- from Finland or Sweden to Mariehamn
- from Mariehamn via Hummelvik.
By car, or by Ålandstrafiken's bus Route 4, to Hummelvik, Vårdö, arrival at latest half an hour before departure.
- By Norra Linjen, Hummelvik-Torsholma to Lappo.
- From Turku via Vuosnainen.
By car (there is no direct connection) to Vuosnainen, Kustavi, arrival at latest half an hour before departure.
By Norra Linjen, Vuosnainen-Åva & Torsholma-Hummelvik to Lappo.
My journey towards the House of Knowledge started some ten years ago on the deck of the worldfamouss clipper Cutty Sark. There I bought the book "A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World from Prehistory to Today", author William J. Bernstein. The main topic of the book is the intense battle for the spice trade between the portugueses and the dutchmen. They laid the foundation of a solid welfare maintaining its strengh over the years.
For real it was the the book "History of Sailing Trade" by historian and fighter for justice, Eirik Hornborg (1879 – 1965) from Helsinki, that awakened my lifelong interest in trade and shipping. Later in life I gained insight of what crucial importance the democratic processes and the stable state formations have for the emergency of the welfare state.
Inspired by William j. Bernstein's depictions we make an unpretentious effort to bring out and explore the bonds between global trade, economic geography and the long development of democracy. A process guided by knowledge gathered over thousands of years. A heritage worth far more than all the gold in Fort Knox.
We perceive ourselves, my wife Margareta and I, being true to the traditions of the estate. The ancestors were cunning builders of society, and steadily looked towards new methods of agriculture and fishing. We want to manage the legacy with respect and economic responsibility, according to today's conditions. We assume our archipelago will remain part of a vital democracy, that listens and cares about our homestead. We hope that a visit to Lappo will be enriching and give new useful perspectives!
Kunskapens Hus is not to brand itself as an expert, but as a host.
Not: ”We have the answers”
But: ”Your journey begins here.”
Raine put into words what could be a common thought for the group:
Has been an honour and pleasure to be part of building new content for the House of Knowledge. I've been given a chance to deal with things of eternal intresest - History of Naval Trade. Have been dealing with shipmodelling whenever time available. Now as retired it's nice to return to an old hobby. I hope that our joint effort with Nordenskiöld's Vega ship model will enliven the naval history of past centuries.
We are grateful to Sjöhistoriska Muséet i Stockholm for their collaboration. The support and inspiration from Sanna, Stefan, Eva, Melissa, Anneli, Lotta, Jonas and Hans was utterly important to our project. We also thank Forum Marinum, Turku, Historische Museum in Bremerhaven, Dundee Central Library of Scotland and Adam, Casimir and several other skillful persons for their contribution.
