Castles in Finland and Northwestern Russia to open to virtual travellers

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A total of 23 Finnish and Russian old castles and fortresses opened to virtual travellers on Monday, when an Internet portal entitled Linnasta linnaan ("From castle to castle", www.fort.fi) was launched in connection with an expert meeting on cultural cooperation between the European Union and Russia, simultaneously with the seventh Finnish-Russian Cultural Forum, arranged in Kajaani by Finland's Ministry of Education as part of the Finnish EU Presidency programme.
      The sites in Finland include for example Kajaani Castle, which was built in the 17th century and blown up in 1716 by the Russians.
     
The roofless ruins of the Kajaani Castle, included in the virtual route, have been opened by the National Board of Antiquities to promote the awareness of shared history and cultural heritage between the Finnish and Russian castle and fortress locations.
      However, another more concrete objective is to encourage the development of tourism both in Finland and in the Russian zone near the Finnish border. All Finnish and Russian castles and fortresses with shared history have joined the project, and also the home municipalities of the castles are involved.
     
Enthusiastic about their castles, some participants proposed that for example medieval tournaments could be arranged in the fortifications. Particularly horses and a clatter of weapons would create the right atmosphere, they said.
      The director of the Kainuu Museum, Antti Mäkinen, had an opportunity to tell the distinguished guests about the ill-fated Kajaani Castle. He reported that the castle is being restored to serve tourism. Furthermore, Mäkinen would like to arrange concerts in the castle ruins. In addition, the local artisans would be interested in offering their products to visitors. Further plans include various outdoor events and art exhibitions.
      Mäkinen estimated that the ruins of Kajaani Castle are already now the most popular tourist sight in the city, even though no statistics exist of the number of visitors.
      Kajaani Castle is also on the European Cultural Heritage list, and likewise part of the Oulunjoki River belongs to the Finnish cultural heritage sites.
     
     
The history as well as the locations of the castles, forts, and fortresses can be found on the web site linked below. Probably the most famous of Finnish castles these days are the large naval fortress of Suomenlinna, off the coast of Helsinki, and Olavinlinna in Savonlinna, home of the annual Savonlinna Opera Festival.


Links:
  Castles and fortifications
  Ministry of Education: EU-Russia Expert Meeting on the Implementation of the Culture Road Map of the Fourth Common Space
  Prime Minister’s Office: Finland stepping up cultural cooperation between EU and Russia, press release (7.9.2006)
  The National Board of Antiquities

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