Pori, fairly large for Finland, is one of the six medieval cities in the country. This is not so famous as, say, Turku, but Pori already has something to boast about. Firstly, it is the annual biggest jazz festival in Europe. Secondly, an unusual for the country good sandy beach. In addition, Pori has very good museums, beautiful churches and a beautiful park.

Yüteri Beach is unique in its kind for Finland - it is wide and sandy . The beach starts about 17 km from the city center and stretches for 6 km: this is one of the longest beaches in the Baltic . One section is at the disposal of nudists, but the main part with beach infrastructure, hotel, spa, camping and golf is very popular among holidaymakers - especially windsurfers . About 10 km from Jyuteri is the island of Reposaari, which today is connected with mate rikom highway . Here is an amazing picturesque village with wooden houses, a church, a fishing port, a hostel, a place for camping, a marina and a population of only about 1000 people .

How to get to Pori

Pori Airport accepts flights from Stockholm. All passenger trains to Pori follow through Tampere, the journey from Tampere to Pori is about 1, 5 hours, from Helsinki - about 3, 5 hours. The bus also provides access to Pori from Helsinki (3-4 hours), Turku, Tampere (2 hours), Oulu, Jyvaskyla and Rauma (1 hour)

@ March 1, Sunday Overcast, light rain + 1 ° C in the day 0 ° C at night ° C water

@ March 2, Monday Cloudy with a light rain + 2 ° C in the afternoon + 2 ° C at night ° C water

3 March, Tuesday Cloudy, light rain + 3 ° C in the afternoon + 2 ° C at night ° C water

A bit of history

Pori was founded in the middle of the 16th century and received the Swedish name Björnborg, which was then reduced to the Finnish manner until today's sound . Initially, the city stood on the banks of the Gulf of Bothnia and the mouth of the river, which gave him exceptional opportunities for trade . But for the next four centuries the water was gradually receding, the bay was melted, and the port was finally at a distance of more than 20 km t of the sea . Nevertheless Pori continued to expand on both sides of the river, developing as an industrial and commercial city, and in the 19th century it was actively built with the participation of famous architects throughout the country .

Fun, excursions and attractions of Pori

One of the most recognizable sights of Pori, although it may seem a bit strange, is the mausoleum of Uzelius at the Kappiari cemetery . This is the only mausoleum in the country and its construction was completed in 1903 . The structure was built by order of the local bi Yuselius' nemesis in memory of a daughter who died at the age of 11 from tuberculosis and a sarcophagus of white Italian marble with its remains can be seen inside . Samuel Uzelius is also buried in an annex to the mausoleum . The building was designed in the style of the Gothic Revival, and from inside she painted frescoes by one of the most famous Finnish artists Axeli Galen-Kallela . In the fire of 1931 . frescoes were lost and were subsequently repainted by the artist's son, Jorma .

Lutheran Pori Cathedral was built in the Gothic Revival style in 1863 and became one of the largest churches in the country. The cathedral is famous for its unique bell tower made of cast iron. The tower rises to a height of 72 m. Another pride of the church is the organ created in 2007 in the German city of Kiel. Thanks to it, the Pori Organ Festival is held here annually

The old town hall is curious, completed in 1841 according to the project of the German architect Karl Ludwig Engel. The neoclassical building became one of the few in Pori that survived the fire of 1852 - only the clock tower was destroyed in the center, and it was rebuilt in 1891. The building carried out its direct function until 1961, and today it houses a tourist office.

The Satakunta Museum was founded in 1888 and is considered one of the oldest historical museums in the country. In 1980, he received the status of a regional. Here visitors are introduced to the history of the province of Satakunta and Pori. In the collection there are more than 80 000 artifacts and other objects, and in archives are stored more than 300 thousand photographs, maps, architectural drawings. Toivo - the restoration center of the Satakunta Museum, and here you can see how traditional methods save wooden houses. An exhibition of a typical house from the early 1900's was also organized here

The Pori Art Museum is dedicated to modernity and contemporary art. It was opened in 1979 on the basis of the collection of the local collector and patron of artists Mayra Gullichsen. The museum occupies the building of the former weight chamber, built in 1860. Its permanent exhibition is perhaps not even as interesting as the temporary exhibitions of Finnish and foreign artists that take place here (in particular, even Yoko Ono was exhibited in the museum).

Kiriurinluoto Island and the park with the same name are part of Pori National Park. In the second half of the 19th century, influential and wealthy townspeople rested here. In 1897, it was equipped with an English landscaped garden, and in 1910 - built a building for an Art Nouveau restaurant. The first music scene was created in the park in 1921, and since then a variety of seasonal events have been taking place in Kiriurinluoto, including the famous jazz festival.

Events Pori

The main city event is of course the July festival "Pori Jazz". It is considered one of the oldest in Europe: the first festival was held in Pori in 1966. Nowadays the festival gathers performers of different directions of music - including funk, R'n'B, hip-hop and pop. Concerts take place in Kiriurinluoto Park, in the open air, in clubs, cafes and concert halls, as well as on the river embankment.

Jazz fans from all over the continent come here, and by the number of tickets sold, "Pori Jazz" can be attributed to the largest in Europe. So, for example, in 2009 within the framework of the festival 40 commercial and 120 unofficial (free) performances were held for a week, gathered more than 700 musicians and about 85 thousand spectators. And no wonder: throughout the history of the festival, his headliners were visited by such legends of jazz and blues as Chick Corea, Bob Dylan, Herbie Haecock, James Brown, Chuck Berry, Miles Davis, and modern stars - Bjork, Sting, Jamiroquai, Massive Attack, Linkin Park.

Neighborhoods Pori

At 10 km from the town of Ulvila there is the church of St. Olaf, which is considered one of the most important medieval buildings in Finland . The church is made of rough rough stones, and the exact date of its construction is not established . It is known that the church cemetery appeared in the first half of the 14th century, and the first building of the church burnt down in 1429 ., and there is reason to believe that it was restored in its current form at the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries . The Belltower was built in 1750 ., and the current spire adorned her in 1862 . During the reconstruction of 2005 . ar the heologs discovered the largest treasure of medieval coins in Finland . The treasure was buried under one of the walls of the vestry in the late 14th century, and there were 1476 silver coins .

Less than 15 km from Pori, to Noormacca , is the villa Maira, designed and built by the most famous Finnish architect-modernist Alvar Aalto for the Gullichsen couple. The couple told Aalto that she would like to see the "experimental house", which was done: today the villa is considered one of the best works of the architect and is widely known in the world as a masterpiece of modernism.

Photo Pori (1)