One of the most beautiful archipelagos in the world with hundreds of islands and skerries. At a distance of about 50km from the Helsinki metropolitan area and from Helsinki-Vantaa airport, Porvoo is an easily accessible destination: a good half an hour's drive takes you from downtown Helsinki to Porvoo situated on the E18 highway. Regular bus traffic between the capital and Porvoo is an easy and fast travelling option. The trip to Porvoo has not, however, always been so quick. Already in the 14th century, horse carts carried couriers from Turku castle to Vyborg castle along the King's Road. With the conveyance of those times, the trip between Helsinki and Porvoo was a toil of at least four hours, with bad luck of a whole day! The the first regular trains came to Porvoo, the travelling time shortened to three hours.
At a distance of about 50km from the Helsinki metropolitan area and from the Helsinki-Vantaa airport, Porvoo is an easily accessible destination: a good half an hour's drive takes you from downtown Helsinki to Porvoo situated on the E 18 highway. Regular bus traffic between the capital and Porvoo is an easy and fast travelling option. The trip to Porvoo has not, however, always been so quick. Already in the 14th century, horse carts carried couriers from Turku castle to Vyborg castle along the King's Road. With the conveyances of those times, the trip between Helsinki and Porvoo was a toil of at least four hours, with bad luck of a whole day! When the first regular trains came to Porvoo, the travelling time shortened to three hours.
The Porvoo river got its name in the 14th century from the ground fortress built on Linnamaki, and it later became the name of the town as well. The names comes from the Swedish word Borga (borg=castle, a=river). The fortress no longer exists, only entrenchements recall those times.
Porvoo got its city rights in the middle of the 14th century but the actual year of foundation is not known. It is known, though, that Porvoo is Finland's second oldest town. The town has a surface area of 1768 square kilometres, of which 654 is land and 1114 water. The town's population is over 46000, 64% of which is Finnish-speaking, 34% Swedish-speaking and about 2% others.
The Porvoo archipelago and its countryside have much to offer both to their inhabitants and to those spending their leisure there. Alongside the old islander life, there are summerhouse residents and boaters. A part of the inhabitants of Pellinki island live off the archipelago: fishing and boat building are the source of livelihood for many. Many islanders who have gone to the mainland for work or study yearn to return to the archipelago which continues to be popular living environment. The Horbergsgarden outdoor museum describes life in an islander house of Pellinki in the late 19th century. Vessels made with boat building skills dating from ancient times go out to the seas from the boatyards of Krako and Pellinki. The Krako museum of boat building is an attraction for those interested in boating. The visiting ports of the archipelago, for example, at Tirmo and Hamari, warmly welcome crews. Pellinki can be reached by road. At Pellinki, an original sport, axe throwing, has a wide following and the competitors of the island have won several national championships in the sport.
There are plenty of beautiful and historically interesting manors in the Porvoo region. The accommodation, course and restaurants services of the Haikko manor are well known also abroad. The Virvik manor is an excursion spot near the sea with a cafe. In painter Albert Edelfelt's birthplace, the Kiiala manor, there is a shop, a cafe and a gallery. There are concerts in the summer at the Hommanas manor at Vesso. The restored manors of Sannas and Stor-Kroksnas serve nowadays as adult educational centres. The offerings at the summer markets of Bjurbole and Pellinki vary according to season but islander loaves and fish are always available. The island chapel at Pellinki and Michael's chapel at Fagersta are of interest as more special destinations. They are mostly open on order.
Old Porvoo, to the north of Mannerheiminkatu, the Empire district to the south of it and the Porvoo centre between them, complement each other well. The townsfolk stop to chat and have a cup of coffee with friends in the market square near the modern business premises of the new town centre. In summer, the riverside marina and the harbour add life and energy to the new town centre, situated at only a few minutes walk from Old Porvoo. A tired traveller can appreciate a ride in a horse cab that also stops at the riverside. From the riverside, walk towards the museum of Finnish national poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg. There you have the entire Empire district in view. its clear outlines follow a regular rectangular street layout characteristic of the Empire style of the early 19th century, similar to the Senate Square area of Helsinki, no wonder, as both have been designed by the famous architect Carl Ludwig Engel.
Christmas traditions are cherished in Porvoo in various warm occasions. Christmas preparations are initiated already at the end of November. The Christmas street opens and the Christmas lights are lit in Old Porvoo and the lively centre of town. A good way to calm down is to attend one of the various Christmas concerts for example at the cathedral. You can hear music also in street corners and in department stores. St Lucia's day festivities take place at the Old Town Hall square in the evening of December 13th. People in Porvoo settle down for their Christmas celebration on Christmas Eve at 16 hours, when Christmas Peace is declared in the square. The annual Christmas market is a popular lace to buy presents. Warm mulled wine, ginger breads, garlands, busy little Christmas brownies looking for good children around Old Porvoo, everything helps in creating a cosy atmosphere. The market place in the centre of the town offers a good choice of Christmas fish, flowers and trees to take home.
To see
riverside houses
the cathedral
idyllic wooden buildings
narrow lanes
Porvoo museum
Historical Museum, history and culture of the Porvoo region
Edelfelt-Vallgren Art Museum, paintings of Albert Edelfelt and sculptures of Ville Vallgren
Outboard Museum
Porvoo toy museum
Porvoo Museum of Natural History
J.L, Runeberg's home, national poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg lived in this house with his family for a quarter of a century from 1852 on. The home has acted as a museum since 1882 and was renovated in 2003
Walter Runeberg's sculpture collection, comprises about 140 works of Walter Runeberg (1838-1920), the works of the artist who was born in Porvoo and lived in Rome and Paris for over 30 years
Albert Edelfelt's studio museum, Albert Edelfelt (1854-1905) had a small studio built for himself at Haikko in 1883, here he painted many of his most outstanding works
the market place, has always been the heart of the town, several specialised shops and services
town hall
Grand House
Nimbus shop quarter
bus station
Lund's shopping centre
Postimaki, the open air museum at Ilola (7km to the east of Porvoo centre), 15 cottages, granaries and sheds and a small straw museum
Kiiala Manor, idyllic old manor historic value some 3km north of the centre. the manor has its own white Charolais livestock grazing on its pasturage. there are vegetables, root crops, fresh bread and othe delicacies, artwork, presents in the manor's shop
Kullo Manor, situated in western Porvoo, can pick strawberries, sweet corn and perennial flowers at the manor
Kungsbacka domestic animal farm, farmhouse yard with sheep, pigs, goats, emus, donkeys etc
Brunberg Oy, factory of quality chocolate and sweets with traditions since 1871
To do
nature trails, delightful sight in the summer as well as in the winter, nature trails: Sikosaari (1.5km), Ekudden (2km) and Virvik (2.4km)
canoeing, Mustijoki and Porvoo river, landscapes vary from open fields to rapids and cultural countruide sceneries
