Porvoo
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| Basic data | |
| State : |
 Finland
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| Landscape : | Uusimaa |
| Administrative community : | Porvoo |
| Geographical location | 60 ° 24 ′ N , 25 ° 40 ′ E |
| Surface: | 2,139.46 km² |
| of which land area: | 654.78 km² |
| of which inland waterways: | 10.22 km² |
| of which sea area: | 1,474.46 km² |
| Residents : | 50,262 (Dec. 31, 2018) |
| Population density : | 76.8 inhabitants / km² |
| Municipality number : | 638 |
| Postcodes : | 06100 |
| Language (s) : | Finnish , Swedish |
| Website : | porvoo.fi |
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Porvoo [ ˈpɔrvɔː ] ( Swedish Borgå [ ˈbɔrgoː ]) is a city and bishopric on the Gulf of Finland in southern Finland , 50 km northeast of Helsinki . It is 654.78 km², of which 10.22 km² are water surfaces . Porvoo is bilingual, 64 percent of the population speak Finnish and 33 percent speak Swedish.
The name of the city
The original Swedish name Borgå refers to a medieval fortress near the river of the same name, Borgå å ( Porvoonjoki in Finnish ), on which the city lies. Borg means 'castle' and å 'river'. Porvoo is the Finnish form of the name.
history
Porvoo, located on the old Königsstrasse , was an important trading center as early as the 13th century. The city received in 1346 by the Swedish king Magnus Erikkson the town charter and thus to Turku ( schw. "Åbo" ) is the second oldest city in Finland . When Helsinki (Sw. "Helsingfors") was founded in 1550 , Gustav Vasa ordered the citizens of the city to move there. However, the subsequent decline only lasted until 1579, when city privileges were renewed that year. In 1708 the Russians destroyed the city. In 1809 it fell to Russia with all of Finland. From March 28, 1809, Tsar Alexander I held the first Finnish Reichstag assembly of the newly founded Russian Grand Duchy of Finland in Porvoo , at which the Finnish state religion and the rights of the Reichstag were announced. In the 19th century, Porvoo became the residence of numerous Finnish poets and artists.
Since 1923 Porvoo has been the bishopric of the Borgå diocese , which includes the Swedish-speaking congregations in Finland and the German Evangelical Lutheran congregation in Helsinki. In 1992, the Porvoo Community , a non-institutional association of twelve European churches of Anglican and Lutheran denominations , was founded in the city.
Population development
Development of the population (from 1960, as of December 31) :
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Attractions
The medieval-looking, colorful wooden houses and narrow streets of the picturesque old town (under monument protection ) were mostly built after the great fire of 1760. The former town hall from 1764 houses a museum . The rust-red salt stores (18th century) on the banks of the Porvoonjoki river are also attractive . The Porvoo Cathedral with its gabled red brick is the landmark of the city. It was completed in the middle of the 15th century, but parts of it go back to around 1410. In 2006 the cathedral was partially destroyed by a devastating fire.
The Finnish national poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg lived in Porvoo since 1837 . In his memory, the city has awarded the Runeberg Prize since 1987, the 150th year of his arrival in Porvoo . A museum has been set up in his home. The sculptor Ville Vallgren also worked in Porvoo.
Porvoo is home to the Porvoon Museorautatie museum railway , which maintains historic vehicles from the Finnish state railway VR-Yhtymä .
The town of Porvoo is famous for its picturesque wooden houses.
The 15th century cathedral (before the 2006 fire)
The cathedral the day after the devastating fire on May 29, 2006
Episcopal residence
Old Town Hall (1764)
New Town Hall (1893)
Former J. L. Runeberg's house, a typical wooden house in the Empire style of the 19th century
Town hall square in Porvoo
coat of arms
Description of the coat of arms : In the blue shield a silver fire steel open to the left . The fire steel or flint in the shape of the letter C is the first letter of castellum (Latin for Porvoo). This coat of arms can be traced back to 1423.
Sports
The local team Borgå Akilles plays the sport of bandy in the highest league ( Bandyliiga ) and has twice been Finnish champions.
sons and daughters of the town
- Kjell Carlström (* 1976), racing cyclist
- Klaus Härö (* 1971), film director
- Harry Hannus (* 1949), racing cyclist
- Raul Hellberg (1900–1985), racing cyclist and entrepreneur
- Sami Hyypiä (* 1973), football player
- Simo Lampinen (* 1943), rally driver
- Lauri Lehtinen (1908–1973), track and field athlete and Olympic champion
- Leena Peisa ("Awa"), keyboard player for the band Lordi
- Fredrika Charlotta Runeberg (1807–1879), writer and wife of Johan Ludvig Runeberg (1804–1877)
- Mikko Sumusalo (* 1990), football player
- Ole Wackström (1932–2015), racing cyclist
Town twinning
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Trivia
Parts of the 1997 American thriller The Jackal were recorded in Porvoo. The old town hall appears in the film as "Hotelli Porvoo" (German: Hotel Porvoo).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Maanmittauslaitos (Finnish land surveying office): Suomen pinta-alat kunnittain January 1, 2010 . (PDF; 199 kB)
- ↑ Statistical Office Finland: Table 11ra - Key figures on population by region, 1990-2018
- ↑ Mikael Kokkola: ”Där står den nu som en ruin” - Domkyrkobranden i Borgå 29.5.2006 (“There it stands now as a ruin” - The cathedral fire in Porvoo on 29.5.2006). Svenska Yle (Swedish)
- ↑ Erkki Kaila: Art. Runeberg, Johan Ludwig . In: The religion in past and present , 1st edition, Vol. 5: Roh – Zypressen , Tübingen 1913, Sp. 64–65.
