SORTAVALA
Sortavala is the old town with russian-swedish roots of the hisory.
The district of Sortavala was first recorded in Swedish documents
dating to 1468.
Russian documents first mention it as Serdovol or Serdobol in 1500.
It is disputed which name was the earliest.
The settlement of Sortavala was attested in 1582.
It was founded in 1632 by swedish and received second birth in 1783
as russian town.
There are many old beatifull bildings here wich were built by famous
finish architectures, suh as Ulberg, Ahrenberg, Saarinen and others.
A numerous celebrities came here for art and relax. There are good
conditions for rest in Sortavala now also.
The town is surrounded by wild nature.
Welcome to Sortavala!
Гостиница «Сеурахуоне» Сортавала
Our hotel is located in a unique building – an architectural monument. The history of the construction of the building consists of two parts. The first version of the building was built in 1908-09 by architect Onni Alcides Tarjanne.
The building was built to accommodate the public place, club (Seura – finnish-public, huone – rooms, halls).
The first building was realized in the style of Northern Art Nouveau (Finnish national romanticism)
– the building was like a castle and looked very romantic.
The second birth occurred in 1938-39, when “Seurahuone” acquired the present form. The architect Erkki Huttunen (Erkki Huttunen) designed in the style of functionalism.
The building was rebuilt, due to the expansion, it was supplemented by a concert hall and a restaurant. In the total absence of decor, the architectural composition of the building is expressive thanks to a thoughtful combination of simple geometric shapes. Throughout the length of the “southern” facade overlooking the shore of the Vakkolahti Bay, a terrace is arranged. From her descends a graceful spiral staircase. The walls are plastered and painted white. The building meets the incoming from the side of St. Petersburg
on the main bridge to the city center.
Monument “The Runet”
The bronze sculpture of the finder was cast according to a model executed by the sculptor Alpo Sailo. The opening of the monument took place on the 4th All-fond song festival in honor of the 100th anniversary of the release of the first edition of the Karelian-Finnish epos Kalevala June 29, 1935.
The monument was created with money collected during the All-Fondation song festival in 1926 and bequeathed by the city judge K. Berg – only 25 thousand Finnish marks.
The prototype of bronze sculpture was the Karelian rune-boy, fisherman, farmer and Petri Shemeykka, a well-known hunter in the district.
Дом купца К. Сийтойнена
Architect P. Watil, 1907, style – northern modern. On the lower floor there were shops, on the upper floor – apartments that were leased.
A special feature of the building is a corner dome reminiscent of a warrior’s helmet.
In 1940, during the Winter War, the house suffered considerable damage.
After the restoration, the building lost its original appearance.
Currently, it houses the city and district administration.
Town Hall Building
One of the oldest and beautiful wooden buildings of the city. Architect – F.A. Stern, 1885.
The building stands on a granite, powerful foundation, rich in decor, like a fairy-tale palace. Here was an office for the mayor, city council and court, as well as a small museum of local lore.
All the important questions concerning the life of the city were solved at the Town Hall, government banquets, exhibitions of the local history museum, theatrical performances were held.
The building of the Men’s Lyceum
Architect Y. Arenberg, 1901
Style – pseudo-Gothic, which makes the building look like a Gothic church. The peculiarity of the building is the windows lancet and vaulted, as in the churches of the form.
Lyceum is a men’s school that provides 8-grade education, with free education, which gives the right to enter the university.
At present the building of the Sortavala College is located in the building.
Women’s Gymnasium Building
Architect Ya. Arenberg, 1910 Style – pseudo-Gothic. Sortavala Gymnasium was among the top 20 schools in Finland.
The decor of the building contains motifs of Gothic architecture. An interesting fact is that this building has a double – a female school in Turku (Finland).
Since 2014, the Sortavala inter-settlement district and children’s libraries have been located here.
Orthodox church of St. Nicholas
Architect N.P. Grebenko, consecrated-in 1873 in the name of the Apostles Peter and Paul.
The money for the construction of the temple was singled out by the merchants of the first guild, the Eliseev brothers from St. Petersburg.
The architecture of the church shows the features of baroque and classicism and the so-called “Russian style”, based on the traditions of Orthodoxy. The church is designed for 270 people.
In 1947, the church was consecrated in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, and since then it remains the main parish church of the Sortavala district.
The building of the Office of the Orthodox Church
Architect Yu. Viiste. Style – eclecticism. In the 1920s, the Office of the Orthodox Church of Finland moved to Sortavala from Helsinki. In 1931, for the church administration, this building was built and the home bishop’s church of St. John the Theologian.
The motifs of Byzantine architecture and the techniques of Russian wooden architecture are traced here.
Belvedere on the building imitates the dome of the Orthodox church.
Today the building houses a fine arts studio, shops and living quarters.
The building of the United Bank of Nordic Countries
Architect U. Ullberg, 1913, style – Finnish national romanticism.
One of the most interesting buildings in the city. Eckers, turrets, red tile roof, monograms of the owners give the building the look of a medieval castle.
Colored stained glass windows and tiled stoves emphasize this look. Each facade of this building is individual and interesting.
Today there is a post office here.
Trading house of the firm “Yukhtion Rautta”
The building was built according to the project of the architect U. Ulberg in 1915 for the joint stock company for trade in iron and building materials.
The building is decorated with powerful pilasters and semicolumns, hewn out of dark red granite, mined in Kirjvalahti, with bay windows and stucco pediments.
In Soviet times, there were shops of a garment factory.
Now here are Onego Bank, the editorial office of the newspaper Ladoga.
The People’s Joint-Stock Bank Building
It was built in 1905 according to the project of the architects E. G. Saarinen, G. E. Gesellius and A. E. Lindgren, with the participation of the architect from Sorvala, Johannes Leander, like an old fairy-tale castle.
Style – Finnish national romanticism.
One of the first stone buildings of Sortavala.
The building is also known as Leander’s House, because here since 1914, lived the director of the bank Oskie Leander.
Currently, the building is located Sberbank.
Architect U. Ullberg, 1915 style – neoclassicism.