Porvoo in Finnish or Borgå in Swedish, is a municipality situated on the southern coast of Finland approximately 50 kilometres (30 miles) east of Helsinki. The town received its name from a Swedish earth fortress near the river Porvoonjoki which flows through the town (Swedish Borgå, borg meaning castle and å river). Porvoo is one of the six medieval towns in Finland, first mentioned as a city in texts from 14th century. Porvoo is the seat of the Swedish speaking Diocese of Borgå of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. The town is famed for its "Old Town" (Gamla Stan in Swedish), a dense mediaeval street pattern with predominantly wooden houses.

The central point of the old town is the medieval, stone and brick Porvoo Cathedral which gave its name to the Porvoo Communion - an inter-church agreement between a number of Anglican and Lutheran denominations. The cathedral was damaged by fire, started deliberately by vandals, on 29 May 2006: the roof was totally destroyed but the interior is largely intact. The red-coloured wooden storage buildings on the riverside are a proposed UNESCO world heritage site. Already by the early 19th century the authorities understood the value of the old town, and so with the need for growth a plan was made for a 'new town' built adjacent to the old town, following a grid plan but with houses also built in wood.

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