Johan Ludvig Runeberg - Porvoo, Finland
Posted by: small oaks
N 60° 23.542 E 025° 39.714
35V E 426252 N 6695858
National poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg's statue in Runeberg park.
Waymark Code: WM8AWC
Location: Finland
Date Posted: 03/03/2010
Views: 126
Johan Ludvig Runeberg (1804 - 1877) was the national poet of Finland. He lived in Porvoo from 1837 onwards, where he served as professor of Roman literature in the Gymnasium of Porvoo.
Many of his poems deal with life in rural Finland and his most famous work is Fänrik Ståls sägner (The Tales of Ensign Stål, Vänrikki Stoolin tarinat in Finnish) written between 1848 and 1860. It is considered the greatest Finnish epic poem outside the native Kalevala tradition and contains tales of the Finnish War of 1808-09 with Russia.
The first poem "Vårt land" (Our Land, Maamme in Finnish) became the Finnish National Anthem. Runeberg is celebrated on 5 February each year and specially in Porvoo by this statue.
This Runeberg statue was revealed in 1882 only five years after his death. Another similar memorial statue is in Helsinki and both of statues are made by J.L Runebergs son Walter Runeberg.
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