Savonlinna Tourist Attractions

Savonlinna's main traffic artery is Olavinkatu, a long street running from east to west. At the west end of the old town, on the strait of Haapasalmi, is the Market Square, with the landing-stage used by the Lake Saimaa boats. From here a bridge leads north over the inlet of Koulolahti to the Vääräsaari peninsula, with the Spa Establishment (modern treatment facilities) and an attractive park and an open-air theater.

Olavinkatu runs east from Savonlinna's Market Square to another spacious square, Olavintori, in which is the Little Church (by L. T. K. Visconti, 1845), originally Orthodox (for the Russian garrison) but Lutheran since 1940. Over the west gable is a dome topped by a lantern.

On the south side of Savonlinna's island, reaching out into the Pihlajavesi, is the Riihisaari peninsula, on which is the Provincial Museum (periodic special exhibitions), housed in a former granary (1851). South of this is the Saimaa Museum, with a number of old ships, including the "Salama", a steam-powered schooner launched at Viipuri in 1874 which carried passengers and cargo between Savonlinna, St Petersburg and Lübeck. It sank in Lake Saimaa in 1898 and lay in more than 30m/100ft of water until 1971, when it was raised, restored and opened to the public as a museum ship in 1978 (displays on shipping on Lake Saimaa).

On Savonlinna's Savonniemi peninsula, between the Haapasalmi and the Kirkkolahti, stands the Lutheran Cathedral, a neo-Gothic brick church (by A. H. Dahlström, 1879) which was damaged by bombing during the Winter War of 1939-40 and reconsecrated in 1949. In the adjoining gardens is a war memorial by Wäinö Aaltonen (ca. 1920).

The principal sight of Savonlinna is Olavinlinna Castle (Swedish Olofsborg), which lies southeast of the old town on an islet in the Kyrönsalmi (reached by a bridge). The castle, founded in 1475 by Erik Axelsson Tott, governor of Viipuri (Viborg) Castle, was ceded to Russia in 1743, after the Northern War, and thereafter was several times enlarged and strengthened. It is entered through a vaulted gateway on the west side which leads into the small inner courtyard, the oldest part of the castle. The castle, which has been excellently restored, contains a number of handsome rooms which are used for receptions and conferences, among them the King's or Knights' Hall, the Congress Hall and the Great Hall. Three massive round towers have survived, and in one of them (the Church Tower) is a small chapel, still used for worship and for weddings. In the Great Bastion is a summer cafe. From the loopholes and small windows in the towers there are fine views of the surrounding country. Housed in the castle are a Historical and an Orthodox Museum.

Savonlinna Opera Festival (part of the Finland Festival), with concerts and music seminar (July); exhibitions in the Retretti Art Center during the summer.