Pieces of Leipyöli’s History
Early Mentions of Leipyöli’s Owners
The earliest recorded mention of Leipyöli’s owners dates back to 1426, when Nils Person and his mother Margit purchased the estate. The seller was the wife of Nils Karvala, who retained a lifelong pension from the sale. It is likely that these families belonged to the nobility, as noble families later relinquished ownership of Leipyöli.
About 130 years later, in 1559, Duke John (later King John III of Sweden) exchanged the Huhti and Lemu estates for the Pyhäjoki and Leipyöli estates in an agreement with Märta Gregersdotter, the widow of Olof Jöransson Svärd. Märta was a noblewoman from the Horn af Kanckas family. This exchange transformed Leipyöli into a crown estate.
The estate was then cultivated by tenant farmers, known as lampuodit. Finland’s “Old Highway No. 1”, also known as the King’s Road, ran through Leipyöli’s lands and extended over the river to Näsi’s Muntolanniemi market site, where a royal manor was established in the late 1500s. For a short period, Leipyöli even served as the residence of the royal manor’s steward.
Leipyöli remained a crown estate until 1741, when I. Ulner purchased Löfböle’s augmentation farm as an inheritable estate. The Ulner family was a wealthy family of statesmen and clergy. Later in the century, the estate was managed by Jakob Hjort, who was recognized as a rusthållare (a wealthy landowner providing military service) and was involved in church affairs. The Hjort family played a significant role in Perniö even in the 1850s, with Vicar K.A. Hjort being a prominent figure. At the beginning of the 19th century, the estate was cultivated by tenant farmer Juho, and in tax records, the estate’s taxable property was listed as 666 riksdalers.
Summer Festivities
During this time, Vogt (Sheriff) Moberg organized grand summer festivities in the Leipyöli garden, attended by distinguished guests from as far as Turku and Helsinki. Visitors were met at the train station by a horse-drawn escort that transported them to Leipyöli.
The 19th Century
In the 19th century, Leipyöli was owned by the Martin family, and through marriage, it was transferred to Johan Boström, originally from Koski, Perniö, in the mid-century. Later, through marital alliances, ownership passed to the Lagerström family. The estate was briefly used for trade, before Vogt Joel Moberg took residence at the turn of the 20th century. Moberg expanded the main building, adding a new wing, which housed his bailiff’s office.
From the 20th Century to the Present
After Moberg, the Flemming family took over, until in 1922, ownership passed to Lauri and Elvi Pelttari. Ten years later, the estate was purchased by Kaarlo and Maire Sarin. Through Maire, the estate returned to the Boström-Lagerström family. Following Kaarlo Sarin’s death in 1962, his brother Oiva took over the farming operations. In 1989, Maire Sarin’s niece Leila and Teuvo Räsänen bought the estate. In 2017, the estate underwent a generational transition, with Antti-Jussi Räsänen (Leila and Teuvo’s eldest son) and his wife Jenni Räsänen continuing the family’s legacy.
