Where to Stay in Savonlinna, Southern Savonia

Savonlinna is known above all for its castle, the great medieval stronghold of Olavinlinna that rises from the water at the heart of the lakeland of eastern Finland. Spread over islands and straits among the lakes of Southern Savonia, the town is defined by water as much as by stone. The castle owns the view.

Above the island core the Savonlinnan tuomiokirkko stands as the town's cathedral, the Riihisaari - Savonlinnan museo keeps the regional past on its island, and the Orthodox Pyhien Sakariaan ja Elisabetin kirkko marks the eastern faith in this corner of the Finnish lakeland.

Olavinlinna is the landmark of the town, the medieval castle that rises straight from the lake on its rock, the best-preserved stronghold of eastern Finland. Water surrounds its walls. Above the islands the Savonlinnan tuomiokirkko serves as the town's cathedral, the Riihisaari - Savonlinnan museo keeps the lakeland past on its own island, and two Orthodox churches, the Pyhien Sakariaan ja Elisabetin kirkko and the Pyhien profeetta Sakariaan ja vanhurskaan Elisabetin kirkko, mark the eastern faith.

A battle of the old border wars is recalled by the Laitaatsillan taistelun muistomerkki, fought across this lakeland of Southern Savonia.

Savonlinna's history begins with its castle. The fortress of Olavinlinna was raised on a rock in the strait to guard the eastern frontier, set where the lakes of Southern Savonia narrow to a defensible passage in eastern Finland. War shaped the place.

The town was chartered in 1639 in the shadow of the walls, a settlement on the islands serving the garrison and the lake trade, and for centuries the border between east and west ran close by these waters. Frontier wars left their mark across the centuries. The Laitaatsillan taistelun muistomerkki recalls a battle of the old Russo-Swedish wars fought near the town, and the shifting border brought the eastern Orthodox faith to the lakeland, raising churches such as the Pyhien Sakariaan ja Elisabetin kirkko alongside the Lutheran Savonlinnan tuomiokirkko.

Peace turned the town to the water. Savonlinna grew as a centre of the lakeland and a place of summer, its past gathered on the island museum of Riihisaari - Savonlinnan museo and its name carried by the great castle of Olavinlinna that still commands the strait.

Savonlinna sits deep in the lakeland of Southern Savonia, in eastern Finland, its town spread over islands and narrow straits among the great lakes. Water threads through everything, the channels dividing the town into linked islands while broken bays and forested shores reach away on every side. Lakes define the land.

The castle of Olavinlinna stands on its rock in the strait at the centre, the Savonlinnan tuomiokirkko rises above the island core, and the open lakeland of eastern Finland spreads out toward the other towns of the water country.

Savonlinna has a cold lakeland climate, its seasons set by the great waters of Southern Savonia, in eastern Finland. Winters are long and snowy, the lakes and straits around the islands freezing hard under deep frost from early in the season until the spring thaw frees the water. Summers are warm and bright.

The long northern daylight warms the lakes around Olavinlinna through the short open season, the weeks when boats cross the straits and the lakeland of eastern Finland draws its visitors before the snow returns.

Savonlinna lies deep in the lakeland of eastern Finland, reached by road, rail and water. Trains and buses run in from the larger towns of Southern Savonia and beyond to the island town centre, and a small airport serves travellers coming from farther off. Boats matter here too.

In the open season lake steamers cross the straits past Olavinlinna, and the old water routes still carry visitors through the lakeland that surrounds Savonlinna on every side.