Finspång Castle was built by Louis de Geer the younger between the years 1668 and 1685 and is today used as offices for Finspång’s turbine industry. The surrounding park, laid out in the 1700s, is decorated with follies like the Aurora temple, the iron temple and the Lugnet summerhouse and is open to the public all year round. Through the windows of the orangery built in 1831, you may steal a glimpse at Sweden’s oldest grapevine.
The two annex wings, built by Louis de Geer’s grandson in 1742, are used as a hotel and restaurant for company guests. All the rooms are furnished according to milestones in the history of Finspång.
References:The church of the former Franciscan monastery was built probably between 1515 and 1520. It is located in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Old Rauma. The church stands by the small stream of Raumanjoki (Rauma river).
The exact age of the Church of the Holy Cross is unknown, but it was built to serve as the monastery church of the Rauma Franciscan Friary. The monastery had been established in the early 15th century and a wooden church was built on this location around the year 1420.
The Church of the Holy Cross served the monastery until 1538, when it was abandoned for a hundred years as the Franciscan friary was disbanded in the Swedish Reformation. The church was re-established as a Lutheran church in 1640, when the nearby Church of the Holy Trinity was destroyed by fire.
The choir of the two-aisle grey granite church features medieval murals and frescoes. The white steeple of the church was built in 1816 and has served as a landmark for seafarers.