Catherine the Great, the Queen and Empress of Russia was the first real travel influencer of the Northern hemisphere in 1770s. After her visit to Imatra, the Vuoksi river became a real tourist attraction, drawing aristocrats and artists especially from St. Petersburg area, and the bloom continued well until the 20th century.

It’s quite impressive how advanced the branding and commercialisation of Imatra rapids were especially in the late 19th century!

The first episode of Grand Hotel Cascade covers the time before the current stone castle, from about 5700 years ago to 1901.