Showing 1-9 of 9 results
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Cavalry Museum
The cavalry tradition is cherished in Lappeenranta - from the 1920s to the 1940s, cavalrymen in their red trousers and skeleton jackets were a common sight on town streets (there are still regular parades mounted in summer). The town's oldest building (erected 1772), a former guardhouse, houses the small Cavalry Museum , which exhibits portraits of commanders, uniforms, saddles and guns, as well as footage of cavalry charges, and scary-looking implements for treating wounded horses.
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Hiekkalinna
At the beginning of summer, sand artists from all over Finland gather to build the Hiekkalinna, a giant sandcastle built using around two and a half tons of sand. The design changes every year, but it's a seriously impressive structure before the Karelian rains take their toll.
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Lappee Church
In the centre of town, the Lappee Church is a lovely wooden church (1794) built to an unusual 'double cruciform' floor plan. It's barely on speaking terms with its belltower, situated across the park and housing a café.
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Linnoitus & Museums
The fortifications in the Linnoitus (Fortress) area of Lappeenranta above the harbour were started by the Swedes and finished by the Russians in the 18th century. It's like a separate village; some of the fortress buildings are craft shops and galleries, while others have been turned into interesting museums. There are good views from the fortress over the harbour area.
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Orthodox Church
The Orthodox church is Finland's oldest. It was built in 1785 by Russian soldiers. It features a glittering iconostasis and other saintly portraits.
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South Karelia Art Museum
South Karelia Art Museum has a permanent collection of paintings by Finnish and Karelian artists; these are mostly modern works exhibiting not a little of the famous Finnish ironic humour. There's also a space devoted to good temporary exhibitions.
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South Karelian Museum
South Karelian Museum at the northern end of the fortress has good displays on the prehistory and history of the area, as well as temporary exhibitions and a scale model of Vyborg as it looked before it fell to the Russians in 1939. Before WWII, Vyborg was the capital of Karelia and the second biggest town in Finland; it is a source of much wistful nostalgia for Finns in general and Karelians in particular.
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War Memorial
South of the church stretches the graveyard, on one side of which is the evocative war memorial, which commemorates those Finns who died in the Winter and Continuation Wars and whose graves are now in Russian territory.
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Wolkoff Home Museum
Wolkoff Home Museum is the preserved home of a Russian immigrant family. The house, built in 1826, was owned by the Wolkoff family from 1872 to 1986. There are 10 rooms that have been maintained as they were; you must join one of the hourly guided tours (around 40 minutes; leave at quarter past the hour) to see them.
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Showing 1-9 of 9 results
