In wood age

Tourist guides have added this tale to their repertoire. But as they point out, there have been other great fires in this town of cobbled roads and painted wooden houses.

Built by the river Porvoo, it is one of the existing four towns in the country that goes back to the 14th century. Today it’s a prime tourist destination. In summer, it’s full of day-trippers from Helsinki—the capital is just 50 km away.

Old Porvoo is where most of the action is. You can sit out at the cafes and see the town pass by. With the old town hosting only 250 residential houses and 700 people, that’s a literal possibility. Or you can have a leisurely meal at the Wanha Laamanni, another landmark. This is roughly the spot where once stood the house that set off the great fire of 1760. Early one morning, a local housewife made some fish soup, before going back to sleep. She didn’t put out the fire completely and started an inferno that took down more than half the town with it. But Porvoo wasn’t ready to give up wood—the burnt houses were soon replaced with more wooden ones.

Most of old Porvoo’s houses date to the eighteenth century. Finland’s national poet J.L. Runeberg lived here—he was among those who started the fire department here — as did the artist, Albert Edelfelt. It remains a favourite with the country’s bohemia and the arty set. It’s easy to see why. It’s the sort of place where you can ease up. The most strenuous thing you can do in old Porvoo is walk—and if you are a bold tourist, perhaps peep through lace-curtained windows. The town people, we presume, are resigned to being stared at.

King’s Road is the main road here and was once part of the mail route that went through Oslo, Stockholm and St Petersburg.

The souvenir shops are another stop where you can spend both time and money. You can’t move inside these shops without tripping over a child. With the shops giving much space to wooden toys, porcelain artifacts, exquisite miniature furniture and dinner sets for doll houses and car models, expect to see excited children and exhausted parents. Popular and reasonably priced mementos are stuffed reindeer. And yes, you can rest easy. There are no Made in China tags on them.

Another specialty is the Porvoo Measure. A mug with a false bottom, it’s apparently named after a cunning practice during Swedish rule, when bailiffs used one measure to collect taxes and a smaller one when delivering the taxes to the king. But it has to be said, the story is prettier than the mug.

Like many European towns, this too has its chocolate corners. Brunberg’s Chocolate Factory goes back to 1871. Tasting chocolates in Finland is always an interesting experience. Some combinations appear to have been devised just to shock you. Chilli chocolate is one such concoction, strictly for those who enjoy confusion.

The summer months are when the action hots up in Porvoo. May will see the focus on design with local design promoters holding events. And of course on May 12, Porvoo, like other Finnish towns, will screen the final of Eurovision that’s being held at Helsinki this year.

This is certainly Finland’s big musical leap. Eurovision is an annual competition held among member countries of the European Broadcasting Union—Sweden’s ABBA and Celine Dion for Switzerland have been notable winners. The country that finishes first gets to host the next Eurovision. In the past, Finland would more or less finish last.

Last year, to the consternation of many, the country sent out its heavy metal band, Lordi, for Eurovision. In their monster costumes and masked faces—the band members never appear without their masks—Lordi were unlikely participants in a competition associated with folk songs.

A coordinator at the Finnish Tourist Board sums up the popular sentiment: ‘‘Many of us were like, ‘Oh God, why have sent these monsters to represent us?’’’

But the bad guys finished first. Much to the astonishment of the Finns, Europe voted overwhelmingly for Lordi. The group now has a square named after them in their native town and has given the country the chance to host Eurovision — a big tourism opportunity not just for Helsinki but the entire country. Porvoo too can hope for more footfalls.