Porvoo Things to Do

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The history of the granite cathedral dates back to the late 13th century. It was rebuilt or repaired several times. During WWII it was even hit by a bomb, but luckily not damaged. Inside the church a nice wooden tall ship can be seen.
I found it quite interesting that the belfry isn't attached to the church building. Both my local VT guide and the young people at the church door weren't able to tell me a reason for this.
Mika Hakkinen (Formula 1) and Jari Kurri (ice hockey) got married to their girlfriends in Porvoo Cathedral.

Albert Edelfelt is the most known and praised Finnish painter who was born near Porvoo. There are a few of his paintings in this museum and I especially liked this portrait of a young girl. It is as Finnish as it can get. The major part of his work - I believe - in in Kansallismuseo in Helsinki.

The statue of Havis Amanda, which stands near the harbour in Helsinki must be the most famous work by Ville Vallgren. The miniature version of it is in the museum and in the background you can see a photo of the original one. At its time the statue caused a lot of disapprovment and its removal was widely demanded. Hard to believe today when we have seen so much more revieling pieces of art!

Museum is located in the old town hall. Has collection of furniture, silver, tin, glass, toys, vehicles and an exhibition of Porvoo in the 16th century.

Admission:
Adults 5 €, children 1 €, with the same ticket you can also visit the Edelfelt-Vallgren Museum (blue building in the photo on the left)

Open:

May-August Mon-Sat 10.00-16.00, Sun 11.00-16.00
Sept.-April Wed-Sun 12.00-16.00

Here you can have a look at the old toys over the decades and not one of them is made of plastic!

Open:

1 June - 31 July Mon-Sat 11.00-15.30
Sun 12.00-15.30
Fri closed

Admission 2€ for adults, 1€ for children

The oldest parts of Porvoo Catherdal date back to the end of the 13th century. This church is dedicated to Virgin Mary and has been a cathedral since 1723. Present exterior was mainly built between 141 and 1418 in neo-gothic style. There are seats for 750 people in the church.

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Porvoo's old town is one of the best reserved wooden towns in Finland. The narrow roads are made of cobblestone and the old buildings create illusion of being in 18th or 19th century.

The old town is not dead, quite the contrary. The buildings are filled with cafés, restaurants, artists and craftsmen. The houses are quite of a sight also inside, so check out the shops and restaurants.

If the weather is nice, the place is very picturesque and suitable for a stroll for an hour or two. The old town is not very large, so you can spot everything in an afternoon, including having an excellent meal or coffee in some of the buildings.

Porvoo's cathedral is one of the oldest stone churches in Finland, dating back to the end of 13th century. The church is located on an imposing hill at the one end of Porvoo old town. Just walk upwards and you should not miss the place.

The church has been rebuilt on 1414-1418 and there are wall paintings from end of 15th century. It has been burned, mostly by Russians, several times during 16th century and it was hit by a bomb on world war II. The church became cathedral on 1723.

The oldest parts of the bell tower are from the middle ages, but most of it is built on 18th century. The church is open every day during summer months and several days a week in winter.