Story
The story of Olavinlinna Castle
Look at the round towers rising from the island in the Kyrönsalmi strait. Olavinlinna, St. Olaf's Castle, is the northernmost medieval stone fortress still standing. Erik Axelsson Tott founded it in 1475 as Sankt Olofsborg, and it was the first Swedish castle with thickset circular towers that could withstand cannon fire.
The lakes and waterways around it were no accident: they would seriously impede a Russian offensive. The three-towered keep was completed in 1485 and the outer walls in 1495. The castle was never captured by force, yet its garrison surrendered twice, in 1714 and 1743, and the second time the castle and the whole region passed to Russia. Trade under the castle's protection gave birth to the town of Savonlinna, chartered in 1639. Life inside was cold and damp, for at most about 200 people, and on Saint Olaf's day in late July they ate ram meat.
Since 1912 the castle has been the stage of the Savonlinna Opera Festival.
This story is compiled from Wikipedia and other open sources; dates and numbers are checked against the source. The text is shared under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence. Source ↗
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More highlights in Savonlinna
- Saints Zachary and Elisabeth churchChurch in central Savonlinna, built in 1846 as an Orthodox church dedicated to the Prophet Zachary and Saint Elisabeth.
- Riihisaari - Savonlinna MuseumRegional museum of Savonlinna on the island of Riihisaari, near Olavinlinna Castle.
- Kerimäki ChurchThe Kerimäki Church in Kerimäki, Finland, is the largest wooden church in the world.
- Kyrönsalmi railway bridgeSteel railway bridge over the Kyrönsalmi strait in Savonlinna; it could be opened for boat traffic until summer 2019.
- Finnish Forest Museum LustoNational museum of forestry and forest culture at Punkaharju, Savonlinna, opened in 1994.
- PunkaharjuPunkaharju is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated with the town of Savonlinna on January 1, 2013. It was located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the South Savo region.