Peter Thorwöste

Peter Thorwöste was a Dutch merchant credited with founding the Fiskars Ironworks (Fiskars Oy Ab) in southern Finland known as the oldest industrial enterprise operating in Finland.

Thorwöste came to Finland in the 1620s and moved to Turku (Åbo) in about 1630. There he worked for a while as a bookkeeper for Jakob Wollelle, the wealthiest merchant in Turku. In 1649 he was granted a privilege by Queen Christina of Sweden to manufacture cast iron and forged products, with the exception of cannons. That same year he was allowed to set up a blast furnace and bar hammers in Fiskars. It was a beginning of the Fiskars Ironworks. In the 17th century Sweden was one of the biggest iron producers in Europe, and Finland was ruled by the Swedish sovereigns at the time. Thorwöste owned a trading company at Turku and ironworks at Mustio, Antskog and Fiskars. When he died, his business was succeeded by his widow, Elin Såger.