Suuri Postitie
Suuri Postitie is a historic route between Turku and Stockholm. The road, known in Sweden as Stora Postvägen, ran from Turku via Mynämäki to Kustavi, from where it continued by sea to Åland, then through Sweden’s Grisslehamn and Norrtälje to Stockholm.
The large postal route got its name from the fact that the majority of mail and passenger traffic between Finland and Sweden passed through it. Because most of the route was by sea, in a stormy and rugged archipelago, Kustavi was part of Europe’s most dangerous postal route.
The route had been in use before, but it officially became the Postal Road in 1636, when Queen Kristiina signed the first order of the Swedish kingdom on postal order. The decree dictated the forms of mail transport in Sweden and Finland, which remained almost identical until the 19th century. Initially, the mail is transported by the peasants. Every two to three miles, the peasants living along Postitie were appointed postmen, who were obliged to deliver the items to the next postman. In the archipelago, the post office mostly passed by sailboat, which was rowed in calm weather. The mail boats arriving from Brändö moored at the Rantapuhti pier in Etelä-Vartsala.
In the Kustavi area, the route is marked with red poles. Route markings may be incomplete.
