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In the year 1798, Abraham Falander, the son of tradesman and councillor from Gamlakarleby, founded a factory works in Östermyra in the middle of South Ostrobothnia. During the Finnish war, Abraham Falander was knighted and given the noble name Wasastjerna. Under the leadership of his son Gustaf Adolf, the works developed into a successful business, where rock and marsh ores, and later gunpowder, were refined. The development that began at Östermyra works caused Seinäjoki to become a regional centre for the province.
In 1904 Östermyra manorial estate passed into the ownership of Judge Konstantin Törnudd. He changed the name Östermyra to Törnävä, which was the swedish-language name of his birthplace Tyrnävä. The small island came to be called Törnävä Holm. The park aea and the garden gradually took on a new appearance. Konstantin Törnudd donated the main manor building and grounds to the municipality of Seinäjoki in his will, in 1925.
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The park came into its own once more when, in 1959, the estate passed into the hands of Seinäjoki market town, which received city status the following year. The section of the manor garden that was beside the river was restored in 19th century style in 1979. The restoration work also included some of the estate’s buildings. The restoration and renewal of the manor park continued up until 1984. After having been in use for several different purposes, such as a natural sanatorium, a community centre and a domestic science school, the manor house was restored to its original state in 1983. Approximately 1,630 trees and 660 bushes are growing in the park area, where some remains from the gunpowder factory and its buildings can also be found. Gunpowder Park (Ruutipuisto) was declared a nature reserve in 1948.
As the former residence of the Wasastjerna family, Törnävä manorial estate is the only aristocrats’ estate in the province of South Österbotten. Today the estate is owned by the municipality of Seinäjoki. Many of the preserved buildings on the estate are in use today as exhibition facilities for South Ostrobothnia´s Provincial Museum. The manor house itself has been in use since 1984 as the city banquet hall.
The idea to develop Törnävä park as a leisure and recreation centre for the people of Seinäjoki had its beginning already in the early 1900’s. Many festive summer events are held on Törnävä Holm right up to the present day and the beautiful park hosts summer theatre productions as well as the rock music festival ”Provinssi”.
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