hämeenlinna
Hämeenlinna is the oldest inland city of Finland and was one of the most important Finnish cities until the 19th century.
Hämeenlinna is the oldest inland city of Finland and was one of the most important Finnish cities until the 19th century.
Hämeenlinna is a city of about 68.000 people. It’s located at the intersection of highways between Helsinki and Tampere so arriving in Hämeenlinna could not be easier. We travelled there by train and we stayed at the hostel Naurava Kulkuri. The hostel is located in a quiet neighborhood near the center of Hämeenlinna and promotes sustainable development and ecology. They use recycled and restored furniture for their rooms, energy-saving bulbs, they offer bicycles to the guests for free and more.
We started the day with a good breakfast at the center.
Then we took the local bus to Aulanko, the jewel of Hämeenlinna. Aulanko has been a popular tourist destination for over a hundred years and attracts over 400,000 visitors a year. The landscape is said to have inspired Jean Sibelius to compose Finlandia.
Aulanko’s nature reserve includes an English-style park built at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, which, together with its buildings, is considered one of Finland’s significant cultural and historical environments.
We spent a couple of hours walking in the forest and admiring the view and its attractions:
The bear family is the first public statue in Hämeenlinna. The artist, Robert Stigell, borrowed a bear cub from Helsinki zoo for use as a model. However, keeping the animal was difficult and Stigell had to settle for a stuffed bear provided by the Finnish Museum of Natural History. The bear family was his last major work.
The Temple of Happiness was built by captain Hugo Standertskjöld for a Polish princess who, however, rejected his marriage proposal. The pavilion stands on a mound of stones and according to Standertskjöld, there is symbolism: ‘There are no highways or easy roads to happiness. You must go your own way and spare no effort to get there’.
Back in the city, there are also many museums to visit. Hämeenlinna is the birthplace of Jean Sibelius, where he spent the first 20 years of his life. Nowadays his home is a museum. Nearby is also the city’s museum which has free entrance. Another destination we had to visit was Hämeenlinna’s castle.
Häme Castle is a medieval castle. It consists of a central keep and surrounding walls. The castle has seen use as a prison and is currently a museum. Besides the history museum, the castle hosts also contemporary art exhibitions.
For the evening we thought to relax with a glass of wine at Noora’s wine bar. We didn’t know at the time but Noora’s bar is considered to be in the top-10 wine bars in Finland. It has a wide selection of wines and the staff is very helpful.
