Restoration of the foundations of the old riverside storehouses in Porvoo, Finland

One of the best known and most photographed views in Finland is in Porvoo,the old wooden town with its riverside storehouses. In this old part of Porvoo the medieval plan of the town site with its narrow alleys has been preserved with greatest care. A thorough inventory of the condition of the old wooden buildings was started already in 1967 and the report was published in 1985. The restoration of the old riverbank (stone wall) and the foundations of the old storehouses were the most urgent according to the inventory. The foundations were examined by excavating test pits and by surveying the riverside. The main reasons for the damages in the riverbank have been erosion due to ice, waves and storm water and the damages of the storehouses were due to the rotting of the timbers. The old riverbank of stone was at first demolished and the foundation was reconstructed. The old stones were stacked on the concrete slab casted with a new submarine method. The stones were anchored together and into foundation with bolts. Mortar was allowed only to be used inside. The collapsed stone footings of the storehouses were partly restored in the same way and partly they were reconstructed inside the cofferdam. The rotten timbers were replaced with the new ones. The first stage of restoration was carried out in summer 1987 and the second in summer 1988.