History
The earliest accounts of the Sundsberg area date from the 1500s. At that time the area’s farm owners sailed to Tallinn, the Gulf of Finland’s most important trading centre, to sell timber and hops. The Sundet River bisecting the area was an important waterway from Espoonlahti to Pikkalanlahti; its water level was much higher than it is today.
In the early 1700s, the area’s farms were combined to form the Sundsberg estate that subsequently hosted many of the most distinguished families in Finland’s cultural history: the Ramsays, Lejonhufvuds, Lodes, Bronikowskys and Adlercreutzes. At that time a brickworks was also located in the estate area.
Following the Second World War the Sundsberg estate’s inclusion within the Porkkala military area leased to the Soviet Union led to its severe neglect; after the return of Porkkala, the main building’s extremely deteriorated condition necessitated its demolition.
Nowadays what remains of the old Sundsberg estate, besides hardwood trees, are the Pehtori House and stone stable at Kartanonmäki that were subsequently restored by the EKE Corporation; the area and its surroundings still exude the spirit of the old country estate culture.
