Porvoo is a city and a municipality in the Uusimaa region, Finland, situated on the southern coast about 35 kilometres (22 mi) east of the city border of Helsinki. Porvoo is the seat of the Swedish-speaking Diocese of Borgå of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. Porvoo was capital of the former Eastern Uusimaa region.
The Porvoo Old Town is a popular tourist destination, known for its well-preserved 18th and 19th century buildings and 15th century cathedral, the Porvoo Cathedral. The Old Town together with Porvoonjoki River Valley is recognized as historically and culturally significant as one of the National landscapes of Finland. Porvoo is internationally considered to be one of the most beautiful towns in Finland. Porvoo also enjoys the reputation of one of Finland’s most popular summer towns, both in Finland and abroad. The municipality’s official languages are Finnish and Swedish. In 2014, 64.6% of the population spoke Finnish as their native language, while 30.1% were Swedish speakers. 5.4% had a different native language.
Cityscape and attractions
The maze-like alleys, wooden houses and beach fences in Old Porvoo are reminiscent of the medieval town plan of Porvoo. The current wooden buildings are from the 18th and 19th centuries. Along the riverside, the landscape is dominated by a steep-roofed Gothic cathedral, which took its current form in the 15th century. In the 13th century there was a wooden church with a stone chest, and in the 14th century a small gray stone church. The church in Porvoo’s Old Town , now known as Porvoo Cathedral , was located along the medieval Kuninkaantie . It is surrounded by a rather large wooden house town , Old Porvoo . The new center of Porvoo was built south of the Old Town in the 19th century in the empire style by Carl Ludvig Engelaccording to a square layout drawn up in 1832. It was partially demolished in the way of modern commercial buildings in the 1960s. There are apartment buildings in the newer districts, but the cityscape is dominated by detached house areas. The green areas found in the city center are the City Park, and Runeberg Park, at the mouth of the Porvoonjoki River, is the Ruskis Nature Reserve.
Attractions in Porvoo include Old Porvoo , Porvoo Cathedral and the Runeberg Home Museum . Tourists are also attracted to the city by restaurants, cafes, the archipelago and boating. The city is rich in historic mansions. In 2012, there were more than 3,700 summer cottages in Porvoo. Porvoo is also a conference city.
Porvoo kinds of museums are Albert Edelfelt Studio Museum , a local history museum Hörbergsgården , Runeberg’s home , the Outboard Museum, Porvoo Doll and Toy Museum , the Porvoo veteran room , Postimäki open-air museum , Walter Runeberg’s sculpture collection , Yrjö A. Jäntti’s Art Collection Art Factory , as well as the Porvoo museum Holm House and the Old Town Hall .
Porvoo operate in the following galleries: Colmio Slow House, Gallery Sofia, Gallery Artmar, Gallery Old Kappalaisentalo, Culture House Grand (theater and concert hall, banquet and meeting rooms), Noark Miniature World , Sirkka Turkey – Art Park, Staffas Manor Garden Gallery, Porvoo Art Hall , George A . Jäntti’s Art Collection and The Art Konsta and Taidemakasiini Art .
The grandfather of the author Erkki Vala was a renowned cantor from Porvoo, according to whom Pappilanmäki’s Vadenströminkuja has been named .
Culture
Food
A well-known Porvoo delicacy, a Runeberg torte, was developed by a local pastry master, and it is said that J. L. Runeberg ate them for breakfast. Fredrika Runeberg, the wife of the national poet also made tortes for her husband using the substances that happened to be found in the cupboards: wheat and breadcrumbs, biscuit crumbs, almonds, apple jam and sugar.
In addition to Runeberg torte, the second parish dish in Porvoo was grilled herring with onion rings and dill in the 1980s. Pellinki‘s fish soup and nettle soup were chosen as the main dishes of the Porvoo countryside.
Porvoo is also known for its local confectionery and ice cream factories, the most notable being the Brunberg Chocolate Factory and the Old Porvoo Ice Cream Factory (Vanhan Porvoon Jäätelötehdas).
Economy
In 2014, the largest employers in Porvoo were Neste (2,000 jobs in Porvoo), Borealis Polymers (962), Ensto (430), Viessman Refrigeration Systems (414), Varuboden-Osla (300) and Bilfinger Industrial Services Finland (299).
The Satakuntaliitto’s Satamittari measures the competitiveness of Finnish regions annually. In 2012, the Porvoo region ranked number one. In 2013, there were 70 sub-regions involved, which were assessed using six factors: labor productivity, employment rate, innovation, level of education, business dynamics and industrial dominance. The Porvoo region ranked fourth after Vaasa, Helsinki and Tampere. The region’s labor productivity and industrial intensity were the highest in Finland, but the employment rate and level of education were also at the highest level.
