Post code: SF-06100
Telephone code 19
Porvoo (Swedish Borgå), 50km/30mi northeast of Helsinki, is attractively situated on the left bank of the Porvoonjoki (Borgåå), near the mouth of the river, which flows into an inlet on the Gulf of Finland. The town was founded in 1346 by the Swedish king Magnus Eriksson, and some 45%
of the population are still Swedish-speaking. The town was burned down by the Danes in 1508 and by the Russians in 1708. In 1732 Porvoo became the see of a bishop. In 1809 Tsar Alexander I, who under the treaty of Frederikshamn had become Grand Duke of Finland, received the homage of the Estates here. Porvoo was the birthplace of the sculptors Walter Runeberg and Ville Vallgren and the home of a number of other artists. Since the 1960s an important element in the town's economy has been the oil port of Sköldvik, around which many industrial plants have been established.
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