Raseborg - The Castle No One Knows About

When we told friends we were visiting Raseborg Castle in Finland, they admitted they had never heard of it and had to look it up. And that pretty much sums up our trip there too. While impressive from the outside, it doesn't open until the end of May and closes again in the Fall. Which doesn't leave much opportunity to be discovered.

Despite that, the website claims it is one of Finland's most important historical castles. The castle is thought to have been completed (first phase) in the 1370s. It was designed to protect Sweden's interests in southern Finland against the Hanseatic city of Tallinn. The castle was originally built on a small island in the north end of a sea bay. But over time, the sea level became lower, and it became increasingly difficult to approach the castle by boat. This is one of the main reasons why the castle lost its importance.

We rented a car from Sixt, our favorite agency in Europe, and drove out to find the castle. We almost passed the entrance as it is not marked well (and since the castle was closed, there were no vehicles parked anywhere nearby). We parked outside the entrance and hiked up into the forest, popping out into a wide open area with a castle plopped onto a HUGE rock.

Since it was closed, we were able to walk around, but it began to sleet pretty heavily so we had to run back to the car after only about 15 minutes. No drone flight that day as planned unfortunately.

Luckily we had other things to do in the area, so the day wasn't a total loss, but it was a bit disappointing. Guess there's a reason the Finns haven't even heard of this castle. Where's your favorite castle? So far, ours is Turun Linna in Turku.

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