Olavinlinna Castle and the Savonlinna Opera Festival

Medieval Castle Begun In 1475 On An Island Between Two Lakes Of The Saimaa System; Home Of The Savonlinna Opera Festival Every July · Savonlinna, South Savo

Olavinlinna is the northernmost medieval stone castle still standing in the Nordic countries, often described that way, and it looks the part: three round towers rising straight out of the fast-flowing Kyronsalmi strait in Savonlinna, on a rock islet between two basins of the vast Saimaa lake system. It was begun in 1475 by the Danish-born nobleman Erik Axelsson Tott to hold the eastern border of the Swedish realm against Novgorod and later Muscovy, changed hands between Sweden and Russia, and was restored in the twentieth century. Most visitors come for two things: the guided tour through towers, halls and the courtyard, and the Savonlinna Opera Festival, founded in 1912 by the soprano Aino Ackte, revived in 1967 and held every July on a stage in the castle courtyard under a roof canopy. The honest caveat: the castle is visited mainly on guided tours with steep stone stairs, and in festival weeks opera tickets and Savonlinna beds sell out months ahead and prices climb, so a July trip without planning can be expensive or impossible.

Olavinlinna, on an island in the Kyronsalmi strait, Savonlinna, Savonlinna, South Savo, Finland

Open all year, run by the Finnish Heritage Agency. Longest hours and most frequent guided tours from about June to mid-August, daily; shorter hours the rest of the year, with some weekdays or days closed off season - check the current schedule. During the July opera festival daytime tours continue but may be shortened because of rehearsals and performances. Reached on foot over a short pontoon bridge, about 1.5 km from Savonlinna market square. Savonlinna is about 4-5 hours from Helsinki by train, usually with a change at Parikkala. Opera tickets and July accommodation must be booked months ahead; castle tours are bought on arrival.

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