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Finland is one of the least spoiled and least visited countries in Europe. A land with over 180,000 lakes, numerous forests and the beautiful Archipelagos. Finland is sandwiched between Sweden and Russia and both neighbours have claimed the country, or parts of it, as theirs on many occasions over the centuries. Our journey was down part of the Kings Road one of Northern Europe's most important trade routes. It ran from Oslo in Norway to St Petersburg in Russia via Sweden and Finland. It was a route taken by couriers, merchants, burghers and kings in medieval times travelling from country to country.
Nearly a third of the country lies north of the Arctic Circle which is why we stayed well south! In the south the Swedish influence is still ever present, after all this was part of Sweden for hundreds of years. Places have both Swedish and Finnish names and in large areas Swedish not Finnish is the spoken language. We started in the old city of Turku or Abo in Swedish. Turku means marketplace and it was settled very early. Swedish traders following the river Aura (the A in Abo) traded with locals and the town grew spontaneously. It was an important Viking trading town and in 1229 a Catholic settlement was founded at Koroninen near the present centre.
Turku was Sweden's second largest town and was considered Finland's capital for five hundred years until the Russian Tsar considered it too close to Sweden. So in 1812 Tsar Alexander I moved the capital to Helsinki, just over the water from St Petersburg (I hope you're keeping up!).
Turku castle, founded in 1280 at the mouth of the River Aurajoki, was little more than a military fort for the protection of the people of Turku but in 1310 work started on turning it into an imposing stone castle. As the Swedish monarch - who at the time ruled Finland - lived over the sea in Stockholm it was rarely used for true court life. However in 1556 Gustav Vasa, the famous Swedish King who made an enormous mark on both countries, named his son Prince John Duke of Finland and he lived at the castle. As a result much drinking and dancing was the order of the day, in fact about five or six pints a day was standard! and the women drank more than the men! Work began on building the King's Hall, the Queen's Hall (men and women did not mix during parties) and the Banqueting Halls.
Aboa Vetus is the Latin name given to a major archaeological find in 1994/95. Whilst converting the Rettig Palace, the former home of a seriously rich tobacco merchant into a museum of modern art, workers came across the old river side road and residential quarters. The old basements of the 14th century buildings were simply covered over and built on top of, so once the archaeologists broke through the surface a world that stopped more than 600 years ago was revealed.
Mustio Manor is a large Swedish estate at the southern end of Lake Lhjanjarvi which has within it the largest wooden manor house in Europe built in 1783 for Northern Europe's richest man Magnus Linder II, a church from 1761, enormous 'English park' style grounds and fortunately for us a hotel!
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