Put down by Kaarlo Kusti's son in February 1682 during the reign of Charles XI of Sweden, according to the narration of Eric Sture, lord of the castle.
I, Baron Eric Sture, the seventh lord of the Aateli castle, wish now that the phases of the significant castle of Vuokatti, later castle of Aateli, be put down, leaving nothing important untold and not in any way emphasizing my own part in the events.
Let us first bring to minds the important events for which the languages spoken in the castle of Vuokatti or Aateli are Swedish and Finnish, rather than Danish or Russian. It all began in November 1520 in Sweden. King of Denmark, Christian II, called a tyrant, had 82 Swedish noblemen executed in Stockholm. As soon as the news of the bloodbath reached the counties, the peasants rose up in rebellion against the union king.
The peasants chose Gustav Eric's son from the Vasa family, who had managed to escape from imprisonment in Denmark, to be their leader. Gustav had lost his father and two uncles in the bloodbath, having thus plenty of personal reasons to rise against the tyrant king.
Niilo Knuuti's son, the first lord of the Aateli castle, fought on Gustav Vasa's side first in Dalecarlia and then on the Finnish coast thus taking part in liberation of the castles of Turku and Raseborg. When the Jutes had been beaten also inland, as well as in Vyborg three years after the Stockholm bloodbath, Finland joined Sweden as a part of the kingdom, and later received the status of dukedom. However, peace did not prevail in the dukedom. Frontier disputes continued, as the hard-working Savonians had spread past the Nöteborg border and lived now as far as the Karelians' wilds in Kainuu. Already during the Stockholm bloodbath the shores of Lake Oulujärvi were used for cultivation, and 1531 saw the first taxes from the wilderness in the Crown's cashbox. An increasing amount of younger sons and daughters of families were seeking for a living in the wilderness when Gustav Vasa in 1542 declared that all the uninhabited wilds of Finland and Sweden were now owned by God, King and the Crown.
Even before the declaration it had been decided that the subjects of the Crown needed protection against the Karelians, who also trod the wilderness as on their own soil. Niilo Knuuti's son, who had distinguished himself in banishing the Jutes, had visited Gustav Vasa and Queen Margaret. The talk had turned into the wrangles that were constantly going on in the Finnish borderlines. Margaret had pointed outside the window and said:"We have walls to protect us, even though we are amongst friends. But there are children of God living in the borders of the wilderness who have only rocks to hide behind from their foemen." King Gustav took action on his wife's words and wrote Niilo Knuuti's son a letter of authorization. It gave him the power to build a safety castle to protect the settlers and the easternmost border of the kingdom. The building of the astle was, however, to be carried out in secrecy, as due to the ongoing border dispute Russia would not tolerate the King's castle on land it considered its own.
"We went up the river along the waterways from Lake Oulujärvi towards east and Viena Karelia.
After a day's journey from the lake the stream went thinner and wound through a maze for a lake. I no longer wonder why
Karelians call this village sotkuma, a tangle. My partner and I climbed the hills protecting the stream. The westernmost hill, Vuokatti, calls for a fortification
on its side. I will draw a map of the area for the King, and begin acquiring the building supplies".
An excerpt from Niilo Knuuti's son's journal in July 1540.
The King approved of his loyal warrior's suggestion for the location of the castle and sent a master mason and six men from Turku to Vuokatti. Niilo Knuuti's son got also a ten-man garrison and four carpenters to help with the building work. Food for the builders was bought from the peasants settled in the area. They also delivered wood and stone, when found the time from their chores in cultivating the land by burning over woodland. The master mason and his men had been repairing the Turku castle. The cold stone castle in Turku had been under renovation into a live-in castle on the Kings order. Now the master mason demanded comfortability should be taken into consideration right from the beginning. Thus the castle of Vuokatti was soon the most appreciated among castle habitants in the whole wide kingdom of Sweden.
The castle had two main buildings of which both had two sturdy gun turrets. The middle hall that was used by the lord of the castle was named after Queen Margaret, who had suggested the building of the castle. After four years of hard building work Niilo Knuuti's son was finally able to write the King a letter telling that the protective castle was ready. The King's messenger confirmed Niilo's hopes: he had the honour of serving as the first commander of Vuokatti castle. The King reinforced the garrison with five bowmen and ten lancers, as well as four iron cannons. In addition to the lord of the castle there were 25 soldiers in the garrison, trained in many battles.
Artefacts found buried in the building site were gathered in the lord of the castle's hall. Based on them Hill Vuokatinvaara had seen many men come from far away throughout time. Wild Vikings had extended their trips into these waters, as a high-ranking soldier had been buried by the hillside. His headpiece, shield, sword, dagger and lance had been buried with him in his grave. One of the handymen had moved the grave to another place very respectfully, but had brought the dagger to Niilo thinking that the soldier would manage in the afterlife without it. Very peculiar and mystical were the pendants and other jewellery the mason's helper had found in a deep pond on top of the hill. Master mason had suspected the jewellery and gems had come from far in the east, from the land of Tatars. The maker of them had not professed Christianity, as there was no cross or other signs of the only true religion. The treasures found during the building still decorate the lord of the castle's suite reminding us of our own mortality and humbleness under the eyes of the almighty God.
The castle of Vuokatti played its role and so the peasants of Lake Oulujärvi area were able to cultivate their land in peace for several harvests. Niilo Knuuti's son often went along the riverside and visited houses confirming people that they were in the King's protection. In his castle Niilo had a patrol at all times, and he gathered his garrison for rehearsals every full moon. As the lord of the castle felt his feet grow heavier and his eyesight darken, he asked for and received discharge from the frontier surveillance. The last years of his life Niilo served as an advisor for Gustav Vasa, finally leaving the worries of this earthly life the same autumn as his beloved King.
The new lord of the castle was the son of one of the horsemen that served in Niilo Knuuti's son's troops: Lauri Olavi's son. The lord of the castle, who was of the order of knighthood, was worried about news from Sweden, as the new King, Eric XIV seemed to be breaking down what Gustav Vasa had built with great effort. When Lauri Olavi's son heard that his upstanding and honest relatives had fallen into the King's disfavour, a new building-site was set up in the castle. A dungeon was built and the turrets were renovated to be used for habitation. At the same time the walls of the garrets were strengthened and the store of arms was enlarged, for the lord of the castle received ten muskets with the relevant equipment for his use.
The lord of the castle, worried about the destiny of the noblemen, wrote his King a letter promising the dungeon and the turrets of the castle for accommodating the men who were currently out of favour with the King. Eric XIV was unfamiliar with the conditions in the castle, as the building of it had been kept secret, and thus thought that it would be a severe punishment to those the King in his already unstable mind considered his enemies to be sent there.
The lord of the castle's cousin, Baron Henrik Jaakko's son had supported Duke John in his dispute with his brother, King Eric. The King had the Duke arrested, and changed the death sentence of his supporter Henrik to a banishment to the dungeon of the Vuokatti castle. The King's madness did not reach as far as the frontier. Lauri Olavi's son, the lord of the castle, drew a line on the wrist of the condemned Baron Henrik Jaakko's son with a pen, and said it was the King's chains. The prisoner took part in military service according to his rank and always dined with his cousin, the lord of the castle. Turnips were stored for the winter in the castle dungeon.
When the nobility dethroned King Eric, the lord of the castle wiped the worn quill pen line off his cousin's hand with his linen cloth. "As I now have the freedom to leave, I also have the freedom to stay. And I intend to use it," Henrik Jaakko's son said to his cousin. In memory of the excellent imprisonment Lauri Olavi's son named his cousin's turret suite after Eric.
When it had been well past three decades since the completion of the castle, a word came from the wilds: foemen were on the move again. Lauri Olavi's son strengthened the castle for upcoming trials. Men dug a moat around the castle, and built lift bridges in case of besiegement. During the building work Henrik Olavi's son scouted the wilds and river banks with five horsemen, warning the peasants of the approaching enemy and doing mischief to the pack of thieves that were wondering around in the kingdom. The great group of Viena Karelians had to return home empty handed, as it lost all its boats when the King's men pushed them to a stream at night.
However, the wilds are wide and every year the men of the east came for their plundering expeditions to the villages of Lake Oulujärvi. The Viena Karelians took a longer route around the castle and attacked unprotected houses further than ever before. They had to pay high price for their trips when caught by the men of the Vuokatti castle. So vast grew hatred and fear against the men of the castle of Vuokatti, that on the Tsar's request the Karelians gathered a great army to besiege the safety castle. An officer of the Tsar's army came to lead the troops, and they had two cannons with them. The twenty-five-man garrison, in Lauri Olavi's son's lead, did not agree to the Russians' request of surrender. They ran water into the moat from the hillside, lifted the bridges and prepared for a long besiegement.
At this point might one, if ignorant of the works of the generations past, wonder why the King had left his subjects alone with the enemy. The eastern counties that were so important to Gustav Vasa had fallen into an unfortunate part in the power games of kings and dukes. When the Finnish troops would have been dearly needed to protect the peasants in the eastern frontier, they were thrown around the kingdom to march against this and that. The castle of Vuokatti and its loyal garrison had to defend the King's subjects in between Lake Ladoga and the Arctic Ocean all by themselves.
The price of defending was high. Although the garrison destroyed the besiegers cannons, that had been brought to place with great effort, the lord of the castle Lauri Olavi's son was badly wounded by the Russian's fire. Three men died as the Russians attacked the castle. The besiegers had put up a big ladder to the embrasures, but a watchful guard alarmed the garrison into a fierce fight. The Russians were beaten and great losses in men made them retreat and lick their wounds. Lauri Olavi's son named his cousin Henrik Jaakko's son the new commander, and left for far-away Oulu to be treated and also to tell about the enemy's great army.
Distress in the wilds finally reached the King. John III founded a cannon depot in Oulu and promised his soldiers a military expedition to east. The commander in chief of the Finland's armed forces, Lord High Constable Clas Fleming stressed to the Ostrobothnians that Viena Karelia had to be joined to the Kingdom of Sweden perpetually and permanently by force of arms if need be. The great army started with high hopes, but suffered heavy losses in a three-day battle. A hundred-man pack of partisans, lead by peasant Pekka Vesainen, caused more destruction.
Although the attacks lessened the enemy's will to make forays to the Lake Oulujärvi wilds, the Russians were not beaten. The castle of Vuokatti had quieted down for Christmas meal, when a demanding knock was heard from the gates. A messenger sent by peasants brought news on great mounted troops approaching the King's land. There had been several companies of men. The enquirers had contact with the troops and told that the 3000-soldier army was lead by Grigori Volkonski. Henrik Jaakko's son, the lord of the castle, sent a horseman to Oulu castle to warn about the great danger facing the Gulf of Bothnia. The garrison of Oulu castle avoided confronting the enemy, who burnt down lengths of River Oulujoki banks, as well as the new church of Liminka. Only on return to Karelia the troops were finally met by the power of the King's arms. The forces of Vuokatti castle, lead by Henrik Jaakko's son, caught up with the Russians' vanguard in a gully, blocked the exit and destroyed the enemy to the last man. The rear of the Russians' took another route instead, and returned home with their loot.
The squabbling on both sides of the border went on for years. Troops from Oulu did not accomplish much more than reprisal raids from Russians. The Viena Karelians' plundering expeditions were directed now to the scanty burnt-over clearings of woodland of Lake Oulujärvi, now to the fruitful lowlands by the Gulf of Bothnia along the waterways.
The new King, Sigismund understood the northern distress and conditions even less than John III. On the contrary, he ordered the cannons of the castles of Oulu and Vuokatti to be transferred to Stockholm for his own troops' needs. Henrik Jaakko's son replied to the King that there were no spare cannons in Vuokatti. Sigismund did not send any more orders or demands to Vuokatti.
People of Viena Karelia and the North were beginning to be ready for peace. As Russian's own situation was as disorderly as the dispute in the royal house in Stockholm, the empires agreed on a new borderline in the village of Teusina in 1595. This clarified the position of Vuokatti castle that had stood by the unofficial borderline. It was now truly a part of the Kingdom of Sweden. The borderline was now over ten leagues east of the castle.
The next ten years the castle of Vuokatti saw times of peace and building works. In the west the peasants had wrangled with nobility, but Vuokatti castle people stayed away from this unfortunate war that had fellow countrymen fighting each other. In Sweden the power had moved from Sigismund's family to Duke Charles, the son of Gustav Vasa and Margaret. Henrik Jaakko's son, as the lord of the castle, sent a letter to the new King asking for directions.
Crowned King, Charles IX did not leave Finland's frontier on its own. He strengthened the defence of the north by giving orders to build a castle in Kajaani, and to fortify the castle of Oulu. He sent two young noblemen to the castle of Vuokatti to apprentice to cavalrymen. The north and the Arctic Ocean interested the King, but he ordered the main troops of his army to hit in the Baltic. The war in the south was not going well, but an army sent to Russia succeeded. Charles IX offered military power to Vasili Suiski, who was aiming to be the Tsar. In return the King would have the town of Kexholm in Russia. The King's troops were lead by a young Jacob De la Gardie, the 25-year-old son of the former commander-in-chief Pontus De la Gardie. Jacob's troops marched to Moscow in the spring of 1610. The next year the Swedish flag rose above Novgorod.
Also the Viena Karelia fortresses were hit against by thousand men, but the military expedition was seized by the early spring. The Karelians, in turn, made an expedition to Lake Oulujärvi area and without permission taxed the Crown subjects. Vuokatti castle garrison attacked the Viena Karelians and in the close combat Henrik Jaakko's son got a lethal wound and died. Young Eric Stolte, sent to the castle by the King, took command and retreated with his men to the safety of the castle. Despite the dense fire Stolte carried Henrik's body into the castle. Henrik was buried in consecrated ground in a nearby village.
As Henrik's, so had Charles IX's time on earth come to an end. After he died of a stroke his son Gustav II Adolf, who aspired the throne of Russia also, became the King. The Russians, however, did not find the idea of united Russia and Sweden as appealing, as they elected a young boyar, Michael Romanov to be the Tsar. The new Tsar ended enmities between the two kingdoms. The treaty made in Stolbova village, Ingria, in 1617 secured the Tsar's position and gave Sweden the Gulf of Finland and Kexholm Karelia. King Gustav II Adolf confessed to his commanders that the treaty was the best guarantee for the safety of Finland, as the borderline in the south had moved to Lake Ladoga, which the Russians would not cross light-hearted.
Before the treaty young King Gustav II Adolf made several trips to Finland. He travelled from Oulu to Vuokatti castle and had long negotiations with the lord of the castle, Viscount Eric Stolte. The King promised the lord of the castle that the peasants of Lake Oulujärvi area would be left in peace. He did not promise peace for the King's weapons, however, but explained that Poland was a threat to the kingdom's future. He ordered Stolte to train a brave fifty-man cavalry. In return, the King promised tax relieves and exemption from military service for the farms that provided cavalrymen. The King renamed Vuokatti castle The Castle of Nobility, Aateli castle. Stolte named one of the garret rooms after Gustav II Adolf.
Thus came time of peace over the eastern frontier, though according to the King's wish arms were not forgotten in the stable attic. Not only fifty, but sixty skilled horsemen were trained by Eric Stolte to form their own cavalry. The people of Aateli castle were interested in the news from south: Gustav II Adolf had attacked Riga in 1621 and conquered it after severe besiegement. The same year saw a pile of paper arriving to Vuokatti from the King. Army regulations had been given out in the King's name. In the wartime articles the King required his troops' war without unnecessary harshness and cruelty. Sense of honour was the most important characteristic of a soldier. The article said: "Not one soldier is allowed to rob or loot any church or any hospital, nor should any priest, the overly aged, wives, virgins nor children be bothered, unless they should guard themselves with weapons and attack."
The war articles declared drinking, blasphemy and immorality forbidden. Death penalty was promised if a soldier, after an attack, were to make the mistake of drinking himself into a state of intoxication and disgracing himself in front of the troops. The army was to have a priest with it to perform service every day.
At last the call for real action came. The King was planning a war against Poland in Livonia. The Polish cavalry had been invincible so far and against it the King put the Finnish cavalry. Eric Stolte rode to Livonia in lead of his company among the other Finnish regiments. A great battle took place in Wallhoff in the beginning of 1626, and the lord of the castle had the honour of dining with the King once again.
A truce with Poland ended the enmities, but the time of peace was not long. In the middle of Europe a severe war was taking place in Saxony. The King was afraid the Catholic empire would force their way to their inland sea, the Baltic. Eric Stolte and his distinguished horsemen were needed again. The King disembarked in the delta of Oder and started a long march towards south. Gustav II Adolf had allied with the Saxons and with them he beat the imperial army in the autumn of 1631 in Breitenfeld. The King decided to spend the winter guarding the waterways of Rivers Main and Rhine. The Finnish cavalrymen, who were named Hakkapeliittas after their battle cry hakkaa päälle! (hack on), enjoyed wine and wheat bread during the winter months, instead of the usual dry bread and water. A pipe had found its way into the mouths of many men, who were trying to fill the emptiness of being away from homestead with tobacco. The longing for home was immense. One of Stolte's company's cavalrymen, vice commander Petrus Henrikki's son Lukkari expressed the thoughts in everybody's head out loud: "The food here melts in one's mouth, but the winter without soft snow and dark nights is comparable to having stale beer." Two regiments of northern cavalrymen had to be sent home, as the mild climate was making them and their horses ill.
As the days got warmer and the roads dried the troops set out again. The King's forces crossed the River Lech as the Finns held the Catholics back. The vast armies played hide-and-seek with each other until they met near the town of Leipzig when the nights were already growing colder. That day, November 6 th in 1632, was a day of sorrow. Gustav II Adolf died while leading his cavalry against the enemy. The men of Vuokatti were amongst the cavalrymen who followed the King in order to hit the left flank of the Catholics' army. The cavalry was forced to cross a ditch, which lead to disorder of the troops. At that precise moment the enemy hit our cavalrymen and oh! A bullet from the pistol of one imperial cuirassier hit our beloved King. The King's horse galloped along the front of our troops with the empty saddle, thus spreading the sad news of the King's death through the whole army.
Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar took command of the troops and received a clear message from subordinate commanders: it was time to revenge the death of our King. The whole of the army charged forward with the Vuokatti men at head, lead by Eric Stolte and Petrus Henrikki's son. Petrus forced his way to Pappenheim's imperial cavalry and struck the commander so that he had to retire from the battle.
Even though the battle field was left under Swedish command in the evening, the camp could not rejoice. Besides their King, the army had lost also 3000 men. Petrus Henrikki's son and Eric Stolte searched for the King's body among the other dead and discussed the direction the war was taking. Gustav II Adolf's daughter Christina was barely six years old. Would the German protestant Princes put their trust in a kingdom lead by a six-year-old child and would they still consider Sweden a strong ally? Deep in their thoughts the men raked through the battle field until one of the men found the King's body that had got lost in battle. The cavalrymen carried the King's body over the horses' hooves and the ground ravaged by the cannons' ammo. Uncertainty about the future weighed heavily on the men's shoulders. Some were crying. Petrus and Eric, in their minds, were climbing up the Vuokatti hill, where the wind blew away stale thoughts and the eye rested over the maze of hills and blue lakes.
However, Petrus Henrikki's son Lukkari was destined to climb the Vuokatti hill alone. The war in Germany continued and during an attack on the imperial army Eric Stolte was killed in action. At last the regency decided to pull the troops from Germany. The cavalry of Vuokatti men had shrunk thin.
Out of sixty men eleven returned. Petrus Henrikki's son settled in the Aateli castle, where a small garrison had kept guard and order during the long years of war. The new commander of the castle was often found smoking a pipe in memory of the King, in the turret named after him. On the wall of the room he hung his only spoil of war from his years in Germany: a painting of a beautiful noblewoman.
So came a long time of peace in Kainuu, where hard-working hands and spirited minds were rather put to everyday chores than war-time work. The houses grew and cultivated land spread. Also Aateli castle was repaired up-to-date. A library was built in one of the middle halls, a garden was put up in the yard and the cannons were replaced. Petrus Henrikki's son, the lord of the castle, called his cavalrymen for common rehearsals again, and as the day turned into night, he sat in the turret chamber late into the small hours with his ten experienced companions reminiscing their years in Germany.
The kingdom's hold of the Lake Oulujärvi area grew tighter. In addition to the farmers and soldiers, the Crown officials were beginning to become rooted in the former wilderness. The whole Barony of Kajaani was granted to Count Per Brahe, the Governor General of Finland. Brahe visited also Vuokatti and brought news from the Crown to the castle. Queen Christina favoured scholars in her court and had invited a Rene Descartes to spread the idea. The poor thinker, unaccustomed to the northern climate, had passed away, Brahe sorrowfully told Petrus Henrikki's son.
Per Brahe spent a week in Vuokatti and hoped to be able to come there again to recover strength after busy times. Brahe planned to make Kajaani Castle his administrative base in the area, as it would be only a short journey away from Vuokatti. This was the plan of Count Brahe, and the lord of the castle wished him welcome evermore.
High-ranking visitors were a usual sight in Aateli castle for decades. The already grey-headed Petrus Henrikki's son had the honour of hosting a feast for Field Marshal Jacob De la Gardie's widow Ebba. Her visit cheered up besides the castle dwellers also the gardener, as the widow brought new plant seeds with her. Energetic Ebba had visited Jacobstad on the coast, the town she had founded in honour of her husband, and she had gathered information on Finnish herbs and useful plants on the same trip. For the first time ever radish and Jerusalem artichoke grew in the garden of the Vuokatti castle yard. In honour of the Field Marshals widow the lord of the castle named the middle hall with its libraries after Ebba.
The honourable soldier Petrus Henrikki's son's days on earth ended during an uncommon time of peace. The new King Charles X Gustav named Jaakko Grappe the new lord of the Aateli castle. Grappe was related to Niilo Grappe, who had fought for Gustav Vasa in Finland. May be that the forthcoming battles were already on the King's mind when he chose a skilful and brave soldier to be the lord of the castle, and strengthened the garrison, as well. The surly, but efficient looking King made a quick inspection trip to Vuokatti. The lord of the castle was greatly impressed by the King. King Charles and Jaakko Grappe had a thorough discussion on the defence of the eastern border in one of the castle turrets. Charles X Gustav was planning on solving the Poland and Russia problems with arms, but was worried that the Russians might attack Finland if he should take his army in the south.
The foresighted King was right. Just as his troops were tied up in Poland, the Russians hit Finland in two groups. The northern troops went through Olonets to North Karelia. Houses in Lieksa were burnt down and the troops, intoxicated by their success, continued towards the Kajaani castle. However, the group that made it all the way to Kajaani was a small one, as Jaakko Grappe and his men taxed every step the Russians took on the Crown's land. Grappe's partisans captured three men and brought them to Aateli castle for interrogation. The astonishment was great, when it was discovered that two of the men were subjects to the Swedish Crown. They professed the Greek religion and had joined the Russian forces of their own will. A terrible explosion interrupted the ponderings of the lord of the castle: a group of Russians had managed to take a returning patrol squad unawares. A cannon volley had broken one of the turrets. Three other turrets returned the fire sending the horrified Russians escaping into the night.
At last the King's auxiliary troops arrived, making it obvious for the Russians all along the frontier that the Swedish weapons were stronger than their own. Dreading revenge the Orthodox moved further to Russian soil from the border areas. The attack was a welcome warning, as it had shown that the fortresses and garrisons of the long borderline had to be kept alert and in order. However, the King needed his men more in the war against Denmark, as Charles X Gustav considered the country a permanent threat to Sweden.
Constant living by the battle fields finally took Charles X Gustav his health. The man was at his prime when he caught pneumonia and died. The lord of the castle Jaakko Grappe shot the salute with cannons and named the turret chamber, where he had discussed with the King, after him.
Once again Sweden had an under-aged heir. Charles X Gustav's son was only four years old when his father died in 1660. Regency took the power in their hands and Jacob and Ebba De la Gardie's son Magnus De la Gardie was made Privy Counsellor. Magnus had followed his mother on her trips to Finland, and inquired Jaakko Grappe of the needs of supplies in the castle soon after his commission. The Privy Counsellor promised to reimburse the repairs of the castle and equip the soldiers of the frontier out of the Crown's funds. Pleased with this, the lord of the castle named the repaired turret after the benefactor, for it was rare to come across with a Stockholm official who would take the needs of the frontier as seriously as the Privy Counsellor.
Peace lingered throughout the frontier, but Jaakko Grappe was working hard on the castle. Master masons and carpenters received a decent payment for their work due to the money shipments from the Privy Counsellor. The lord of the castle was also able to pay the cavalry and militia men a small wage for taking part in rehearsals. Jaakko Grabbe planned on building a fortified outpost by the River Tenetinvirta and wrote to Privy Counsellor Magnus De la Gardie a request for the money needed. However, the Crown could not give any money for the additional buildings, as the funds of the kingdom were running low. The Crown had not been able to pay its soldiers wages for four months and half-built ships were standing in docks, as there was no more money to pay for finishing them. Instead of receiving the money, Aateli castle and its commander were told to report for a military expedition to Pomerania. A new lord of the castle was already on his way to release Grappe for the expedition.
At this time I, Eric Sture, step into the picture. King Charles XI commanded that this selfless servant of the military should go to Vuokatti from his inspection trip to Oulu. My duty was to fill in for the lord of the Aateli castle for the time being, as Jaakko Grappe and his cavalry were needed elsewhere. The garrison was composed of 20 musketeers and 10 lancers. Grappe had performed his duties in an exemplary manner when directing the repair work of the castle, which, despite its angular appearance, was more than suitable for accepting the enemy's challenge with an excellent placing of high-range cannons. The castle was built in an outstanding location, as the sturdy side of the hill protected it from the back and the waters around it restricted the enemy's movements guiding all traffic into the line of fire from the turrets. Right from the first night on I slept soundly in the luxurious apartment reserved for the lord of the castle.
However, my post as the lord of the castle was not all vacation. I made a long tour in the area in order to know the vital routes and waterways personally. The garrison initiated me into the area and its honest people. After an inspection trip I wrote a new letter to the Privy Counsellor. I did not request money for the already rejected outpost project, but attached a drawing of a new front wall and a second moat surrounding it. Upgrading the structures of defence was particularly important now that the garrison was smaller. Magnus De la Gardie promised to introduce the project to the King, but at the same time he hoped I would be patient with it and do my best to acquire building material and men from the near vicinity.
One night I sat in the castle together with the farmer's of Sotkamo, trying to find a way to improve the castle defences. The farmers proposed a solution: their houses would have exemption from military service and in exchange they would build the front wall and the moat, as well as commit to assigning 50 men for defending the castle in the case of war. The King accepted the farmers' proposal and sent a favourable letter to Kajaani and Vuokatti both.
The next spring, 1681, we started the building of a front wall and a second moat, according to my plan. Work progressed fast in the bright, sunny weather. The men did not slack in fulfilling their duty, for the straight-backed descendants of the settlers of the wilds knew the stories about the foemen only too well.
And so we are back in today. The fortifications of the Aateli castle rise more valiant than ever. More and more smokes rise from the valleys of the frontier towards the blue skies as permanent parts of the kingdom of Sweden. The enemy should not step on this soil ever again.
* "And this everlasting peace shall be kept between the folks of our mightest King and the Kingdom of Sweden as whole and the folks of the magnificent lord and royal highness, thus that from Sweden, Finland, Estonia or from
Lapland and Kvenland, or from the castles situated anywhere along the Swedish coast, not a slightest war will be launched or
harm inflicted to the Great Novgorod or to her castles..."
Excerpt from the Teusina Peace Treaty 1595
