My Place – Riitta Kilkku

“I’ve worked as a tour guide in Uusikaupunki since 1989. I’m a bit of a ‘history geek’, and at first, I thought I’d just take the guide course because it seemed interesting. But as it turned out, I became a guide – and I still give tours today.”

“I really love this job. Maybe it’s my teacher’s nature, or maybe it’s just that I enjoy being around people. As a guide, I get to be creative when planning different kinds of tours – and of course, I get to boast about my hometown. Uusikaupunki is so lovely that it’s a pleasure to show it to visitors.”

“If I had to pick one thing that everyone should know about local history, it would be the Peace of Uusikaupunki. The late Professor Matti Klinge once said that, after Helsinki, Uusikaupunki is the best-known Finnish city in Central Europe – precisely because of the Peace of Uusikaupunki. The peace treaty signed here in the square marked the end of the Swedish Empire and significantly changed the course of European history.”

“That’s exactly why I chose the Peace Monument as my place – the spot where peace was made. On the top of the monument, you can see what is believed to be the city plan from 1721. Another fascinating detail is the chains surrounding the monument – they outline the size of the original negotiation room. The openings in the chains represent the doorways: the Swedes entered from the west side, and the Russians from the east.”

“Even though this was such a significant treaty by European standards, the setting was quite modest – the negotiation room wasn’t large. The house itself was transported from the village of Mattinen in Lokalahti and assembled here in the square specifically for the negotiations, as the city had been almost completely destroyed by the long war and there were no suitable buildings left.”

“Besides its historical value, this topic is also timely now that peace negotiations are again taking place in the world. Hopefully, a fair and lasting peace will be achieved this time as well.”