Olavinlinna Castle, Southern Savonia, Finland
4.5 (648 reviews) Spent Ranking #1 in Savonlinna Castles
Interesting tour behind the scenes of the Savonlinna Opera Festival
The building of Olavinlinna, castle of St. Olaf, began in 1475. The Danish-born founder of the castle, knight Erik Axelsson Tott, decided that a powerful fortification should be build to protect the strategically important Savo region. The castle was supposed to repel Russian attacks from the east and to guarantee the control of the Savo region for the Swedish Crown. The history of Olavinlinna is a mixture of medieval arms clashing, cannons roaring and every-day chores inside the security of the castle's thick walls. The changes in the ownership of the castle left their mark on Olavinlinna: this can be seen in the varied architecture of the castle. These days the castle's halls and rooms can be rented and used for all kinds of events.
Address
, Savonlinna, Finland, Postal Code: 57130.
Website
https://www.kansallismuseo.fi/fi/olavinlinna/etusivu
Current local date and time now
Sunday, April 28, 2024, 10:04
User Ratings
4.5 based on (648 reviews)
Reviews
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4Reslysten54 5:00 PM Jul 16, 2022
A good history lesson in a crowded space
This strategically placed castle evolved during centuries of battle for control of what was once disputed territory between Sweden and Russia. It is now famous for hosting the annual Opera Festival in Savonlinna. Tours in Finnish and English are included in the entrance fee. Our tour attracted about 25 participants and another tour leaving at the same time had more people. Given the narrow stairs and hallways, it was sometimes very crowded and a bit chaotic. If you struggle with steep and uneven stairs, this is not for you! But the guide was good and the castle is a history lesson in itself. .
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4B T 5:00 PM May 9, 2021
Guide was very good
This is a really good castle, one of the best in Finland. They offer guided tours which last around an hour and leave on the hour and doesn't cost any extra. As of May 2021 due to coronavirus the castle is still open but you can't look around all of it (some of it is also being refurbished). You can see more of the castle on the tour than if you just wander round by yourself. Now, there are not many visitors and luckily due to low numbers they were able to do the tour in English rather than Finnish which was very good of them. The guide was really informative so the tour was worth it.
