Loviisa

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

Understand

The town hall

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.

• 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 07:30–07:45. The line taxi will pick you up at the agreed address.

By taxi

See Uusimaa#By taxi for other companies

• 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. (updated Jul 2020)
• Smartphone apps: Valopilkku, 02 Taksi

See

Street in Loviisa, with typical wooden houses

Strömfors ironworks

• Housing fair 2023, Mannerheiminkatu 19 (Kuningattarenranta, the shore opposite the guest harbour). The national housing fare of 2023 was arranged in Loviisa, along a two-kilometre stretch of shoreline by the centre. The 17 one-family homes (one of them floating), some detached or semi-detached homes and a block of flats can still be seen from the outside, representing new trends in Finnish (or Nordic) housing.  
• 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 plants are located on the island Hästholmen, 15 km (9.3 mi) 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 into 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. There is a café at the beach serving food including tasty pancakes as well as hot and cold drinks, but no alcohol. (updated Jul 2023)

Eat

• 1 Thai Tip Foods, Kuningattarenkatu 18, ☏ +358 40 415 2866, info@thaitip.net. 10:30 - 16:00, closed on weekends. A Thai restaurant in central Loviisa. Note that it's on the second floor and you have to climb stairs to get to the restaurant. (updated Jun 2024)

Drink

Tuhannen tuskan kahvila in July

• 1 Tuhannen tuskan kahvila, Poikkikuja, ☏ +358 440-195- 971, liisantalo@sulo.fi. Tu–Su 10:00–18:00, M closed. The name means "The café of a thousand pains" but 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. (updated Jul 2023)

Sleep

• 1 Hotelli Uninen, Brandensteininkatu 17, ☏ +358 19 505-61. (updated Dec 2021)

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.

Routes through Loviisa

Helsinki ← Porvoo ←	W  E	→ Pyhtää → Vyborg
Helsinki ← Porvoo ←	W  E	→ Pyhtää → Saint Petersburg