Rautaharkonmäki appears as the border between the divisions of
Tammerkoski and
Messukylä in 1758. Rautaharkko has been mentioned in church records since the end of the 18th century as the croft of
Hatanpää Manor. The area was annexed to the city of Tampere in 1913 when the city bought the manor. The name Rautaharkko (lit. "
iron bar") is probably based on the name
Rautaorko, which has meant an iron-rich recess in the
soil, or a place from which Finnish
ores have been raised. The word "orko" was common in
medieval village names, but rare in the place names of
Satakunta and
Tavastia. The transformation of the
orko word into an ingot has been shown in 17th century documents in the
Vuoksi region of
South Karelia. It is possible that at about the same time the name "Rautaorko" has changed to
Rautaharkko. When
iron is an old Germanic loanword and the disappearance of the word
orko from the Finnish language began hundreds of years ago, the roots of the name Rautaharkko can go back as far as a thousand years (cf.
Ristinarkku). Rautaharkko's first
town plan was completed in 1948. The Muuntajankatu street is named after the large
power substation located just south of the district. ==Further reading==