How to Plan an International Trip: Travel Tales and Tips : Finland Trip Report Day 11: Day trip to Raseborg Castle, Fiskars Craft Village, Turku

DAY 11 Monday Sep 9, 2019:

We had a day trip to TURKU on our agenda for the day.

In the morning we had some food

we then took the train to the airport.... the day pass we had bought the previous day was still valid. We picked up our rental car and started our drive.

Nice bucolic country side.

RASEBORG CASTLE:

Our first stop was Castle Raseborg in Snappertuna village.

The city of Raseborg is situated halfway between Helsinki and Turku, on Finland’s south coast and on the main street of Finnish history and culture. Raseborg has six stars: The historic ironworks of Fiskars and Billnäs, Raseborg castle ruins, the Svartå Manor, Ekenäs with its quaint small wooden houses and the magnificent archipelago, which contains Ekenäs National Park.

After strolling through the castle ruins we drove on to Fiskars craft village.

FISKARS CRAFT VILLAGE:

Fiskars village is a template on how to reinvigorate any small village which has lost its relevance with moving times..

It was a small Finnish village where the company Fiskars metal tool company — famous for making scissors, knives, and gardening tools was founded in the 17th century. The town had thrived as an industrial and commercial center for more than 300 years, but by the 1980s, it became clear that the iron works were too small to support a global business. Fiskars shifted the bulk of its operations to larger facilities elsewhere in Finland and in the Midwestern United States. As a result, many of the factories and homes sat empty and were falling apart.

One night, Lindberg had an epiphany. Started inviting top notch craftspeople to move to the village and pursue their craft there. Now it has become a model craft village.

600 people live in Fiskars Village, and among them are some of Finland's most respected creative talents. They encompass world-class furniture makers, contemporary glassblowers, innovative jewelry designers, and groundbreaking artists, one of whom builds sculptures out of fabrics like silk and linen. The town is just over an hour's drive west of Helsinki and makes for a lovely day trip from the capital.

The village has a lot of rural charm. With its cobalt lakes and forests of oak, maple, and white birch, the town feels a world away from Helsinki. The main street is dotted with restored butter-yellow buildings that now house small shops and cafés.

Tree-lined paths follow a river that winds through the village, leading to early-19th-century villas and lovely old wooden buildings, including a blacksmith foundry, a granary, and a copper smith workshop, now reinvented as restaurants and exhibition halls.

The artists' homes, mostly rustic, one-story structures painted white and oxblood, are scattered on backstreets or throughout the surrounding woodlands.

We drove on.

TURKU:

Our final destination was Turku, a city on the southwest coast of Finland, which straddles the Aura River. As with any European city dating from the Middle Ages, it boasts of a riverfront, market square, castle and cathedral. In fact, turku means market square.

Dating from the 13th century, it's known for Turku Castle, a medieval fortress with a history museum, perched at the river mouth. Restaurants line the cobbled riverside streets. On the eastern bank lies the Old Great Square, a former trade hub, surrounded by grand buildings. The nearby Turku Cathedral houses a royal tomb and a museum.

Turku’s Vähätori Square...

Turku City Library was on our agenda, We walked on...

The Chapel of the Holy Spirit was closed.

Located along the bank of the River Aura, the statue entitled ‘A Meeting in Turku in 1812’ has an intriguing historical context. We took several silly pics there.

A Meeting in Turku in 1812:

A statue from Russian artist Andrei Kovaltshuk depicts the meeting in 1812 of Russian Emperor Alexander I and Swedish Crown Prince Karl XIV Johan.

Alexander I and Karl Johan were negotiating about how Sweden and Russia should respond to the threat of Napoleon. It was also notable for being the point at which Sweden gave up its interest in recapturing Finland from Russia. Since 2012 the statue has been in its scenic location along the banks of the River Aura.

Next was the library.

Turku City Library:

The original patron of Turku City Library was the Swedish-born businessman Fredrik von Rettig. At its inception the building had class stratification, with the first floor for the working class and the second for the elite. Eventually this distinction was dissolved and the library was united for all to visit. The library’s long history has many stories to tell. A favorite among the librarians is the helpful ghost who organizes all the books. We visited the library but were sure not to anger the ghost by making a mess of the bookshelves!!