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The building of Olavinlinna Castle began in 1475. The Danish-born founder of the castle, knight Erik Axelsson Tott, decided that a powerful fortification should be built to protect the strategically important Savo region. The history of Olavinlinna is a mixture of medieval arms clashing, cannons roaring and people doing everyday chores inside the security of the castle’s thick walls. Many centuries have passed and today Olavinlinna Castle is one of the most popular attractions in all of Finland and a symbol of the city of Savonlinna. The accounts of the castle administrator have been preserved to our time. They represent a valuable source of information about the life of its inhabitants. For example, when Gustav Vasa ruled, all the inhabitants of the castle were divided into officials, artisans and soldiers. It is worth adding that the officials included a bailiff, clerks, gunsmiths and cooks. After Finland became an autonomous part of the Russian Empire, the fortress ...

Helvetinjärvi National Park is situated in Ruovesi in 40 kilometers northwest of Tampere.  The special features of the park include two rift valleys formed 150-200 million years ago by displacement of the earth’s crust. Helvetinkolu Gorge, located northeast of the Lake Iso Helvetinjärvi, is the most famous gorge in the area and can be reached by a forest path of ca. 2 kilometres. You can easily make a day trip or a longer hike in Helvetinjärvi National Park. The park's landscape is dominated by geological features created millions of years ago by mighty movements deep in the Earth's crust. After admiring the rugged cliffs around Helvetinjärvi (Hell's Lake) and Helvetinkolu (Hell's Hole) you can relax on the sandy lakeshore at Haukanhieta. The landscape here is dominated by geological features created millions of years ago by mighty movements deep in the Earth's crust. After admiring the rugged cliffs around Helvetinjärvi (Hell's Lake) and Helvetinkol...

The best Finnish city - Tampere - a rather large city by Finnish standards (its population is just over 200 thousand people), located in the south of the country. It secretly has the status of the second city center after Helsinki, and, according to opinion polls, has been leading the list of cities in the country for several years in a row.  Tampere has deservedly become known as the main industrial center of Finland. And in the nineties, the title of center of advanced information technologies was added to this honorary title. Why is the city good? In general, the status of the “best” city was awarded to specialists of the national sociological company Taloustutkimus after conducting a simple study. The Finns themselves evaluated the settlements of their homeland on a ten-point scale, putting marks for the quality of services, business activity, healthcare, education, economic development, municipal services, social services, leisure opportunities, raising children, wo...

Kurjenrahka National Park  Within easy reach of the historic town of Turku, the forests and marshes of Kurjenrahka are home to many wild animals and birds, including stately long-legged cranes and curious woodland owls. This national park was established in 1998 and covers about 29 km square. Kurjenrahka is beloved by many bird watchers as several species of birds such as the Eurasian wryneck, the chiffchaff or the osprey call the park their home. Kurjenrahka National Park lies just outside the city limits of Turku and located west of road 204 (Turku - Yläne), about 35 km north of the City of Turku. Vaskijärvi Strict Nature Reserve is located about 10 km northwest of Kurjenrahka, north of road 2020 (Yläne - Mynämäki). Vaskijärvi is about 40 km from Turku.  Turku castle Turku Castle is a national monument and one of the most remarkable medieval castles in Finland. It is also one of the largest existing castles in Scandinavia. The history of Turku Castl...