Loviisa

Loviisa (Swedish: Lovisa) is a town and municipality in eastern Uusimaa on the Finnish south coast.

Understand


Loviisa is a nice small town, founded in 1745 with rights to international trade. At the time it was at the border to Russia, which explains the fortresses. Originally named Degerby, it was renamed after Queen Lovisa Ulrika at a visit by the King. In 1866 it became a spa town. It got a private narrow-gauge railway to Lahti in 1900. The railway was taken over by VR in 1959 and got Finnish broad gauge the next year. Passenger traffic ceased in 1981.

The area has been inhabited since the Stone Age. Like most of the rest of coastal Finland, it got Swedish-speaking settlers when Finland had become part of Sweden in the 12th century. It had a Swedish speaking majority until late, now there is a Finnish-speaking majority of 55%.

To contemporary Finns, Loviisa is best known as the site of Finland's first nuclear power plants, the first in use since 1977.

Get in
The railway does not carry passengers.

By car
Loviisa lies next to highway 7 (E18), about halfway between Helsinki and the Russian border at Vaalimaa (90 km to both of them), and is an easy side trip. Also, the King's Road goes through town.

By bus
There are direct buses from Helsinki, and buses from Helsinki to Kotka or Hamina go via Loviisa.

By boat
The steamship J.L. Runeberg cruises between Helsinki and Loviisa in summer.

There are several guest marinas.

Get around
The points of interest in the town are accessible by foot; if you want to go further out you will need a bike, car or taxi (boat or kayak for the archipelago).

Local bus and route planner are available.

Loviisa also has a service line primarily aimed at the elderly. You pay the driver for the trip according to normal bus fare. The ride is ordered from the driver by 16:00 the day before from number. Monday rides can also be booked on Monday mornings 07:30–07:45. The line taxi will pick you up at the agreed address.

By taxi
See Uusimaa for other companies


 * Smartphone apps: Valopilkku, 02 Taksi
 * Smartphone apps: Valopilkku, 02 Taksi

See




Go next

 * West towards Helsinki: Porvoo – like Loviisa, but older, larger and more touristy
 * Eastwards along the coast: the old port cities of Kotka and Hamina.
 * If you have a boat or can get onboard one (there's no scheduled transport), you can head to the island of Mustaviiri (Swedish: Svartviran), administratively part of Pyhtää. The island hosts one of the world heritage listed points of the Struve Geodetic Arc.