Kotka
134km (83 miles) E of Helsinki
The Langinkoski Imperial Fishing Lodge, Langinkoski (tel. 05/228-1050), about 5km (3 miles) north of Kotka, was the imperial fishing lodge of the Russian tsar's family, the summer retreat for Alexander III from 1889 to 1894. This log house on the River Kymi offers an insight into how the last of the Romanovs spent their summers before they met violent deaths during the Russian Revolution. Near the Langinkoski Rapids (for which it was named), the lodge is open from May to August daily from 10am to 7pm; during September and October, it's open Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 4pm. Admission is 4€ ($5.20) for adults, 2€ ($2.60) for persons 7 to 17. Free for children under 7.
The tsar chose a spot in Finland's premier salmon-fishing area to build the lodge on property consisting of half a dozen small islands connected by bridges. Its deliberately unpretentious architecture was in the Finnish style of hand-hewn pine logs, far removed from the grandeur of the family's 900-room palace outside St. Petersburg. On the grounds of the fishing lodge is a small Russian Orthodox chapel built during the early 1800s by monks from the Valamo monastery, and within the lodge are photographs of the imperial family.
Information is available from the Kotka Tourist Office, Keskuskatu 6 (tel. 05/234-44-24; www.kotka.fi/matkailu), open from June to August Tuesday to Friday 9am to 7pm and Saturday 10am to 7pm; from September to May Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm. If you drive, Kotka is a 2-hour trip from Helsinki. Five buses leave Helsinki daily, traveling to Kotka in 2 hours. Once at the bus station at Kotka, you can take bus no. 12, 13, or 14 to the lodge at Langinkoski.
