The Rapola and Voipaala manors

The oldest written mention of the villages of Rapola and Voipaala is in a papal bull from 1340, in which Pope Benedict XII ratified the excommunication of 25 peasants of Sääksmäki. The village sites of Rapola and Voipaala are adjacent to each other and they appear to have originally been a single village. The boundary between the villages was not laid down until 1612. The manors of Rapola and Voipaala were founded when estate owners Johan Timinpoika and Mats Ericinpoika Halls began to provide the crown with cavalry service in the late 16th century.   A copy of the papal bull of 1340 addressed to the peasants of Sääksmäki who refused to pay their tithes. The villages of Rapola and Voipaala are mentioned for the first time in this document. Riksarkivet / National Archives of Sweden.