English boathouse

In the summer of 1854, four British navy ships patrolling the coast of the Gulf of Bothnia destroyed ships, dockyards and all the materials which were used for shipbuilding: timber, tar, pitch, ropes and fabrics for making sails. Once news reached other towns, residents took precautions by hiding and sinking their vessels, throwing timbers into the sea. In Kokkola, merchant Anders Donner devised a ...