Our destination was the region of Savonlinna, more specifically Savonranta, where we had rented a small cottage for a couple of days before heading down to Helsinki and onwards. Driving through Finland was just beautiful - lakes everywhere with the sun glistening off the water and gorgeous birch and fir trees in between and warnings of possible moose crossings scattered along the roadside as we drove.
Our cottage was set in similar surroundings on a small point into a lake hardly populated by anyone (see pictures below - cottage set back a bit behind trees). We had everything we needed including the obligatory sauna as all Finnish cottages do, a small dock for easy access to the water in between sauna sessions, a grill, a firepit on the edge of the water, a nice dual swing and even a little rowboat. We took advantage of everything, especially the sauna seeing as though it was CW's first time (and which he really liked), and thoroughly enjoyed the peaceful getaway this little cottage set in the woods on the lake provided us.
While there we took a drive into Savonlinna where there is a beautiful 15th century castle that is now home to an annual summer opera festival.
(See http://snor.joensuu.fi/olavinlinna/index_english.htm for more info and images)
We had a wonderful personal tour where we learned lots of really unique things about the culture there during those times. Most memorable included the fact that royals would only shower twice a year due to the belief that a layer of dirt would keep away any diseases. Given the cold temperatures in winter, however, aside from the fact that they lived in a big, damp, dark stone castle but the fact that they lived in Finland where temperatures severely plummeted, you can also imagine the layer of little friends that would have created nice homes in the layers of fir they wore. We also learned that Finnish would sleep sitting up during the Middle Ages so as to prevent the devil from seeing them in this vulnerable position and take their souls.
After Savonlinna, we went to Kerimaki where we visited the largest wooden c hurch in the Christian world.
According to their website, 'the church of Kerimäki is the world’s largest Christian wooden church and has the most spacious interior in Finland. It is 45 meters long, 42 meters wide and 27 meters high. The height of the dome is 37 meters. There are altogether 1670 metres of pews and a seating capacity for over 3000 people. Including standing room, the church can accomodate almost 5000 people. But why such a large chuch? The explanation does not lie in a mix-up between feet and metres, since the dimensions are in accordance with the original plan which is stored in the archives of the church. Rev. Fredrik Neovius, who held office in the 1840s, was of the opinion that half of the townsfolk should be able to meet for religious worship at one time. Festival days and market days also had an influence on the scale of the church. Big gatherings were a part of the everyday life and it was only natural to meet for worship on market days. The original idea was to gather all the people for worship at one time'.
It was really quite unique and spectacular at the same time... beautiful yellow wood siding and green domes, columns inside painted to look like marble and chandeliers with delicate and simple coloured flowers. The bell tower was separate and provided wonderful views from 'above' of the church itself and the surrounding lake and area.
1 comment:
I'm so glad I checked your Finland blog again, and found this gorgeous update. Love the pictures! I can only imagine how lovely it all was in person. Will you be adding pics from France as well??...
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