Live cameras in Porvoo, Finland

Porvoo is one of Finland's oldest towns, on the Porvoo River about 50 km east of central Helsinki in the Uusimaa region. About 52,000 people live in the city, which is bilingual: roughly a quarter of the population speaks Swedish as a first language, and in Swedish the town is called Borgå. Old Porvoo, with its cobbled lanes, wooden houses and the famous row of red storehouses along the riverbank, is among the best-preserved historic town centers in the Nordic countries. Above it stands Porvoo Cathedral, a 15th-century stone church that has burned several times, most recently in an arson fire in 2006, and was restored afterward. In 1809 the Diet of Porvoo met here, when Finland became an autonomous Grand Duchy under the Russian emperor.

The national poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg lived in Porvoo, and his home is now a museum. On Runeberg's Day, February 5, cafés across Finland serve the almond and rum Runeberg torte, and Porvoo's bakeries are the place to try one. The Christmas market in the old town is another highlight.

Cameras along the eastern highway

The pictures here come from Fintraffic's road-weather stations, made public through Digitraffic. Porvoo lies on the E18 motorway, also national road 7, between Helsinki and Kotka, and regional road 55 heads northwest toward Mäntsälä. Cameras along these roads show lanes, ramps and verges, with a fresh still taken every few minutes. Heavy holiday traffic leaving Helsinki on summer Fridays and snowy mornings in winter are the times when a quick look is most useful.

Porvoo follows the same clock as Helsinki: UTC+2 in winter, UTC+3 in summer time. Late December brings fewer than six hours of daylight, from about twenty past nine to just after three. In midsummer the sun rises before four and sets close to eleven, and evenings by the river stay light almost all night.

Nearby, the island and archipelago villages of Pellinge lie to the south, and the Sipoonkorpi National Park forest is a short drive west toward Helsinki.

Sources: Porvoo - Wikipedia · Porvoo Cathedral - Wikipedia · Digitraffic road traffic data (Fintraffic).