4.5.5 Finland: Porvoo
Description
This article is from the Nordic countries FAQ, by Antti Lahelma and Johan Olofsson, with numerous contributions by others.
4.5.5 Finland: Porvoo
Porvoo (Swedish: Borgå) on the coast of the Gulf of Finland
received its town rights in 1346. The town lies 48 km northeast
of Helsinki, along the Porvoonjoki River. It's a rather small
town with only 30,000 or so inhabitants, but it's rather
attractive and the (mostly wooden) Old Town still has a rather
medieval character. Building of the the cathedral in the center
of the Old Town was finished 1414-18, and the Diet of Porvoo
where Finland was granted its autonomous status as a Grand
Duchy was held there in 1809 by emperor Alexander I. The house
of Porvoo Gymnasium, built 1760, is on the cathedral square.
The town hall was built in 1764 and now houses a historical
museum; the art collection of the museum is in the Holm house
(1762), included are works by two great artists of the golden
age of Finnish art who were born in Porvoo, the painter Albert
Edelfelt (1854-1940) and the sculptor Ville Valgren
(1855-1940). Edelfelt's studio is one of the most popular
museums of Porvoo area, it's located close to the Haikko manor
(now a hotel) a few kilometers from Porvoo. The poet Johan
Ludvig Runeberg spent the 25 last years of his life in Porvoo;
his home at the corner of Aleksanterinkatu and Runeberginkatu
has been a museum since 1880. He is buried in the Näsimäki
cemetary of Porvoo. Next to the Old Town, on a hill across the
Porvoo river, is Linnanmäki or Borgbacken (Castle Hill, which
has given Porvoo its name; Borgå = Castle River). There are no
stone fortifications left, the only remains are moats that have
belonged to hillfort built by the Danes in the late 12th or
early 13th century.
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