Sortavala trough the eyes of Russian travelers in the late XIX - early XX centuries

The article is concerned with the review of road sketches written by Russian travelers who visited Sortavala in the late XIXth - early XXth centuries. During that period Sortavala was a small, but rapidly developing city of the Grand Duchy of Finland, part of the Russian Empire. The biggest part of Sortavala population consisted of Lutherans (Finns and Sweds) (2834 persons or 91 % of the total population in 1900). In addition to that, a little Orthodox community (Karelians and Russians) also existed in the city (183 persons or 9 % of the total population in 1900). The article focuses on the Russian travelers’ perception related to the general impression of the city, to the remarkable sights, and to the daily life of Sortavala. The following features of the Russian travelers’ perception of Sortavala of that period can be emphasized: Sortavala was perceived as a small, livable city and as a center of Orthodoxy in the Lutheran country; the authors of the studied travel essays pointed to the prevalence of the Russian language in the city.