Accomodation
Porvoo’s hospitality was well known already in the Middle Ages.
The inns and boarding houses started to appear in the end of the 13th century. The rulers wanted to spare the peasants from billeting and wanted to guarantee travelers with food and rest.
In 1344 the king gave a regulation that every city should have two taverns. The taverns should sell food, beer and feed. The traveler had to pay for the food, but accommodation was free. Later on one would have to pay for the accommodation, and also transportation services were connected to the taverns.
The taverns were located along the roads about two leagues for each other. Outside the taverns were billboards. In the 18th century there was an actual law about taverns, which obliged for example to announce the prices on the wall of the tavern, and one would have to keep records of the travelers.
Porvoo was located in the middle of a main route, called Kuninkaantie or “King’s Road” between Turku and Vyborg. Porvoo was a very popular place to have a rest along the way, and the town’s citizens were already then well known for their hospitality.