Vaakuna personnel recommends
Recommendations of the reception staff of Original Sokos Hotel Vaakuna:
OUTDOOR RECREATION:
Varikonniemi forest route, which is 5.7 kilometres long. You will see beautiful scenery with Häme Castle proudly rising in front of you; cross the railway bridge, and if a train comes along at the same time you will get quite an experience. You can see fine cannons at the Artillery Museum. This popular route starts right outside the hotel.
CULTURE AND ATTRACTIONS:
Häme Castle is one of Finland's nationally significant medieval castles. Now a museum, the castle is in the town on the shore of Hämeenlinna Lake Vanajavesi, about 12 metres above the current waterline. The exact construction date of the castle is unclear, but it was built at the end of the 13th century.
The birthplace of Jean Sibelius, the world-famous Finnish composer, is now a house museum in the centre of Hämeenlinna, and was founded as a museum in 1965. The museum is administered by Hämeenlinna City Museum. The wooden building at Hallituskatu 11 was designed by Henrik Hernstedt in 1834. Composer Jean Sibelius was born in the house in 1865 and lived there throughout his childhood.
The Aulanko area is one of the pearls of Hämeenlinna, and offers visitors unique nature experiences and opportunities for active leisure. No wonder Aulanko has been a popular tourist destination for more than 100 years and attracts more than 400,000 visitors every year.
Hämeenlinna is a town of museums offering enriching experiences in history, art and design. The popular Museum Card grants access to six museums in the town, as well as a host of other specialist and regional museums.
The main visitor destinations in the town centre are Hämeenlinna Art Museum and the Hämeenlinna City Museum Skogster Museum, which has an exhibition of the Nordic countries' oldest Savings Bank Museum on the upper floor.
In the Skogster Museum, history is presented with passion. The permanent exhibition Ooh, Hämeenlinna! presents the town's story in the form of fun facts, and the exhibitions that change every year are always thought-provoking. In addition, in Palander House, you can get a taste of Hämeenlinna life in the late 19th century and visit the childhood home of the composer Jean Sibelius.
Hämeenlinna Art Museum is a diverse art destination for the whole family close to the town centre. The museum operates in two buildings in the Verkatehdas arts and conference centre, both of which showcase changing exhibitions of different schools of visual art.
Outside the town centre, other key destinations for fans of museums include the Linnanniemi museum sites Häme Castle, Museo Militaria and Häme Prison Museum, the oldest of its kind in the country. Less than half an hour's drive from the centre of Hämeenlinna in Iittala village you will find the Designmuseo Iittala, presenting the history of the Iittala glassworks.
EXERCISE AND SPORTS, ADVENTURE, SWIMMING, MOTORSPORTS, ICE HOCKEY:
Over the years, the Ahvenisto district has developed into an outdoor area offering a wide range of leisure activities and sports opportunities. Today, there are several streams and jogging trails in the area, as well as ski trails in winter, a shooting range, a beach and open-air pool, as well as an ice pool maintained by the town in the winter and a sauna. The Ahvenisto open-air swimming pool, also called Appara, was the venue for the swimming leg of the pentathlon in the 1952 Summer Olympics. In addition, the cross-country running and fencing competitions of the five-sport event took place in the Ahvenisto area. Some well-established events and locations that were in the Ahvenisto area have now been relocated to the Pullerinmäki district. Among these are the Ahvenisto motor racing circuit, Rinkelinmäki ice rink, and the ski jump, which is no longer in use.
A warm welcome to Hämeenlinna!