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 plant, 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.
- 1 Laivasilta Guest Harbour (Skeppsbrons gästhamn), Laivasilta 1 (in the centre), ☏ +358 40-740-7308, niclas.mattsson@sulo.fi. June–August and by agreement. Showers, sauna. Electricity, water, fuel, waste disposal, septic tank emptying. Laundry. Bicycles, SUP-boards and kayaks for rent.
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 +358 440 555 333. Monday rides can also be booked on Monday mornings from 07:30 to 07:45. The line taxi will pick you up at the agreed address.
By taxi
See Uusimaa#By taxi for information about companies and fares
- Taksi Itä-Uusimaa, ☏ +358 100-0700. Also bookable by 0100 0700 app. Fixed price based on calculated route and time if destination address given when booking by app. Flag fall M–Sa 05:00–21:00: €3.90, other times and holidays: €6.90; 1–4 persons €0.99/km+0.99/min.
- Smartphone apps: Valopilkku, 02 Taksi
See
- Housing fair, Mannerheiminkatu 19 (Kuningattarenranta, the shore opposite the guest harbour; box office at the main entrance, online tickets allow access via a pedestrian bridge (no wheelchairs) from Laivasilta), ☏ +358 10-633-1063 (€0.835/call+€0.0835/min+mpm; M–Sa 09:00-19:00 Su 10:00–18:00), asiakaspalvelu@asuntomessut.fi. 7 Jul–6 Aug 10:00–18:00. The national housing fare of 2023 is arranged in Loviisa, along a two-kilometre stretch of shoreline. On display are 17 one-family homes (one of them floating), some detached or semi-detached homes and a block of flats. See new trends in Finnish (or Nordic) housing and furnishing or discuss technical solutions. Some homes are built by those who are going to live there, some built by companies and sold or yet to be sold (some houses are also yet to be built, including a number of floating ones). There is also a separate boats and leisure exhibition on the area, included in the ticket. There are restaurants and cafés. Childcare is arranged for 2–6 years old (€5/hr). Prams and dogs may are allowed but may not enter the homes. Events in Thursday evenings (the area closes Th 20:30). Tickets bought on the net are a tad cheaper and give access to a virtual tour, to orient oneself before the visit. €33/20/12, the latter price for 12–17 years old, children under 12 years free with a paying adult, 4-person group €128.
- 1 Loviisa fortress, Ungernintie (less than 1 km east of the market square). Built in 1748 by the Swedes.
- 2 Svartholma fortress. Built around the same time as Loviisa fortress on the island Svartholm. In the summer there is a ferry from Laivasilta a few hundred metres south of the town centre, return ferry tickets cost €15.
- 3 Loviisa church. The road to Loviisa from the west seems to lead right into the red tile church, which is one of the most visible landmarks of the town.
- 4 Lovisa nuclear power plant. Finland's oldest nuclear power plant is located on the island Hästholmen, 15 km south-east of the town centre. Visits need to be pre-arranged but you can always look at the plant from a distance.
- 5 Strömfors ironworks (Strömforsin ruukki), Ruukintie 11A (in Ruotsinpyhtää village, east of Loviisa). You can admire the old preserved buildings of the former ironworks of Ruotsinpyhtää (Swedish: Strömfors), including the iconic view over the pond to the Letkutorni and Armonlinna buildings. The interiors have been turned to a museum (the lower forge), a hotel, a couple of places to eat and drink, a couple of handicraft shops, a rental service for canoes and standup paddleboards, and the old nail forge (Naulapaja) is used by an artisan blacksmith.
Do
- 1 Plagen Beach, Kapteenintie 5. The most popular beach in Loviisa, a short walk away from the city centre. Many locals and tourists come here in the summer to swim, have picnics and play games. There are changing cabins present but these are kept locked and have to be reserved in advance. Note that there is not always a lifeguard on duty.
There is a café at the beach serving food including tasty pancakes as well as hot and cold drinks, but no alcohol.
Buy
Eat
- 1 Locale, Mannerheiminkatu 2, ☏ +358 19 50 8008, varaus@ravintolalocale.fi. 11:00 to 22:00 mostly, closed Sun-Mon. An Italian restaurant in the centre of Loviisa. Dishes include pizza and steaks.
Drink
- 1 Tuhannen tuskan kahvila, Poikkikuja, ☏ +358 44 0195 971, liisantalo@sulo.fi. 10 AM to 6 PM, closed Mondays. The name means "The café of a thousand pains" but the establishment is nowhere near painful, instead it's a cosy little café on the inner courtyard of a wooden house block typical of Loviisa. There is no bar to speak of, table service is available and you pay at the kitchen when you leave. The coffee is rather good and you get a generous portion of it. There are also small pastries available. 3.50 € for coffee.
Sleep
- 1 Hotelli Uninen, Brandensteininkatu 17, ☏ +358 19 50561.
Connect
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.
- North towards Kouvola: Lapinjärvi – a rural municipality located near the lake
- If you have a small 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.
| Routes through Loviisa |
| Helsinki ← Porvoo ← | W  E |
→ Pyhtää → Vyborg |
| Helsinki ← Porvoo ← | W  E |
→ Pyhtää → Saint Petersburg |