Savonlinna Things to Do

If you want to experience something really Finnish, meet local really nice people just as they are (no roles, no pretending), this is a must. Go to Savonlinna market place during summertime. Most probably not all the people selling their vegetables and stuff speak English, but they speak a lot! These Savolax (an area and a "race" in Finland) people are famous for talking very much.

Ask for a thing called "lörtsy" in Finnish - there is no translation. It is a very delicious thing, a kind of a thin meat-and-rice pastry, big but thin. And aaah so greasy! Take a cup of coffee with it and sit down for a while to look at the sales and people.

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The building of Olavinlinna, castle of St. Olaf, began in 1475. The history of Olavinlinna is a mixture of medieval arms clashing, cannons roaring and every-day chores inside the security of the castle’s thick walls.

There are two small exhibitions in the castle: the Castle Museum displays artifacts found in the castle or related to it, and the Orthodox Museum displays icons and other religious artifacts both from Finland and Russia.

Every summer Olavinlinna hosts famous opera festival, to which almost always the tickets are sold quickly. It is a very unique experience to listen and watch the opera inside an old castle. Many foreigners have found this happening too, and many businessmen take their guests there. Fore more information please see the following link:

http://www.operafestival.fi/en/index.html

This is an experience! See Savonlinna and near areas from air. See the lakes and tiny islands from air. I guess from the air one can realize how amasing the archipelago in the lake area really is!

Vesiair Oy makes sightseeings by airplane for 1-6 persons. They will take you up in the air for app. 15minutes at a time. They dont have netpages but I saw their airplane standing quite close to city center and there is a mobilephone number (given below) where you can call if you are interested.

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The building of Olavinlinna, castle of St. Olaf, began in 1475. The Danish-born founder of the castle, knight Erik Axelsson Tott, decided that a powerful fortification should be build to protect the strategically important Savo region against Russian attacks. The castle standing in the middle of the fast-flowing straits of Kyrönsalmi river is nowadays one of the best-known historical attractions in Finland. There are two small exhibitions in the castle: the Castle Museum displays artifacts found in the castle or related to it, and the Orthodox Museum displays icons and other religious artifacts both from Finland and Russia.
The first opera performances were staged in the castle as early as 1912, and today the castle provides the venue for the Opera Festival and the Ballet Festival as well as other popular events.

Admission prices:
5,00 Euro
3,50 Euro (Children 7-17 years, students, senior citizens) )
12,00 Euro (Family ticket (2 adults and 2 children))
Free: -7 years, on the International Museum Day 18 May on St. Olaf’s Day 29 July.

Opening times:
2 January - 31 May : 10.00-15.00
1 June - 15 August: 10.00-17.00 ( 21 July: 10.00-13.00 )
16 August - 31 December: 10.00-15.00
Closed: Newyears day , Good Friday, 1 May , 6 December (Independence Day) and on 15-25 December 2006.

Built in 1475 to protect the eastern border of the Swedish empire against the Russians, Olavinlinna was nevertheless conquered by those very same Russians in the 18th century. (In fact, they built a bright yellow building that looks terribly out of place inside the otherwise medieval fortress.)

Nowadays, Olavinlinna is home to the Savonlinna Opera Festival, which takes place every July. You may visit the castle, but only as part of one of the guided tours. Fortunately, the guides are very good and are fluent in several languages. They come around every hour on the hour to greet the visitors and take them on a 45-minute tour. When we were there, we picked the French guide because this meant that we would have a guide all to ourselves, as the others all went with the English one! :)

At the end of the tour, you can visit two small exhibits on your own, one being about the history of the castle and the other about the Orthodox religion.

The castle is open every day from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., except in the summer when it remains open until 5 p.m.

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Built in 1900 by Nils Weckman, an officer in the Tsar's army, as a silver-anniversary wedding gift for his wife Alma, Rauhalinna Villa is a beautiful wooden villa set on the lakeside. It doubles as a cafe/restaurant from June to August.

The best (and most scenic) way to see the villa, which is some 16 km from Savonlinna, is by taking a lake cruise at the passenger harbour. However, having arrived too late in Savonlinna for a cruise and realizing this was our only chance to see the villa, we took a taxi near the bus station. The driver took us to the villa in about 15 minutes and let us walk around the grounds a bit (the villa had already closed).

When (not if) we go back to Savonlinna, we will likely take a cruise to the villa or, if the weather is nice, rent some bikes and ride all the way there.

The building of Olavinlinna, castle of St. Olaf, began in 1475. The Danish-born founder of the castle, knight Erik Axelsson Tott, decided that a powerful fortification should be build to protect the strategically important Savo region. The castle was supposed to repel Russian attacks from the east and to guarantee the control of the Savo region for the Swedish Crown.
It hosts every year in summer the Savonlinna Opera Festival

There are two small exhibitions in the castle. In the Castle Museum displays artifacts found in the castle or related to it and icons and other religious artifacts both from Finland and Russia in the the Orthodox Museum..