Industrial expansion reshapes landscape around 400-year-old pine

A protected 400-year-old pine in Hämeenlinna is facing a changing landscape as an industrial zone expands nearby, Yle reports. Excavators are preparing to build a substation about 100 metres from the tree, while rifle fire can be heard from the adjoining military area.

Known as the Emperor’s Pine, it is described as Finland’s thickest forest pine. Its circumference is nearly 5.5 metres; a measurement taken 70 centimetres above the ground is 4.96 metres, according to the Dendrology Society.

The pine was already a century old when Sweden’s King Gustav III dined in its shade in 1783. It got its name after Russian Emperor Alexander II visited the area in 1863 and celebrations were held at the tree. Senator and philosopher J.V. Snellman was among the guests, and Finnish was made an official language alongside Swedish during the visit.

The pine was protected in 1959 by boys from Hämeenlinna Lyceum. It is not included in the current development plan, and the plan is not expected to have direct effects on the tree. However, the surrounding landscape is set to change as industrial buildings block the view across the fields from Kiltintie road.

Hämeenlinna initially sought as many as 12 plots for the Kiltin fields, but the number was reduced to three after consultation. The development covers 5.8 hectares for business and industrial use. An energy infrastructure area of 1.48 hectares is planned in its western section, where a fenced substation will be built.

The substation’s outdoor area will have six lightning masts, each 25 metres tall, and a high-voltage pylon up to 25 metres tall. The structures will rise well above the pine’s 11.5-metre crown. Energy company Elenia’s project is intended to meet growing electricity demand in Tiiriö, Mäkelä and Paroinen. The Finnish Defence Forces wanted the substation near the boundary of the Parolannummi military area, which also borders the pine.

Planner and architect Mona Kalpala said the plan was revised after feedback during its draft stage. She said the pine had been considered throughout the process and that the plan was designed to avoid direct effects on it, while acknowledging that development changes the nearby landscape.

The old meadow road that passes the pine is proposed for preservation because endangered ketoraunikkia grows along it. Archaeological excavations were also carried out during preparation of the plan, in cooperation with museum officials. The nearby area includes the Ahvenisto-Parola groundwater zone.