Porvoo town

Finland

Porvoo is the second oldest city in Finland after Turku. The first mention dates back to 1380. Until 1809, the city was part of the Kingdom of Sweden, and after the victory of the Russian Empire in the next Russian-Swedish war of 1808-09, it became part of the Grand Duchy of Finland. In Sweden this city was called Borga and it was translated as "a fortress on a hill with a river flowing under the fortress". The river runs right through the city center. The most famous urban landscape, so to speak, is a kind of trademark of Porvoo - the red buildings that stand along the river banks. These are the former port barns. Once upon a time, at the end of the 18th century, they were painted red in honor of the arrival of King Gustav III of Sweden in the city. Tourists from all over the world come here to admire the unique historical part of the Old Town. Much of it remains the same - and above all the atmosphere of antiquity, despite the fact that the city itself lives a purely modern life.