Which came first? Raisio or Naantali?

A post from Julie

We have been struggling with this perplexing question since our arrival here two days ago. Erkki, one of our hosts, argues that Raisio was first (he lives in Raisio, so he may be somewhat biased). According to historical documents, Raisio was first mentioned in 1292, but wasn't officially declared a town until 1974. Naantali, on the other hand, was officially founded in 1443. You be the judge.

upon our arrival on Tuesday, we were greeted by Erkki and Ossi, our gracious hosts during our stay here in Raisio and Naantali. We toured the Raisio library first, but had an improptu visit first at the fire station when Kari noticed the new fire truck pulling into the station. The library was built in 1999 and is the 5th most used library in Finland. They have 300,000 visitors per year (in a town with 24,000 people) and a collection of 700,000 books.

Afterwards, we visited a school where Ossi's brother is headmaster. From there we went to the Raisio flour mill and pasta factory for a brief presentation and tour. The mill was founded in 1939 and Erkki's grandfather was one of the founders. The mill specializes in manufacturing natural, plant-based and healthy foods. They were one of the first food manufacturers to put the ecological footprint on their packaging and they have a product supplement called Benecol that helps lower cholesterol.

We also visited Hermann's Project Design Oy, a company that builds interiors for public spaces aboard passenger cruise lines. The Raisio harbor is the construction site of the largest passenger cruise line on the market right now. Having the design & production company and ship construction site so close to each other makes for extremely effecient production.

The absolute highlight of the day was the opening night of the Naantali Music Festival. The evening began with a reception where the former Prime Minister of Finland gave a speech. We then went to the Naantali church, which was founded in the 1430s, to see the Shanghai Symphony perform. All night long, we kept asking ourselves, how often do you get to the Shanghai Symphony perform in Finland in a church that is over 550 years old? Pretty amazing.

We closed out the evening with a delicious dinner on the harbor with our hosts and their beautiful wives.

Today (Wednesday), Mary and I started the day with a tour of Erkki's family farm. Erkki is a 5th generation farmer. The main house was built in 1827 and his parents have an absolutely spell-binding collection of Finnish and Russian art in their home. They also have a beautiful garden and grow their own herbs and vegetables. Mary and I now know how white asparagus is grown.

After a scrumptous breakfast of homemade porridge, we met Kari, Patti and Ossi at the Naantali Spa Hotel for a tour of the grounds. The hotel has a cruise ship in the harbor that serves as a floating hotel. From there, we went to Naantali city hall for a visit and lunch with the mayor and a gentleman from the city council. With full stomachs, we then went on a walking tour of the old town, museum and Convent Church. We also went to Moomi World, a theme park for the very famous Finnish childrens' characters that are popular in Europe and - you guessed it - Japan.

We ended the day at the last meeting of the summer with the Naantali Rotary Club. We had dinner out on the terrace overlooking the harbor and enjoyed meeting our fellow Rotarians.

Julie