In 1786, a road connecting Kuopio to Vaasa was completed, linking the inland lakes region to Finland’s western coast. Along this route, post riders and travellers journeyed from one coaching inn to another. The road was later named after Count Per Brahe the Younger (1602–1680), known in Finland as Pietari Brahe – the Swedish statesman and Governor General whose efforts profoundly shaped Finland’s governance, economy and infrastructure.

During his tenure in the mid-1600s, Brahe founded new towns, expanded postal and road networks and developed the coaching inn system that made long-distance travel possible. He visited Finland three times, with his first journey taking him from Turku through Häme and Savo to Rautalampi, Konnevesi and Laukaa before returning west. Witnessing the poor condition of inland roads, he took steps to improve travel and communication across the region.

Through his influence, the first official inland highway of Finland ran across the wilderness of Konnevesi. Before that, waterways had served as the main routes for transport and trade, and they remained vital well into the 20th century. The new road revitalised commerce in the vast parish of Rautalampi – trade in salt, furs and other goods flourished, and the inland tribes and villages grew increasingly connected.

In the early 1990s, local heritage associations revived the story of the old post, coaching and military road as a cultural travel route from Rautalampi to Kyyjärvi. In Konnevesi, the route includes sites such as Siikakoski, once known for its salmon runs, and the Neituri Canal with its old fortifications. To mark Konnevesi’s place along the historic route, the local heritage association erected a stone milestone in front of the municipal hall. The Pietari Brahe Road emblem was affixed to it in 2006, 220 years after the road’s completion.

Similar milestones once stood every kilometre along the road from Vaasa to Kuopio, and many can still be found today. In Konnevesi’s village centre, the road is known as Kauppatie, while the modern section from Äänekoski’s Hirvaskangas to Suonenjoki’s Koskelo is now part of Highway 69.