Ostrobothnia
Solf
Land & Livelihood
Much of Solf was a former archipelago. 4 Its northwest border is on the Gulf of Bothnia with beaches, islands and skeeries. Livelihood was related to the sea and fishing. Because of the land uplift, previous bays were later used for cultivation of crops. And so farming, was also a substantial means of livelihood.
This map that highlights the Solf parish from 1938 displays on the HisKi project website, made available by the Genealogical Society of Finland.
Parish History
- Solf originally was a part of the Malax parish 7
- In the 1700’s it became an independent parish 1
Of Interest
There is an old story that says the name of the city came from one of two surviving crew member from a German ship wrecked at sea near the coast of today’s Solf. The crew members name was Solf or Sylf. 4
Historic Villages
The historic villages of Solf include:
- Munsmo
- Rimal
- Väster-Solv
- Yttersundom (Outside Sundom)
- Öster-Solv
- Över-Sundom
Because parish Communion records are listed by farm name and because farm names often were used as a part of a person’s name, it is interesting to note the following farms.
The villages and farms of Solf were recorded in T.W. Karsten’s work, Svesk Bygd I Osterbotten: Nu Och Fordom. 3 Solf Parish Communion records were not used to confirm these findings.
To print a copy of the villages and farms, click here.
Farms
- Hellman
- Väster
- Båssars
- Norrgramm
- Snåvs
- Rimal
- Berg
- Helenlund
- Skogs
- Busk
- Rullas
- Klockars
- Söderman
- Pått
- Bav
- Lindmans
- Väst
- Östman
- Staffans
- Hårtans
- Sund
- Backholm
- Östergård
- Båtmästar
- Falk
- Björs
- Berg
- Huggar
- Mitts
- Enholm
- Marins
- Svarvar
- Släthår
- Mitts
- Sköring
- Lervik
- Finne
- Uppgård
- Nedergård
- Hinders
- Krypar
- Jåvs
- Martins
- Kars
- Ryss
- Tors
- Näsman
- Buss
- Snickars
- Hemming
- Genas
- Gästgivars
- Mara
- Sassi
- Ånäs
- Perus
- Skinnars
- Pått
- Övermo
- Nedermo
- Majors
- Helgas
- Finne
- Lall
- Näs
- Stundars
- Anneberg
Parish Church
The first church in Solf was built in 1626 while the congregation belonged to the Malax parish. It was very small and considered to be a prayer house. By the end of the 1700’s the population had grown and the chapel became too small. It was worn down and needed to be replaced. 7
Johan Elfstrom was assigned to draw up the new church design. Elfstrom also was active in the construction of the Court of Appeal in Old Vaasa and designed churches in Repot and Pörtom. 7
The law required churches be built of stone because of the many wooden church fires at the time. However, exemptions were granted because of the difficulty in getting stone building materials. 7 The Solf church is a traditional wooden structure.
The new Solf church was dedicated on Trinity Sunday, May 1786 and named the Holy Trinity Church. This name is rarely used today. 7
Holy Trinity Church, Solf. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Attibute: Jouni Jurmu.
Folk Dress
Each parish has a unique folk dress. Parish folk dress can be recognized by its style, colors and patterns.
Solf folk dress photo used with permission of the Brage costume agency.
References
- Appelgren, A. and G. Rosenholm, Solf Kyrka Och Dess Minnen, Solf Församlings Förlag, Vasa, 1948
- Genealogical Society of Finland, HisKi project, Solv parish, http://hiski.genealogia.fi/hiski/a24txq
- Karsten T.W., Svesk Bygd I Osterbotten: Nu Och Fordom; Helingfors, 1923, pages 77 – 82
- Solf, https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solf
- Solf Church image, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Korsholm_-_Solf_Church_-_20160726143142.jpg
- Solf Folk Costume image, Brage costume agency, https://www.brage.fi/sve/draktbyra/draktbyran/folkdrakter/view-163648-100
- Solf Forsamling, http://www.solfsforsamling.fi/
- Stranden, Evald, “Den Osterbottniska Byn”, Solf Church Village, translated by June Pelo
