描述

Work on the building of the castle of Olavinlinna in the virtually uninhabited territory of Savo began in the year of Our Lord 1475, and its very earliest tales and legends immediately link it with the European fortress tradition. Lashed by the snowstorms of more than five centuries, its grim walls have borne witness to wars, sufferings and death. When the castle ceased to be of any military significance in the 19th century, under Russian rule, it gradually gained in popularity as a tourist attraction, and the natural beauty of its surroundings inspired many fine landscape painters in the spirit of the National Romantic era.
The first opera festival was held in Olavinlinna in 1912, and after an interval of several decades, the modern series of festivals have taken place annually since 1967. These have made the general public in Finland familiar with opera and have enabled the Finns to present the best of their operatic talent to the world at large. This book recounts in words and pictures the history of Olavinlinna as a frontier fortress ravaged by wars as a popular tourist sight and as a backcloth to fine operatic performances. It is the story of how song has emerged from stone.