Tammisaari Things to Do

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This is a popular beach, although a bit out of the way for most tourists. It is located in Leksvall about 7 kms from the centre (a bike-ride away). There are no facilities such as toilet, and café but plenty of fresh water! This place is not entirely easy to find, but as long as you bring a decent map, you should be able to to locate the beach. Look for signs for the spring and follow it downstream towards the beach.

Källviken means Spring Bay and takes its name from the fact that there is a natural spring there called the Spring of Dagmar. For this reason, the water is rather cool. The spring water drinkable, so on this beach you will never run out of water. The lady Dagmar was a Danish princess who became Empress of Russia. She visited the place a few times and fell in love with the natural beauty of the area, so the locals re-named the spring after her.

The beach is facing eastwards, so this is a place best visited in the morning, in late afternoon the sun disappears from the beach and it can get rather cool.

Canoeing/kayaking enthusiasts can check out this page: http://www.paddlingsfabriken.fi/kayaking/destinations.php

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Being a coastal town, Ekenäs boasts nice beaches close to the centre of town. The public beaches are maintained by the municipality and water quality monitored regularly. The quality is generally good, even though the water is not clear. It is generally decently warm (18-22 degrees) during the peak of summer.

However, facilities are on a level to be expected in a small town; cafés nearby provide soft drinks, coffee, tea and sweets. Public dustbins are around for you to dispose leftovers and paper wraps into. Toilet facilities are of the lower public standard. Toilet paper, soap and water are not usually available so bring your own. There are no changing facilities, so you are left to your own devices on that account. The locals usually solve this by either wearing swim wear under their normal clothes and just undressing, or then by changing discreetly under wide clothes such as skirts and baggy t-shirts. Women sunbathing topless is not entirely unusual these days.

The most popular beaches are:
Stallörsparken beach in the park with the same name. This is the usual haunt for the young and beautiful, as well as for families. The children like the water slides and the reckless the diving platform. There are cafés, restaurants and decent toilets as well as other entertainment, such as mini golf, in easy reach.
Ramsholmen beach is in a quiet hideaway out on the Ramsholmen island, very idyllic. Toilet facilities basic, no café. In fact there are several places around the area that you can go swimming and sunbathing, as long as you respect the rules. (Also see my Hagen-Ramsholmen-Högholmen tip)
Källviken beach in Leksvall about 7 kms from the centre (a bike-ride away). No toilet, no café but plenty of fresh water! This place is not entirely easy to find, but as long as you bring a decent map, you should be able to to locate the waterfront. Look for signs for the spring and follow it downstream towards the beach.

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The old stone church of Ekenäs is the second oldest in the country. It was built in 1680s by the local elite as the previous church had by this time become too small to accommodate the churchgoers of the town.

The style is a Nordic version of baroque architecture, plain but powerful. As protestant churches go, this one is as sparsely decorated as they tend to be in Finland. The coat of arms of the local nobles is worth a peek, and do have a look at the organ too. The organ in the church was probably ordered from Germany, but actually, what you see on the outside is just for show, the real thing is inside. The altar painting is very typical of protestant churches.

The acoustics is awsome, and that is why the church is often hosting concerts in the summer, and also during other times of the year. This is something to take into account if you are visiting or if you are planning a wedding in this beautiful church. This I know from my own experience ;)

The church is not very special in terms of architecture, but it definitely worth a visit if you are in town. It is open for visitors in the summertime between 10 am and 6 pm. Around lunch time you may be lucky enough to get some musical entertainment as they play the organ. If you're in town for Christmas, the Christmas morning service (at 6 am usually) is the service to attend.

When entering, please note that it is a place of worship so behave appropriately.

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Ekenäs is one of the most charming towns in Finland on account of it's well preserved old town. The grid of old town streets still today reflects the medieval structure of the town, as Ekenäs escaped the street modernisation that sweeped Sweden and Finland in the 17th Century.

Traditionally, houses were made of wood. These were prone to fires and they broke out on a fairly regular basis and proved destructive to the towns. The big ones wiped out entire neighbourhoods. There was a big fire in Ekenäs in 1821 and many buildings were destroyed. Most houses in the old town are from the late 18th Century and the 19th Century. There are some newer houses too, try to spot them if you can! The 18th century houses are red, the 19th Century houses tend to be light pastels such as yellow and baby blue.

The museum authorities have strict rules for conformity in the old town. All houses must fit the old style and if you fancy repainting your house, you have to have the colour approved by the authorities. People living here are very proud of their houses and they keep their houses well. But when walking around and looking at the houses, please remember that people live here and respect their privacy.

A representative route would include Linvävaregatan with its quaint red houses, Stora kyrkogatan with light coloured houses leading up to the church and Smedsgatan running parallell to Stora Kyrkogatan to the North, where you can see the oldest house in Ekenäs. Close by, Basatorget (= Disciplining Square) still bears witness to reason for it's name; this was the place for shame punishments. If possible, also stop by at the church and go inside to have a look.

Pick up a leaflet about the architecture of the old town at the tourist information or in the church, where you can pick up tips on how to spot clues on how old the buildings are. The street names also show what kind of crafts were practiced there. Linvävaregatan = Linen weavers' street, Smedsgatan = Smiths' street, Målaregatan = Painters' street, etc.

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The Hagen-Ramsholmen-Högholmen area is a park with wide paths for hiking. It is very popular with the locals, and visitors will be able to enjoy it too, but as it is popular don't expect to be alone here during nice days at weekends or in the summer.

Originally the park area was used as grazing land for cattle, but at by the 1870s interest in nature preservation arose among the inhabitants and it was made into a park to be used as a recreational area. By this time, the pavilion was already in place on the Ramsholmen islet and an avenue with maples, elm and lime trees was planted. Some of those trees are still left today and measure an impressive 30 m in height and are over 120 years old. Ramsholmen has the most impressive collection of old broadleaves in the country. Högholmen used to be covered by broadleaves, but nowadays pines and other conifers dominate. In Spring, wood anemones cover the hills of all the park area, but is especially impressive on Ramsholmen islet. You are allowed to pick these, but few other types of plants and flowers as they are endangered and this type of broadleave forest is very rare in Finland.

There is a beach on Ramsholmen, and a pavilion where concerts and dancing are enjoyed by all and sundry during the summer season. The pavilion and theatre buildings are probably around 100 years old. Villa Snäcksund, built in 1857, close to the Ramsholmen bridge in Hagen is nowadays let out to artists as part of Arts grants. It is also possible to swim off Högholmen, but as the Swedish name implies, it is covered with cliffs.

Please note that no cars are allowed on Ramsholmen, and do follow the rules and regulations so that your impact on this fragile ecosystem is minimal.

The below link is to the Nature reserve Info centre called Naturum close to Knipan restaurant and the beach in the city centre.

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Obviously the most interesting thing in this location is the sea, in the summer of course. So have your swimsuit ready, suntan oil and a cold drink and hit it to the beach.

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The whole region is interesting with its landscapes, nature, culture and tradition. Check the Ekenas Visitor Centre to find out more about all the possibilities here.

If you are into sailing and such, Tammisaari is suitable for you. Lots of yachts stopping over here while sailing in the Baltic Sea.