Prättäkitti

Lore & Background

Prättäkitti is said to have been originally from Nousiainen. According to one story, a land-owning farmer named Teppo from Manninen saw her rowing a boat while visiting Turku and decided to ask her hand in marriage. Multiple stories describe her fortune-telling abilities and alleged witchcraft, including a trial for witchcraft. Among her prophesied events are the burning of the church of Loimaa Proper—she is rumored to have said it would burn after 50 years from her time—and 'the belting of the world with an iron belt,' meaning the railway, which she foresaw would be used by 'an iron carriage with no horse pulling it,' i.e., the train.

Reader's Guide

Prättäkitti occupies a notable place in Finnish folklore as a figure whose life is shrouded in uncertainty yet whose stories have persisted for centuries. Her prophecies, such as the burning of the Loimaa Proper church in 1888 and the arrival of the railway, are remembered as uncanny predictions that later came true. The tale of her bewitching a boy into a wolf—later adapted into a children's play in 2016 by the musical theatre of Ypäjä—highlights her reputation as a witch capable of transformative magic. Stories of her using a milling stone to cross a river, whether as a means of travel or as an attempted execution that failed, further cement her legendary status. The annual Prättäkitti Day, celebrated in Loimaa at the end of February or beginning of March, keeps her memory alive through community events, including a business owner dressing as a witch and bargain sales. A 1981 radio drama also contributed to her enduring legacy.

Did You Know?

• Prättäkitti's magical powers are said to come from the fact that the midwife at her birth was a witch.
• She is rumored to have prophesied the burning of the church of Loimaa Proper, saying it would burn after 50 years from her time.
• One story claims she turned a thief into a wolf, who was later revealed to be the client's own son, Yrjä.