Lauttasaari (; ) is an island in Helsinki, Finland, about west of the city centre. Together with some surrounding unpopulated small islands, Lauttasaari is also a district of Helsinki. With 23,226 residents as of 2017, the island is Finland's second largest by population, after Fasta Åland. Its land area is 3.85 km.
Lauttasaari is primarily a residential area but also contains services, including several marinas and canoe clubs. Although close to the city centre, Lauttasaari has not been entirely built up. Notably, almost the entire shoreline remains in public use, with footpaths, beaches, playgrounds, patches of forest, and rocky outcrops.
The name Lauttasaari literally means "ferry island", although nowadays, the island is connected to the rest of Helsinki and to the city of Espoo by bridges, causeways, and the Helsinki metro, which has two stations in the district. The island has two postal codes: 00200 and 00210.
Etymology The island of Lauttasaari has probably been a recreational area for the Finns even before the Middle Ages and it has had a Finnish name. This name was abandoned when a Swedish colonist built a house on the island. Some of the Swedish place names have preserved original Finnish place names, such as Lemisholm and Porovik.Kepsu, Saulo: Uuteen maahan – Helsingin ja Vantaan vanha asutus ja nimistö, Finnish Literature Society 2005, pp. 80–82. .
The name of the island is first mentioned in as Drommensöö, in 1543 as Drommensby and in 1556 as Dromansöö and Dromssöö, which has led to its current name Drumsö.Terho, Olavi et al.: Helsingin kadunnimet 1, 2nd revised edition, p. 19. Naming bureau of the city of Helsinki 1981, . Accessed on 20 May 2015. The name has traditionally been seen as coming from the Swedish language nickname Drumber meaning a fat and clumsy person.
In the 2000s it was proposed that the name is based on the Gaelic-Saxon word drum meaning a moraine hill (cf. the geological term drumlin). Thus the name would come from the Vikings on the shores of Finland.Sarmanto, Terhi: Lauttasaaren vuoden 1913 asemakaavaluonnoksen nimistö. Master's thesis, University of Helsinki 2017.
The Finnish name Lauttasaari was taken into use in 1919 and refers to the ferry traffic between the island and mainland Helsinki at the time. The steam ferry Drumsö owned by Julius Tallberg was in traffic between Ruoholahti and Lauttasaari from 1914 to 1936. After the bridge was completed the ferry was lengthened at a dock, and in 1941 it was transferred to a new service as a Korkeasaari ferry. In 1945 the ship was donated as war reparations to the Soviet Union.Elomaa, Ville: Lauttasaaren lautta aloitti liikenteensä sata vuotta sitten. Lauttasaari magazine, 2 May 2014, issue #18, pp. 6–7. Lauttasaari society.
History
There used to be two farms in Lauttasaari, Heikas and Bertas. In 1650 Queen Christina donated the island to the city of Helsinki, but this donation was revoked during the Great Reduction and the farms were returned to private ownership. They were later combined into the Lauttasaari manor, whose current main building was commissioned by Claes Wilhelm Gyldén in 1837.Uino, Ari: Lauttasaaren historiallisia vaiheita Julius Tallbergin ajasta 2000-luvulle. Lauttasaari foundation, 2005. .
The southernmost part of Lauttasaari was taken into the use of the Russian military during the Crimean War. No garrison was founded in Lauttasaari, but fortifications and ammunition depots of the coastal artillery were built on the island.Brommels, Marianne; Gestrin, Christine-Louise: Lauttasaari ennen siltaa. (Drumsö: Innan bron byggdes.) Translated to Finnish by Marjo Uusikylä. Svenska kulturfonden, 1999. . After Finland became independent the areas was owned by the state of Finland, but as the Finnish Defence Forces had no use for the area, in 1927 it was transferred to the city of Helsinki, which founded a folkpark in the area.
During the Winter War and the Continuation War an anti-aircraft battery against the bombing of Helsinki was situated on Myllykallio in Lauttasaari. During the Continuation War the battery was armed with six heavy anti-aircraft cannons. One of these cannons was revealed as a memorial monument on Myllykallio on 12 June 1980. The leading battery of the southwestern sector was located in Veijarivuorenniemi in Lauttasaari, of which one cannon has been preserved on site as a memorial monument.
Julius Tallberg era and early building plans The pace of the development of Lauttasaari has been set by traffic connections. In the early 20th century the island was only inhabited by farms and villas. In 1911 Julius Tallberg bought the Lauttasaari manor for 750 thousand Finnish markka, whose lands covered about half of the island. Tallberg tried to sell the lands to the city of Helsinki, but as the city did not expect its lands to spread to the island, the deal failed. Tallberg started developing the island by himself and hired Birger Brunila to make a building plan. According to the plan, the island would be mostly built as a villa town, but it took over 20 years before this plan was put to action. Tallberg founded a marine spa and a café named Drumsö Casino on the island. From 1913 to 1917 the island was also served by a horse-drawn tram, trafficking from the ferry pier at the start of the current Lauttasaarentie street to Katajaharjunniemi.Rauhala, Jorma: Lauttasaaren hevostaitiotie, Finnish Tram Society. Accessed on 14 January 2019.
According to Eliel Saarinen's 1918 Pro Helsingfors plan a large part of Lauttasaari would be designated as a harbour area, with a train connection from the Leppävaara railway station at the current sites of Ring I and Länsiväylä.Hietala, Marjatta; Helminen, Martti; Schulman, Harry; Tukkimäki, Jukka: Helsinki/Helsingfors – Historiallinen kaupunkikartasto/Historic Town Atlas, information centre of the city of Helsinki 2009, p. 61 (map). . Nothing ever became of this plan.
Municipal history In 1919 Lauttasaari and Munkkiniemi were separated from the rural municipality of Helsinki to form the municipality of Huopalahti (Hoplax). In 1917 Lauttasaari had been formed as a tightly populated community.Mustonen, Kauko; Pykälä, Kalevi: Lauttasaari: helmi Helsingin kruunussa. Lauttasaaren kustannus, 1976. Together with the rest of Huopalahti, Lauttasaari was annexed to the city of Helsinki on 1 January 1946. The congregation of Lauttasaari had been annexed to Helsinki already a few years earlier, to the northern Finnish-speaking and the northern Swedish-speaking congregations in Helsinki in 1939.
The significance of the Lauttasaari bridge to the development of the island When the Lauttasaari bridge was completed in 1935 the island underwent great changes. Birger Brunila's 1913 plan was finally put the action and the first apartment buildings were built on the fields of the manor. At the same time, a new main street Jorvaksentie was built as a westward extension of the main street Lauttasaarentie running all the way through the island. The current zoning plan of the island is mostly based on Brunila's original plan, although a few of the building blocks designed at the time have been left as parks, and the construction of the Länsiväylä highway has required significant changes to the zoning plans of the western and northern parts of the island.
Largest peninsulas Vattuniemi Vattuniemi is an area in the southern part of the island of Lauttasaari. Vattuniemi was built in the 1940s and 1950s as an industrial area, with diverse corporate activity such as the factory of Suomen Tupakka ("Finnish Tobacco") which ceased activities in 1995.Suomen Tupakka Oy (uusi) — Historia, www.porssitieto.fi. Accessed on 13 January 2019. Other former factories in the area include the Hellberg radio factory (Oy Radio E Hellberg Ab), the wood veneer factory of Mahogany OyElomaa, Ville: Kun Vattuniemi asuinalueeksi muuttui. Lauttasaari magazine 10 January 2019, issue #2, p. 8. Lauttasaari Society. and the glue factory of Eri Oy.Janhunen, Martti: Lauttasaaren rakentamisen vaiheita, histdoc.net. Accessed on 13 January 2019. The area has also included the head offices of Helkama and Lääketukku.
There are still numerous businesses in the Vattuniemi industrial area, such as Solar Films. Since the 1970s the Vattuniemi area has changed significantly. The change has continued strongly in the 21st century. Many industrial and office buildings in the area have been dismantled and replaced with apartment buildings. This has caused the population of Vattuniemi to quickly increase, and the number of jobs to decrease. The selection of services in the area has grown, and it includes grocery stores (S-Market, K-Supermarket, Lidl), numerous restaurants, cafés, health clubs and specialist stores concentrating on boating supplies especially along the street Veneentekijäntie.Veneentekijäntie, Google Maps. Accessed on 13 January 2019.
Katajaharju Katajaharju is a peninsula in the northwestern part of Lauttasaari, and it is now considered a part of the Myllykallio area.Addendum to the notes of the Helsinki City Council 26 November 2012: Change targets, City of Helsinki. Accessed on 18 February 2013.
Katajaharju is located entirely to the north of the Länsiväylä highway. The houses on the shore areas of Katajaharju are terraced houses or detached houses with large lots.Lauttasaari – Suomen paras asuinalue?, MTV Uutiset 24 November 2006. Accessed on 14 January 2019. The buildings in the middle part of the peninsula mostly consist of apartment buildings built in the 1960s.
Katajaharju is connected to the island of Kaskisaari via a walking bridge.LYHYESTI: Kaskisaaren sillan vastustajille 800000 markan lunastuskorvaus, Helsingin Sanomat 4 April 1990. Accessed on 14 January 2019.
Greenspaces and refreshment The largest greenspace in Lauttasaari is the former military area of the Veijarivuori park in the southernmost part of the island, also known as "Ryssänkari".Lauttasaari, Lauttasaari Society. Accessed on 14 January 2019. The highest cliff on the island, Myllykallio, is also a greenspace with great views in various directions.
The island has two public beaches, of which the so-called Kasinonranta beach is located in the Merikylpylä park and the Veijarivuori beach is located at the southern tip of the island.
The island also has numerous marinas in its eastern, western and northern parts.
Buildings and architecture Public buildings Public buildings built in the 1950s include the Lauttasaari church and the Lauttasaari school, which consists of two buildings (the Pajalahti school and the Myllykallio school), There is also a Swedish-language elementary school (Drumsö lågstadieskola) which was built in 1949.
The Lauttasaari church was inaugurated on 20 September 1958. It was designed by the professor Keijo Petäjä, living in Lauttasaari. The bell tower of the church was taken into use in autumn 1957. The basic repairs of the church are estimated to be complete in spring 2022 after a year and a half of renovations.Lauttasaaren kirkon peruskorjaus, Helsingin seuraknnuat. Accessed on 4 March 2021. Until then the Finnish and Swedish speaking congregations of Lauttasaari work at a temporary location in the former premises of the Nokia Oyj research centre in Vattuniemi.Seurakunta väistää Nokian tutkimuskeskuksen vanhaan toimistoon Heikkiläntielle, Lauttasaari.fi 19 August 2020. Accessed on 4 March 2021.
The Lauttasaari water tower was built in 1958 and was dismantled in late 2015.Rakastettu vesitorni katosi maisemasta – katso videolta, kuinka Lauttasaaren vesitorni purettiin, Helsingin Sanomat 16 November 2015. Accessed on 13 January 2019.