Fashionably to the Seaside

Spending summer in clean nature became fashionable in the late 19th century. In a modernizing world, leisure time was no longer the exclusive privilege of the wealthy. People were drawn to the seashore along almost the entire coastline of the Gulf of Finland: the working class went on excursions to uninhabited islands, and the upper class to their new, fashionable villas a steamship ride away from the cities.

However, not everyone wishing for a summer residence wanted or was able to build a villa of their own. The year-round inhabitants of the archipelago and the coast were accustomed to living according to the seasons and the sea: as a new secondary source of income, buildings on island farms began to be rented out to townspeople as summer homes.

Sooty cities were considered unhealthy, and even the authorities encouraged spending time in nature. When the first allotment gardens were established near cities in the 1920s, the working class also gained experience of cottage life. Simple holiday cabins intended for short stays also began to be built on islands and shores.

Wealthy landowners in the countryside also awakened to the appeal of building summer homes. The number of owned summer residences quadrupled: by the late 1930s, there were already 20,000 in Finland. Hiking and travel became pastimes accessible to all social classes. Domestic tourism was lively. One of the most popular travel destinations on the Gulf of Finland was Suursaari, visited either on day trips or for longer stays.

After the Second World War, the Annual Holidays Act, societal changes, and general economic growth further increased leisure time and travel. A true cottage phenomenon was born. Small, wooden, and modestly equipped summer cottages were eagerly built during one's own summer vacation. By the 1960s, nearly 183,000 cottages were owned in Finland. Rental activity also remained lively. Industrial employers organized children’s summer camps and holidays in their own cottage villages, such as Majasaari in Vehkalahti, operated by the Karhula factories. The island of Kaunissaari in Pyhtää took over the role of Suursaari, lost in the war, as a maritime tourist destination.

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Statutory holiday lengths:

1922: Six-day workweek: 7 days of holiday

1939: 9–12 days of holiday (up to 3 weeks for salaried employees)

1960: 18–24 days of holiday

1966: Five-day / 40-hour workweek introduced

1973: 28 days of holiday

1977: 35 days of holiday for employees with over 10 years in service