Verla Groundwood and Board Mill

Card # 70 This postcard sent to me by Milka (Postcrossing)

Verla at Jaala, Kouvola, Finland, is a well preserved 19th century mill village and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996. The first groundwood mill at Verla was founded in 1872 by Hugo Nauman but was destroyed by fire in 1876. A larger groundwood and board mill, founded in 1882 by Gottlieb Kreidl and Louis Haenel, continued to operate until 1964.

The historical paper mill turned museum of board mill technology. The historical machines were preserved in their places (except for several pieces brought from other buildings), so a guided tour to the mill follows the technological process from timber cutting and pulp production to board drying, sorting, and packing.

Information Obtained From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Fortress of Suomenlinna

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Fortress of Suomenlinna

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Suomenlinna, until 1918 Viapori (Finnish), or Sveaborg (Swedish), is an inhabited sea fortress built on six islands (Kustaanmiekka, Susisaari, Iso-Mustasaari, Pikku-Mustasaari, Länsi-Mustasaari and Långören), and which is nowadays part of Helsinki, the capital of Finland.

Suomenlinna is a UNESCO World Heritage site and popular with both tourists and locals, who enjoy it as a picturesque picnic site. Originally named Sveaborg (Fortress of Svea), or Viapori as called by Finns, it was renamed Suomenlinna (Castle of Finland) in 1918 for patriotic and nationalistic reasons, though it is still also sometimes known by its original name. In Swedish-speaking contexts, the name Sveaborg is usually used.

The Swedish crown commenced the construction of the fortress in 1748 as protection against Russian expansionism. The general responsibility for the fortification work was given to Augustin Ehrensvärd. The original plan of the bastion fortress was strongly influenced by the ideas of Vauban, the foremost military engineer of the time, and the principles of Star Fort style of fortification, albeit adapted to a group of rocky islands.

In addition to the island fortress itself, seafacing fortifications on the mainland would ensure that an enemy would not acquire a beach-head from which to stage attacks. The plan was also to stock munitions for the whole Finnish contingent of the Swedish Army and Royal Swedish Navy there. In the Finnish War the fortress surrendered to Russia on May 3 1808, paving the way for the occupation of Finland by Russian forces in 1809. Read more

Old Rauma

Card # 53This postcard sent to me by Simi, 3rd UNESCO postcard from Postcrossing


Old Rauma (Finnish: Vanha Rauma) is the wooden city centre of the town of Rauma, Finland. It is listed as a Unesco world heritage site.

The area of Old Rauma is about 0.3 km², with approximately six hundred buildings (counting both proper houses and smaller buildings like sheds) and about 800 people living in the area. The town of Rauma expanded outside the Old Rauma proper only in the early 1800s. The oldest buildings date from the 18th century, as two fires of 1640 and 1682 destroyed the town. Most buildings are currently inhabited and owned by private individuals, although along the two main streets and around the town square they are mainly in business use.

Locations of special interest include the Kirsti house, which is a seaman's house from the 18th and 19th centuries, and the Marela house, which is a shipowner's house dating to the 18th century but with a 19th century facade, both of which are currently museums. Other sights include the rare stone buildings of the Old Rauma: the Church of the Holy Cross, an old Franciscan monastery church from the 15th century with medieval paintings and the old town hall from 1776. Another church in Rauma, the Church of the Holy Trinity, also from the 15th century, burned in the fire of 1640.

Information Obtained From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Petäjävesi Old Church

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The Petäjävesi Old Church (Finnish: Petäjäveden vanha kirkko) is a wooden church located in Petäjävesi, Finland. It was inscribed in 1994 on the UNESCO World Heritage List. It was built between 1763 and 1765. UNESCO considered it to be a representative Lutheran church of the Scandinavian tradition, mixing Renaissance with older Gothic elements. Information Obtained From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia