The Porvoo Town Hall (or the Porvoo Rathaus; ; ) is a former

town hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

and current

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

Porvoo Porvoo (; ; ) is a city in Finland. It is located on the south coast of the country, on the Gulf of Finland. Porvoo lies in the eastern part of the Uusimaa region. The population of Porvoo is approximately , while the Porvoo sub-region, sub-re ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. It is located in the old town of Porvoo, in the immediate vicinity of the

market square A market square (also known as a market place) is an urban square meant for trading, in which a market is held. It is an important feature of many towns and cities around the world. A market square is an open area where market stalls are tradit ...

. Porvoo Town Hall is the oldest town hall building in Finland, as the first written mention of the older Porvoo Town Hall dates back to 1545. The main contractor of the current town hall was Gabriel Hagert (1706–1774), the Mayor of Porvoo, who received financial support from the parliament and the Nyland Brigade for construction work. The building was designed by master builder Gotthard Flensborg (1723–1803). It was built between 1762 and 1764 and was mainly built between 1763 and 1764. The town hall was commissioned no later than the autumn of 1764. Its wooden

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

was completed in 1771. The building represents Hårlemanian

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

classicism Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aesthe ...

. It is two-floor, brick and with an attic roof. The foundations of the building have not initially withstood the weight of thick structures and it has been tilted obliquely. The depression has not been corrected, because the sloping floors have already been adjusted and the depression has stopped. The Porvoo Museum has several exhibitions in the building. The permanent exhibitions in the town hall present the history of

Eastern Uusimaa Eastern Uusimaa or, officially, Itä-Uusimaa (; ; literally "Eastern New Land") was one of the 19 regions of Finland, until it consolidated with the region of Uusimaa on 1 January 2011. It bordered the regions of Uusimaa, Päijänne Tavastia (Pä ...

from the

Ice Age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...

to the 18th century, the town hall, and 19th century artists of the Golden Age of Finnish Art:

Albert Edelfelt Albert Gustaf Aristides Edelfelt (21 July 1854 – 18 August 1905) was a Finnish Painting, painter noted for his naturalistic style and Realism (arts), Realist approach to art. He lived in the Grand Duchy of Finland and made Finnish culture visib ...

, Ville Vallgren,

Johan Knutson Johan Knutson (28 September 1816, Allerum - 13 September 1899, Helsinki) was a Swedish-born Finnish landscape painter. Life and work He studied in Copenhagen in 1838, then in the lithography department at the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Art ...

Louis Sparre Pehr Louis Sparre af Söfdeborg (3 August 1863 – 26 October 1964) was a Swedish painter, designer and draughtsman, most noted for his early work in the Finnish national romanticism and jugend styles. He also competed in the individual ...

, A. W. Finch and Saara Hopea. In accordance with the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

urban tradition, the

Christmas Peace Christmas Peace (, ) is a traditional Finnish event whereby a town formally announces the beginning of the Christmas season. This practice has its roots in old Swedish legislation and was established by Birger Jarl in the 13th century, building ...

is declared every year in Porvoo. The declaration will be made on

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas, the festival commemorating nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. Christmas Day is observance of Christmas by country, observed around the world, and Christma ...

at 4 pm from the town hall stairs. The local band and male choir will perform

Christmas carol A Christmas carol is a Carol (music), carol on the theme of Christmas, traditionally sung at Christmas itself or during the surrounding Christmas and holiday season. The term noel has sometimes been used, especially for carols of French or ...

s at the event.

References

External links

Old Town Hall in Porvoo
at ''VisitPorvoo.fi'' (in English)
Museokortti-kohde: The Old Town Hall, Porvoo
at ''Museot.fi'' (in English)
The Porvoo Museum and the Old Town Hall in Porvoo, Finland
at ''FamilyWithKids.com'' Baroque architecture in Finland Buildings and structures in Porvoo Buildings and structures completed in 1764 City and town halls in Finland Museums in Finland {{Finland-struct-stub

See also

References

External links