Porvoo, one of Finland's six medieval town, is just an hour drive away from Helsinki, or in the summer a few hours by steamboat through the archipelago.
The Old Porvoo is a pituresque city with its medieval cobblestoned alleys, its brightly colored red wooden shore houses, the beautiful Cathedral as well as its antique & craft shops lining on the main roads Välikatu and Kirkkokatu.
Porvoo Old Town was mostly built after the Great Fire of 1760. It has been an important centre of trade and the shore were once used to store goods. Many are now Porvoo's prime residential area. Originally, the shore houses were painted red in honor of the arrival of Gustav III, the king of Sweden.
Porvoo Cathedral was built at the turn of the 14th century. It has been burnt down five times, most recently in 2006.
Have a stroll in the streets East of the Cathedral; Itäinen Pitkäkatu is one of the nicest.
-c-
What a lovely time we have had there. Longing back to Porvoo :)
ReplyDelete