"Olavinlinna Castle"
Olavinlinna castle is located in Finland. It is near the town of Savonlinna, which many people confuse to be part of it. The castle is found in the southeastern part of Finland. The castle is within the swift strait of Kyrönsalmi, (it is surround by water on three sides).
Olavinlinna was created in 1475 by Erik Axelsson Tott. He was a Danish knight in the fifteenth century. He named his castle Olavinlinna after the patron saint of all knights, St. Olaf. St. Olaf was an eleventh century crusader from Norway. He was one of the more famous crusaders of his time. Erik was born during the year 1430. His father's name was Axel Ericsson KURCK. His mother's name was Christina Somme Abrahamsson.
The history of Olavinlinna stretches across a fairly wide expanse of time. It was first built in 1475 to repel attacks from the east and to take more control of the Savo region for the Swedish Crown.
English: Olavinlinna Castle, Finland in 1989 Suomi...
English: Kyrönsalmi railway bridge and Olavinlinn...
Olavinlinna in Savonlinna, Finland Suomi: Olavinli...There were never any attacks from the east. Olavinlinna served as a Swedish eastern border until the start of the eighteenth century. When the Great Northern War broke out, Olavinlinna fought but eventually had to surrender to the Russians during the year 1714. The castle had to surrender because there was no food left or munitions left in the castle. The Russian control was over by 1721 when a peace treaty moved the borderline so that the Swedes could have their castle back. After the peace treaty of Turku the Russians got the castle back and it was still under military use until 1809. The Russians still stayed in the castle until the year1847. Then in the 1850's Olavinlinna served as a prison in Finland. During the 1860's two fires broke out and caused major damage.