Savonlinna

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Luda had been to the Finnish Lappeenranta for a shopping tour in July 2013 with Orienta-Tour Company. Among their offers at the website I found the one-day tour to Savonlinna, and immediately decided to go there sooner or later, because it had a Fortress. About two weeks ago I registered for the tour (no prepayment) and at 23-30 on July 27 arrived at the departure point (St. Petersburg, Chernaya Rechka metro station). There were dozens of people awaiting buses, one was already full and departed to Helsinki, came another one also for Helsinki, and the third one was to Savonlinna. A crowd of people rushed to it, hoping to get their seats as soon as possible, and in this haste I was among the losers, because I had a seat with my back in the direction of drive. Not very convenient, though there was a table where I could put my elbows on and nap. The bus was large and fully packed, that’s due credit for Savonlinna. It is not easy to get there by public transportation, if such exists at all. Of course, one can get there from Helsinki or other Finnish settlements, but not so easy from St. Petersburg, unless one has a car. I was lucky to have several days of Schengen visa remaining; it will expire on the 31^stof July. Perhaps I will apply for another Schengen visa during August, to make several excursions to Europe before my passport expires in February 2014.



We’ll get straight down to business without referring to the border crossing or the drive itself, and what we have before our eyes as we rub them yawning is this: the sun is already up, the clock shows around 5 o’clock AM, the air is chilly and the guide says something about the place we’re going to see. I have read and re-read the program of the excursion many times, one of the sights offered being the mystical sculpture part of Parikkala, close to the Russian border and built by self-taught artist Veijo Rönkkönen (1944–2010). Veijo Rönkkönen engaged in sculpting since the early 1960s until his death. May we draw a parallel to the Giverny's Monet Gardens, where also a talented person showcased his talents?



The park, which basically is an arrangement of statues and plants among pine trees, imparting to it the mysterious and probably frightening (in the twilight) look. You’ll never guess what to expect from the park if you don’t read and see the photos in advance. It is better not to do any primary research, and I'm really spoiling the visitors' amazement and surprise by including rather many photos. You may like or dislike concrete, but it builds a huge part of the world around us, so why not use it for art’s sake? Michelangelo, no doubt, would not make his Madonnas and the David in concrete, but Veijo made simply a whole concrete world of his own, where I stood puzzled: what's all this? – or better who are all these people? - in the positive sense of the word. One of the dominating impression exerted by his sculptures on me was, perhaps, fright. Hard to say, actually.



The entrance is free but you may donate a couple of Euros for maintenance of sculptures. The sculptures are life-sized, densely arranged in some areas, and portray various types of humans with very unusual eyes and teeth; among them are children, grown-ups, folk of different trades and occupations. Meet gymnasts, sportsmen, swimmers, acrobats, animals, a camel, ostriches, a whole yard of yogis (one of them looks like a zombie – he outstretches his arms as if to capture you) in any conceivable position in a wild festival of raised arms, twisted legs, curved bodies, and other bodily shapes and designs, standing, lying, sitting; the yogis are mostly covered with moss. Most people are clothed (in concrete!), others are not.



During the trip, our group visited several shopping malls, while I was unable to spend even a cent, because I did not exchange my Roubles into Euros in advance, and no opportunity came later. I only had a cake and a bottle of water for the whole day, and tried to sleep while in the bus. The banks in the settlements were closed, and I found no exchange point in Savonlinna or Kerimaki. The point at the Russian border in Brusnichnoye seemed closed.



In Savonlinna the guide told us a short story about the town and its old buildings, the monument to the black ram not far away from Olavinlinna fortress (rams and sheep were eaten on St. Olaf's day. The sacrifice of rams and the cult of St. Olaf were a sort of bridge between paganism and Christianity), and the fortress itself. It was founded by Erik Axelsson Tott in 1475 (the founder stands as an armoured knight statue in the park nearby, and is called the Spirit of the Fortress), has three circular towers, thick walls, and is all surrounded by water bodies, making it difficult to siege. Those water bodies are everywhere across Finland, and give evidence of the ice age and retreating glaciers. I mention it because I have just read the book by B. Bryson ‘A Short History of Nearly Everything', and might as well advertize it – contains a lot of science in a simple enough and interesting language, and the geological history of the Earth is among the hundreds of things it tackles.



The colours of the day were saturated green, various shades of blue, and beige. After the guide’s story we were free to go anywhere, and the majority went inside the fortress (since I had no Euros, and the entrance to the halls cost 8 Euros, I was afraid I would not see it properly, but two halls inside were open free of charge: an Orthodox hall and a hall with old photos of the town, a large coat of arms, ancient sabres. The annual Savonlinna Opera festival was taking place within the fortress walls, I could hear the sounds as I passed the back of the stage. Not far from the fortress is the historic museum, and there in the open air were displayed modern stone sculptures made by Zimbabwe artists and offered for sale. The museum exhibition also featured two old ships, entrance costing a couple of Euros, and I sat there by the lakeside breathing in the scenery. From there, I walked along the lively embankment to Kauppatori (the market square), with plenty of excursion ships and boats moored, cafes, sellers offering a multitude of goods, foods, souvenirs, books, etc.



I then approached the Lutheran Cathedral, and saw the monument to a naked hero soldier dedicated to the Finnish warriors perished in the battles of 1918, made by Wäinö Aaltonen. The cathedral is of red brick; I entered it, sat on a bench and listened to organ music for about 15-20 minutes. Though it was a recording, I experienced pleasure incomparable to my previous listening experiences. Enlivened by the music, I returned to the parking where the bus awaited us, passing two others things of interest - an eared seal sculpture lying on stones near the bridge to Kauppatori, and the Small Church.



Our final destination was Kerimäki Church, about forty minutes’ drive from Savonlinna, the world's largest timber church. It is impressive and is accompanied by a bell tower. Designed by A.F. Granstedt and built in 1844-1847, it is 45 m long, 42 m wide, and 37 m high; seating capacity of more than 3000, and accommodates 5000 persons simultaneously. Now, truly, this excursion really was a discovery for me, because I saw at least 3 unique places – concrete sculptures, mediaeval fortress, and a timber church.





On the drive back to St. Petersburg, we had a very short stop to look at a beautiful natural landscape – lakes peeping through the pine forest, and a dinner stop at a fish shop & restaurant.

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