Pop-up cards of Finnish architecture (100th anniversary of diplomatic relations)
The year 2019 is the 100th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Finland. So I decided to make pop-up cards of Finnish buildings.
I had been researching World Heritage Sites in Finland, but recently I have stopped obsessing about World Heritage Sites, so I chose two from the buildings in Porvoo.
Porvoo is located on the southern coast of Finland, approximately 50 km east of Helsinki. Historically, the town’s name appears in 14th century records.
The first card is Porvoo Cathedral.
The cathedral is one of the central buildings in Porvoo, and the present stone church seems to have taken shape between 1414-18. But, it seems that the building has been used and restored after a number of fires (four in 1508, 1571, 1590 and 1708, the fires were caused by Danish and Russian troops).
However, when I did an image search, I found some recent photos of the building without a roof.
I wondered what had happened to the building, and after reading various articles, I found that the exterior walls and roof had been destroyed by fire in 2006, apparently due to arson, which is sad.
The restoration was completed in 2008.
The second card is the Old Town Hall, also in Porvoo. This one is now used as a museum, the building was completed in 1764.
Finland had been under Swedish rule since the mid-12th century, but as a result of the Swedish-Russian war of 1808-09 it came under Russian rule. It was during the period of Russian rule that the Grand Duchy of Finland was founded, and the Porvoo Parliament was convened for the founding of the Grand Duchy, and the Town Hall was one of the venues.
For this reason, it is considered to be a building of historical significance.
I myself knew very little about Finnish history, so I have just started to study it briefly by reading books such as 'The History of Story Finland’ (Yuko Ishino, Chuko Shinsho, 2017).
Finland, which had been under Russian rule, declared its independence in December 1917 (the year of the Russian Revolution). Japan recognised Finland as a state in May 1919.
That is why the centenary of the establishment of diplomatic relations was talked about in May this year. I understand that the actual establishment of diplomatic relations took place in September, so I guess there will be many more events.
A centenary website has also been set up, so I will provide a link to that.
100th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Finland.
(Broken link).
I was going to make pop-up cards during May, but I didn’t make any progress and it’s now late June.
The pattern of Porvoo Cathedral is now available, if you would like to use it. As usual, the password will be sent out by email.
[Postscript]
(2022.05.03) The download of the pattern has ended.