In four hours of driving from the capital of Finland - Helsinki is the amazing city of Savonlinna. Among other resorts of the Northern country, it is allocated by an unusual location, amazing nature and many years of history. Almost half of the territory of the city is occupied by rivers and lakes. And the urban areas of sushi, located on the peninsula and the islands, are combined with bizarre bridges. In addition to all inside Savonlinna, the active movement of ferries is observed. Thanks to this architectural "misunderstanding" the city and received its second name - "Finnish Venice". All these features are attracted annually in Savonlinn thousands of tourists from all over the planet. Some travelers come here to admire the nature and relax in the fresh air, others will be in the city due to the opera festival conducted in the local medieval castle every year. It is unequivocal that the fact that the guests of this interesting resort never arises with the fact that you can see and how exciting and cognitively spend time.
Fortress Olavinlinna - One of the main attractions of the city. This protective structure was erected back in the fifteenth century to reflect the attacks of Russian troops from the East. Since then, under the walls of the fortress, not one battle passed, and she herself was repeatedly subjected to architectural changes from the temporary owners. Initially, the fortress had five high towers, but only three of them were preserved to this day. Despite this, the military strengthening of Olavinlinna turned out to be one of the few managers to save its original architectural appearance.
Plus, the fortress played an important role in the formation of the city itself. In the 17th century, a small trading settlement arose around this defensive building, since the time crushed to the size of the city, called Savonlinna. As for the name of the attraction itself, it changed several times. At the time of construction, the fortress was named Neichlott, later she was renamed in honor of the patron of the knights - St. Olaf. The church tower, located in the middle part of the fortress, still carries the name of St. Olaf. By the way, on one of its floors there is a small chapel, in which visitors may look if desired.
The central building of the fortress of Olavinlinna serves as a scene for performing opera performers and performs the functions of the museum. In one part of the defensive complex, tourists can get acquainted with the exposition of the Museum of History of the Fortress, and the Orthodox Museum with a collection of religious artifacts occupies the second half. In addition, there are three courtyard in the castle and the bastion of the new gate, on the lower tier of which real guns are installed. To examine all this magnificence can be independently or accompanied by a guide. The second option is more fascinating. The fact is that during a fortress in the fortress, an experienced guide introduces visitors at once with several legends, each of which is interesting and sad. After inspecting all the corners of Olavinlinna, tourists can look into a small shop that trades here with a variety of souvenirs.
- Visit the fortress will work on any day. From Monday to Friday, it is open from 10:00 to 16:00, on weekends, the working day begins an hour later. As for an organized excursion to this place, the last goal starts at 15:00. The duration of a walk along the fortress with the guide is about a hour. Most of the excursion is held at Finnish and English. In the summer, books are arranged in Russian twice a day. The cost of the entrance ticket for adults is 8 euros, the price of a children's ticket is half smaller. And tourists under 7 years old look at the fortress for free. Tourists can find this attractions on a rocky island at the end of Linnankatu Street.
Local Lore Museum - A place where tourists can get acquainted not only with the history of the town, but also the whole region. The museum was originally located on the territory of the fortress, but because of the circumstances was postponed to the neighboring island of Rihisaari, where he took a pavilion for grain trading.
Most exposure of the museum is associated with the history of local crafts and shipping. On the second floor, tourists are invited to explore a lot of black and white photos and see a documentary about life on the shores of Saima. However, the largest and impressive exhibits of this institution are not located inside the building, but outside. They are steamers "Achker", "Salama", "Mixo" and "Savonlinna". Inspect this part of the collection in the summer, tourists can separately from the museum. To do this, it is enough to buy for 2 euros an adult ticket and for 1 euro for children, and you can safely rise to the deck of a tug, steam schooner, passenger ship and, in the end, the only resin barge in the world.
- For an integrated visit to the local history museum and large exhibits, adult tourists will have to pay 6 euros, the cost of a children's ticket will be 3 Euros. In the summer, the museum works daily from 11:00 to 18:00. With the onset of cold weather, Monday turns into a day off and a marina with steamot closes.
In order to fully feel an extraordinary local atmosphere, tourists should make a hiking promenade on the oldest street Savonlinna - Linnankatu (Linnankatu) . Previously, this street served as a home and at the same time a workplace for the bulk of citizens - artisans. Now this area of the city is considered the most prestigious. Linnagatu contains boutiques, exhibition halls and cafes, peacefully caring with the oldest architectural buildings of the city. So, walking along a paving street, travelers can admire the wooden house at number 27, erected back in 1820.
Museum of Cuppet - A peculiar landmark of the city and a place that will cause interest in young and adult tourists. The collection of the museum consists of more than three thousand exhibits, among which manually made porcelain dolls, German models of machinery and even Soviet toys. The first floor of the building is given at the disposal of old dolls and toys, and the second - the whole is allocated to the exhibition of all sorts of pups. Inspect the collaboration of children's treasures Travelers can in the very center of Savonlinna.
- The museum is located at the intersection of Linnankat and Erikanatu streets in the house number 11. In the warm period (from May to September) it works every day from 11:00 to 17:00. Adult visitors acquaintance with dolls will cost 6 euros, for children the cost of the ticket is 2.5 euros.