Porvoo Old Town The area surrounding medieval warehouses which are a proposed UNESCO world heritage site

Porvoo Old Town is It’s located on the southern coast Porvoo is a city in Finland a medieval part of the city by the riverside about 50 kilometres to east from the capital Helsinki.

In around 14th and 15th century the wooden warehouses by the river were used for stocking and selling seafood and exotic products (such as fruits and coffee) imported to Finland. They now serve as shops and apartments and are a proposed heritage site.

Most of the buildings in Old Porvoo are built of wood, because it was the most common building material in Finland at the time when the area was built.

The street pattern is medieval and that’s why the streets are very narrow. J.L. Runeberg, the national poet of Finland, lived in Porvoo near the Old Porvoo area from 1837 to 1877. The yellow wooden building in which the Runebergs lived is now a J.L.Runeberg-themed museum.

Even though asphalt is nowadays a common material for streets in Finland, the streets of Old Porvoo are kept cobblestone covered to preserve the medieval atmosphere.

The central point of Porvoo Old Town is the medieval Porvoo Cathedral

Porvoo Cathedral Built in 15th century, originally made of wood, currently made of stone and brick Used by Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland Destroyed by fire in 1508, 1571, 1590 and 1708 An 18-year-old arsonist set the cathedral on fire in 2006, the building was nearly destroyed but it was reopened in 2008

The church has a separate bell tower which was also built in medieval times, but just like the cathedral it has been renovated and the current outlook is from 18th century.

The Porvoo Cathedral’s Bishop’s house, built in 1927

Among with many other buildings in the Old Town, the warehouses got their red color when they were painted at the end of 18th century. Gustav III the king of Sweden visited the town and people wanted to impress him (he was also the Grand Prince of Finland at the time).

Sources porvoo.fi metro.co.uk wikipedia.org/wiki/Porvoo wikipedia.org/wiki/Porvoo_Cathedral yle.fi/uutiset muuka.com visitporvoo.fi Photo of Runeberg’s home from commons.wikimedia.org used under Creative Commons license Maps ©Google Maps, 2014 Photos ©Jouni Sarpola, 2010 Presentation by Meri Lehtinen, 2014