The Interesting History of VillaGo

VillaGo villas are located in Medvastö, on the shore of Morsfjärden bay. The name Medvastö is derived from the medieval Swedish man's name "Mehingfast," to which the island-signifying "ö" has been added. Morsfjärden "Mother's Bay" is likely related to Brudholmen "Bride's Island" on the other side of Medvastö.

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Medvastö has been inhabited since the Stone Age. On Själaboberget "Mountain of Souls' Residence," there are stone slab coffins from about six thousand years ago. During the Bronze Age, around three thousand years ago, residents piled up impressive stone burial mounds on the hill above VillaGo. Foundations of houses from the medieval village on the island have been preserved. Monks from the Estonian Paadisten monastery fished in the island's waters and left behind, for example, the place name Estudden "Estonian Point."

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At the beginning of the 17th century, the island was owned by cavalry master Erik Bertelsson and later by captain lieutenant Hans Eriksson Hjerta. Medvastö was a cavalry estate, a large house that, in exchange for tax relief, equipped a horse and a man. The cavalryman had a cottage, a couple of cows, and fields; he received his weapon from the state. During the Great Wrath, an attempt was made to lure Russian ships into a trap in Blindsund "Blind Strait" in the southern part of the island. The island was deserted as a result of military actions.

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In the 18th century, the island's waters were mapped and their depths measured. The map marked deeper waters with black numbers to indicate how many fathoms of water were at the location. A fathom is six feet. The depths of shallower waters, such as Morsfjärden, were marked in feet with red ink. A foot is about 30 cm. In a couple of hundred years, the land has risen by more than half a meter, and the bay has correspondingly shallowed.

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At the beginning of the 20th century, the Medvastö manor (the term manor was adopted after the cavalry estate ceased operations in the 19th century) was owned by the Thomé brothers. Valter Thomé was a famous architect whose works (e.g., the old police station) can be seen in Helsinki. Inspired by Leo Tolstoy's ideas, the brothers founded an ideal society where servants and maids were equal to the masters. The experiment ended harshly: in February 1918, the Reds murdered Valter, William, and Ivar in Vihti. The youngest brother, painter Verner, had stayed home and survived. He gave up Medvastö, which was then owned by the Hagelstams.

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Those interested in history should read the book set in the area, Marko Paavilainen: Murhatut veljet, whose events during the civil war partly take place in Medvastö.

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In the 1930s, brothers Elias and Veikko Saura, along with their cousin Ilmari Peltonen, formed a limited company in Medvastö, which renovated the house and its fields. During the Winter War, the island was bombed, and a Karelian refugee family was killed. In 1944, Medvastö island was leased to the Soviet Union for 50 years under the interim peace agreement. The border of the Porkkala area ran along Espoonlahti, so Medvastö was right on its eastern edge, close enough to Helsinki that the city can be seen from the island's rocks 18 kilometers away. The Russians burned or dismantled all buildings on the island, not forgetting the well covers, but established gun positions, bunkers, and trenches. These can still be found on the island.

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The Soviet Union relinquished Porkkala in January 1956, and residents were able to visit their destroyed homes in February. The Medvastö limited company dissolved, and Elias Saura, Anna's grandfather, built new houses and cleared the overgrown fields. Eventually, he gave up farming.

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In the 1960s, the current Morsfjärdintie road was built. At the same time, the completely closed Blindsund strait in the southern part of the island was opened. Morsfjärden bay has been dredged and deepened later. The bottom of the bay is covered with aquatic plants such as charophytes and spiked water-milfoil. The latter occasionally detach from the bottom in rafts. The lush bay is a nationally valuable bird water. The northern part is a Natura area, and a path to the bird tower starts from the Medvastsundet bridge. From the window of VillaGonk, you can see flocks of swans, sometimes numbering in the hundreds, especially in autumn, gathering near the islet a short distance away.