Colonists on the Shores of the Gulf of Finland: Medieval Settlement in the Coastal Regions of Estonia and Finland

'The Settlers on the Gulf of Finland - Colonizing the Coasts of Estonia and Finland in the Middle Ages' seminar took place at Lumo Hall in Korso, Vantaa, on November 12-13, 2010. The seminar was part of the PAVAMAB - Padise-Vantaa the Middle Ages Bridge - project that focuses on medieval history. The project constitutes part of the Central Baltic Interreg IV A program, which will end in 2012. The project partners consist of Padise municipality in Estonia and the City of Vantaa in Finland. Cooperation between the two parties is natural, since the regions have had contacts already in the Middle Ages. Vantaa’s predecessor, Helsinge Parish, is first mentioned in writing in a document related to Padise monastery. The document reports that King Magnus Eriksson in 1351 granted the monks of the monastery the right to fish in the crown-owned waters of the River Vantaanjoki. The PAVAMAB project is an interesting example of how historical roots can lead to present-day profitable cooperation. The project enables wide-range research on archives and archaeology, and also translates into a thoughtprovoking discussion forum for researchers. Besides this publication, the concrete results of the project will consist of a joint book presenting the partners’ research results, a touring exhibition of the project themes, as well as a public seminar in Estonia. The seminar held in Vantaa presented medieval Gulf of Finland from various perspectives. The articles included in this publication are built on the seminar lectures.