Loviisa

Loviisa ( Lovisa in Swedish) is a city of the south-eastern coast of the Finland, in the area of Uusimaa of the East.

The city is located at 87 km in the east of the capital Helsinki via main road 7 (E18). The common neighbors are Pernå in the west and Ruotsinpyhtää in the east.

History

The city finds its origin in the successive defeats of the Sweden in its wars vis-a-vis the Russia during the 19th century.

It is initially the Great War of North and its Traité of Nystad of 1721 humiliating for Swedish who loses the essence of the Karelia and their great fortified town and shopping mall of the East, Vyborg. The two frontier towns become then Lappeenranta and especially Hamina, the last being created of all parts to supervise the border.

Lastly, following the Russo-Swedish War of 1741-1743 and with the Treated of Åbo, Hamina and Lappeenranta are found in Russia, the new border still slipping of a few tens of kilometers towards the west to the river Kymijoki. The same difficulty which had arisen 22 years earlier is again of topicality: Swedish does not have any more any city nor fortress worthy of this name which defends the border.

It is in this context that the creation of Loviisa intervenes. The new city is founded in 1745 in a zone populated mainly of fishermen suédophones, at short distance of Porvoo and to only 14 km of the new border. It draws its name from the princess Lovisa Ulrika (Louise Ulrique), wife of the king de Suède Adolphe Frederic of Sweden.

The new city, located at the bottom of a sheltered bay, is heavily strengthened. In addition to that, Swedish contruisent on an small island of the Golfe of Finland at short distance of Loviisa a strong second, the marine fortress of Svartholm, only preceded cuts some by Suomenlinna.

The frightening system of fortification is abandoned with a few hundreds of men at the beginning of the Guerre of Finland and the large one of the Swedish troops is withdrawn in Ostrobotnie. The occupants hold only little time vis-a-vis the Russian offensive and capitulate as of before spring 1808, a few weeks after the beginning of the war.

At the beginning of the time of the Grand Duchy of Finland, Russian uses the Fortification S of Loviisa and the city preserves a certain strategic importance of guardian of the southern part. That will be worth to him to be heavily bombarded by the troops free - English and to burn in quasi totality in 1855 at the time of the Crimean War.

The city is rebuilt out of wood with some neo-classic stone buildings (Town hall of 1856, church of 1865…). It is this face which it offers today to the visitor because the city knew one prolonged period of drowsiness, missing the Industrial revolution completely.

Nuclear plant

Loviisa leaves its economic torpor only with the inauguration in 1977 of the first engine of the first Finnish Nuclear plant (group Fortum). Second in 1981 is finished. The island of Hastholmen shelters as for it since 1993 the national center of storage of the nuclear waste (of weak and average Radioactivité).

Twinnings

Loviisa is twinned with

Bonds

Town of Loviisa

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