Sights in Porvoo
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Porvoo Old Town
Porvoo Old Town district north of Mannerheiminkatu was largely built after the Great Fire of 1760. It's an alluring warren of narrow, winding cobblestone alleys and brightly coloured wooden houses. Craft boutiques and antique shops line the main roads, Välikatu and Kirkkokatu. For a glimpse of less touristed bits, head for the streets east of the cathedral; Itäinen Pitkäkatu is one of the nicest.
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Tuomiokirkko
One of CL Engel’s finest creations, the chalk-white neoclassical Tuomiokirkko, presides over Senate Square, though as it was not completed until 1852, the architect, who died in 1840, never saw it. Given Finland’s Lutheran sensibilities, it was created to serve as a reminder of God’s supremacy over the square. Its high flight of stairs, however, has become a meeting place for canoodling couples, and a setting for New Year’s revelry. The interior features statues of the Reformation heroes Luther, Melanchthon and Mikael Agricola; true to their ideals, there is little other ornamentation under the lofty dome. There’s a cafe in the brick-vaulted crypt in summer.
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Porvoo Historical Museum
Porvoo Historical Museum is in two adjacent buildings on the beautiful cobbled Old Town Hall Square. The more interesting of the two is the Art Museum, with paintings by Albert Edelfelt and sculptures by Ville Vallgren, two of Porvoo’s celebrated artists. Porvoo Historical Museum, in the town hall building across the square, reproduces a 19th-century merchant’s home.
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Shore Houses
The distinctive row of Shore Houses along the Porvoonjoki were first painted with red ochre to impress the visiting King of Sweden, Gustavus III, in the late 18th century. They were originally used to store goods traded with German ships from the Hanseatic League, but many are now Porvoo's prime residential real estate.
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Runeberg House
National poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg’s former home has become a museum, with a period interior including stuffed foxes and muskets portraying the poet’s love of hunting.
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Walter Runeberg Sculpture Collection
Walter Runeberg Sculpture Collection has 150 sculptures by Walter Runeberg, JL Runeberg’s eldest son, who produced the town’s sculpture of his father.
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Doll & Toy Museum
Doll & Toy Museum houses over 800 dolls, tin toys and other childhood curiosities, making it Finland’s largest toy museum.
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