Gullö Farm is beautifully situated in a rural seaside setting, approximately 14 kilometers from the center of Ekenäs. Its long and eventful history stretches back to the 1500s. As a pioneer in farm tourism, Gullö has rented its former worker cottages to summer guests since the 1960s. Today, one of the farm’s most famous attractions is Blomdalen, where over 30,000 daffodils bloom in May.
The History of Gullö
Gullö Farm is a heritage-rich agricultural and forestry estate mentioned as early as the 1500s. Before that, in the 1300s and 1400s, the island and its fishing waters belonged to Padis Monastery near Reval, now Tallinn.
A document dated April 13, 1562, in Stockholm states that King Erik XIV granted Gullö as a feudal estate to Nils Boije, who served as bailiff at Raseborg Castle and later governor of Finland. The farm became a soldier’s homestead, providing troops for the army. Its primary activities included producing meat, butter, hay, and fishing for herring. The farm also served as a summer grazing ground for royal horses.
In the 1700s, agriculture expanded, and the estate operated four tenant farms. The forests were heavily harvested for charcoal production to supply nearby ironworks in Fagervik and Skogby, as well as for firewood exports to Reval and Stockholm.
By the late 1700s, the estate was owned by the Klick family of military officers. It became a secret meeting place for activists in the Anjala Alliance, which sought to separate Finland from Swedish rule. The Boije and Klick families owned Gullö for nearly 300 years.
The main house was built in the 1760s after the previous one burned down. Expanded in 1903, it now serves as a private residence. Most of the buildings on the estate date from the 1700s and 1800s.
In the early 1800s, Gullö changed hands several times. However, over the past 200 years, it has been owned by the Kopparström and Aschan families. In 2023, the farm was passed over to Oskar Damén.
Today, approximately 50 hectares of grain are cultivated around the farm’s center and across the island. Forestry remains a significant source of income, providing timber, pulpwood, and wood chips for the estate’s heating system.
The Farm Today
Gullö’s natural environment is diverse and lush. The farm’s center, located on the northern tip of the island, is surrounded by oak groves rich in flora and birdlife.
These groves were grazing pastures during the estate’s early centuries but were gradually left untouched. Officially protected in the 1950s, they have functionally been conservation areas for over 200 years.
Further inland, the island’s terrain is varied, featuring fertile woodlands, rocky outcrops, marshes, and three pristine lakes with unspoiled scenic shores. The wilderness areas around Byträsket and Långträsket lakes are designated nature reserves and part of the Natura 2000 network.