Midsummer's Day (Juhannus) is the most important annual event for Finns. People leave cities and towns for summer cottages to celebrate the longest day of the year.
May 13, 2006 (Press Release) --
Events
Midsummer's Day (Juhannus) is the most important annual event for Finns. People leave cities and towns for summer cottages to celebrate the longest day of the year. Bonfires are lit and lakeside merrymakers swim and row boats. Enthusiastic alcohol consumption is also a feature of midsummer partying. The Pori Jazz Festival in July is one of the country's most popular festivals, but the Savonlinna Opera Festival, held at medieval Olavinnlinna Castle, is the most famous. Some of the best (and the most international) festivals are the most remote: check out chamber music in Kuhmo, or folk music in Kaustinen (near Kokkola). For rock, there are big festivals during the Midsummer weekend, and big annual events, such as Ruisrock, the longest-running of rock festivals, at Turku in July. On the lighter side, check out the Sleepyhead Day, where on 27 July the laziest person in the towns of Naantali and Hanko is thrown into the sea. Finland's strangest event is the annual wife-carrying championship held every July in tiny Sonkaj?rvi.
Attractions
Turku
Turku, Finland's first capital, is the country's oldest city. Fire has destroyed it several times over the centuries, but its biggest blow was the transfer of the capital to Helsinki in 1812. Today, Turku is a substantial city with fine attractions, though locals sometimes joke that after Turku spread culture to the rest of Finland it never returned. Luostarinm?ki is the only surviving 18th-century area of this medieval town - developers have ravaged Turku every bit as much as fires - and here, in summer, artisans work inside the old wooden houses. To the north, medieval Turku Cathedral is the national shrine of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Finland. It dates from the 13th century, and the museum here is open daily.
Turku Castle, founded in 1280, is the most notable historic building in Finland. It houses an interesting museum, with many rooms decorated to evoke a specific decade or century. Situated on the southern coast of Finland, Turku is the most likely gateway to the country if you are coming from Sweden.
Activities
You have a legal right to walk, cycle, paddle a canoe or even camp almost anywhere in Finland. Nordic skiing is popular and there are cross-country trails of varying difficulty. Downhill skiers go to Lapland, or to resorts such as Koli in North Karelia or Ruka in Kuusamo.
Hiking or trekking is best from June to September (May in the south). Wilderness huts line the northern trails and are available without charge. Most of them have unlocked doors, basic bunks, cooking facilities, leftover dry food, a pile of dry firewood and even a wilderness telephone. You should always leave the hut as it was - replace the used firewood and clean the place. For the easiest hikes, go to areas such as Ruunaa in Karelia or try a national park. Routes such as Karhunkierros and the Lemmenjoki are very scenic.
Boating can be enjoyed on both sea and lake but the prime sailing region, the Turku archipelago, is demanding to navigate. Canoeing is best on the lakes or around Turunmaa and ?land archipelagos in summer. There are wild rapids in Lapland and North Karelia.
Source: http://www.yahoo.com
Midsummer's Day (Juhannus) is the most important annual event for Finns. People leave cities and towns for summer cottages to celebrate the longest day of the year. Bonfires are lit and lakeside merrymakers swim and row boats. Enthusiastic alcohol consumption is also a feature of midsummer partying. The Pori Jazz Festival in July is one of the country's most popular festivals, but the Savonlinna Opera Festival, held at medieval Olavinnlinna Castle, is the most famous. Some of the best (and the most international) festivals are the most remote: check out chamber music in Kuhmo, or folk music in Kaustinen (near Kokkola). For rock, there are big festivals during the Midsummer weekend, and big annual events, such as Ruisrock, the longest-running of rock festivals, at Turku in July. On the lighter side, check out the Sleepyhead Day, where on 27 July the laziest person in the towns of Naantali and Hanko is thrown into the sea. Finland's strangest event is the annual wife-carrying championship held every July in tiny Sonkaj?rvi.
Attractions
Turku
Turku, Finland's first capital, is the country's oldest city. Fire has destroyed it several times over the centuries, but its biggest blow was the transfer of the capital to Helsinki in 1812. Today, Turku is a substantial city with fine attractions, though locals sometimes joke that after Turku spread culture to the rest of Finland it never returned. Luostarinm?ki is the only surviving 18th-century area of this medieval town - developers have ravaged Turku every bit as much as fires - and here, in summer, artisans work inside the old wooden houses. To the north, medieval Turku Cathedral is the national shrine of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Finland. It dates from the 13th century, and the museum here is open daily.
Turku Castle, founded in 1280, is the most notable historic building in Finland. It houses an interesting museum, with many rooms decorated to evoke a specific decade or century. Situated on the southern coast of Finland, Turku is the most likely gateway to the country if you are coming from Sweden.
Activities
You have a legal right to walk, cycle, paddle a canoe or even camp almost anywhere in Finland. Nordic skiing is popular and there are cross-country trails of varying difficulty. Downhill skiers go to Lapland, or to resorts such as Koli in North Karelia or Ruka in Kuusamo.
Hiking or trekking is best from June to September (May in the south). Wilderness huts line the northern trails and are available without charge. Most of them have unlocked doors, basic bunks, cooking facilities, leftover dry food, a pile of dry firewood and even a wilderness telephone. You should always leave the hut as it was - replace the used firewood and clean the place. For the easiest hikes, go to areas such as Ruunaa in Karelia or try a national park. Routes such as Karhunkierros and the Lemmenjoki are very scenic.
Boating can be enjoyed on both sea and lake but the prime sailing region, the Turku archipelago, is demanding to navigate. Canoeing is best on the lakes or around Turunmaa and ?land archipelagos in summer. There are wild rapids in Lapland and North Karelia.
Source: http://www.yahoo.com
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