located along Itäkatu. On the southern boundary of the plot was an outbuilding. Along the commercial street was another outbuilding with two dormitories. Between it and the main building was a driveway with a separate pedestrian access gate.

In 1885 the plot was owned by the mayor Frans Törnroth. The main building at the corner of Kauppakatu and Itäkatu had a flat roof and was painted with oil paint. The building also had a porch with glass windows. There were six living rooms and a hallway. On the northern side of the plot, there was also a log dormitory building on the side of the shopping street, which was old, boarded up and painted with oil paint. This building also had a boarded roof. The building also included a gatehouse attached to the residential building with an attic. The gate was of solid construction. The second residential building was on Itäkatu, attached to a gabled building. The building was old. The roof side was boarded and painted with oil paint, the courtyard side was unboarded and painted with red paint. The roof was boarded. The rooms consisted of a kitchen, pantry, sauna, baking room and hallway. The fireplaces were a tiled stove, a kitchen stove with a stove and a baking oven, a baking oven with a baking oven and a masonry stove, and a sauna stove. On the southern boundary of the property was a large outbuilding, old, log, unplanked and painted red. The building contained a stable, a barn, a feed store, a wooden shed and a shed. There was also a boarded chalk barn built in 1884 and a privy built the same year. Both buildings were painted red. Around the barn was a cattle yard separated by a fence. In the western part of the yard was a closed fence, painted red.

In the 1890s, the residential buildings were connected by a room and the smaller building was rearranged. The macasins along the Kauppakatu were connected to the main building by a covered gate leading through the building. A new outbuilding was built on the southern boundary of the plot, attached to the residential building.

In 1892, an insurance company representative pointed out that the insurance rate had to be increased because the entrance hall was divided in two by a partition wall, one part being used as a kitchen. A fireplace had been installed in this very small room.

Modification drafts

In 1903, the main building was extended by building a room at the drive gate and converting one of the dormitories into a dwelling. A kitchen and entrance hall were added to the courtyard. The outbuilding was also extended on the courtyard side. The current Art Nouveau-inspired appearance of the building dates from this period.

The post-war housing shortage is illustrated by the fact that in 1946 the porch part of the building was extended to provide an additional entrance. At the same time, an iron handrail was built on the side of one of the tin ovens.

In 1971, the building at the corner of Kauppakatu and Itäkatu was converted into a warehouse for the Co-operative, which was converted back into apartments in 1985. A small commercial building was built on the corner, where a beautiful old stencil painting was restored from the ceiling of the corner building. The old outbuildings had disappeared.In the 1980s, a new small outbuilding was erected on the Priia property. The plans were drawn up by Iina Paasikivi-Poutanen. The attic rooms were added later.

Current situation

Residential building
Long-cornered residential building, neo-renaissance construction in 1903 (Arvi Forsman), saddle roof

Outbuilding
New building

Gate
Renovated to match the old one.