24 - Rauma
ABOUT THE CITY
With 40,000 inhabitants, Rauma is one of the most unique and pleasant cities in Finland. This former harbour and lace-making town with its old wooden quarter is one of the best preserved in the country. It is one of the best preserved in the country and is the largest of its kind in the Nordic countries. Miraculously untouched by fires, almost 600 wooden houses display their delightful pastel-coloured facades in a maze of paved lanes covering almost 30 hectares. In 1991, this site was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Founded in 1442 on the outskirts of an ancient port, Rauma developed around a 15th century Franciscan monastery. Thanks to the export of wood, the town chartered its own sailing ships for a long time. In 1550, however, its inhabitants were forced to move to Helsinki to populate the new city that the Swedish king, Gustav I Vasa, decided to found. This forced exodus weakened the municipality. The origin of the lacemaking activity remains uncertain. The only certainty is that Rauma lace has long remained a reference in this field. Another particularity is the astonishing talk that takes place in the area resulting from the maritime activity of the city. This mixture of Latin, Old Flemish, Estonian, Swedish and English has given rise to a particular dialect that is difficult for other Finns to understand.
Rauma - beyond its past, which it has been able to preserve and enhance - is also looking to the future. The intense activity of the shipyards and the importance of the paper-processing sector are proof of this. Rauma is one of the economic nerve centres of the West Coast. Since 2005, Areva has been managing the nuclear power plant on the Olkiluoto peninsula, a few kilometres from Rauma. It employs around 7,000 people, mainly expatriates from all over Europe, many of them French. You will certainly come across some of them during your visit to Rauma. These 7,000 employees found it difficult to find accommodation at the beginning because Rauma is a small town... As a result, Areva bought a lot of buildings to house its employees, which caused housing prices to skyrocket. Even if it is true that Areva is boosting the region economically, the locals therefore tend to be more and more hostile to the presence of this French industry in their region. As for the French expatriates on the spot, they often complain aloud about living in Finland, forgetting that many Finns understand French, which hardly restores France's image in their eyes... Having said that, don't worry, the people of Rauma have nothing against tourists; just avoid telling them about Areva.
FORMER RAUMA
That's the only thing I did that r I only stayed one day and all the other activities were far away, I didn't have time to go.
The site of the old rama covers 30 hectares and has some 600 wooden houses (real dwelling houses or simple workshops) spread over 250 plots of land for a total population of about 800 inhabitants. The old town has retained its medieval character, the narrow, winding streets and the irregular terrain. The oldest buildings date back to the eighteenth century, the town having been ravaged by fire in 1640 and 1682. Most of the houses are now inhabited and privately owned; those along the two main streets and around the market square are mainly for commercial use.
Among the outstanding wooden buildings are the Kirsti, a seaman's house from the 18th and 19th centuries, and the Marela, a shipowner's house from the 18th century with a neo-Renaissance façade from the 19th century, both of which have now been converted into museums. The few stone buildings in the old town are the Church of the Holy Cross of the former Franciscan monastery, dating from the 15th century, with a choir decorated with medieval frescoes, and the old town hall built in 1776. Rauma had another church, also from the 15th century, the Church of the Holy Trinity, which was destroyed in the fire of 1640 and whose ruins have been preserved.
With 40,000 inhabitants, Rauma is one of the most unique and pleasant cities in Finland. This former harbour and lace-making town with its old wooden quarter is one of the best preserved in the country. It is one of the best preserved in the country and is the largest of its kind in the Nordic countries. Miraculously untouched by fires, almost 600 wooden houses display their delightful pastel-coloured facades in a maze of paved lanes covering almost 30 hectares. In 1991, this site was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Founded in 1442 on the outskirts of an ancient port, Rauma developed around a 15th century Franciscan monastery. Thanks to the export of wood, the town chartered its own sailing ships for a long time. In 1550, however, its inhabitants were forced to move to Helsinki to populate the new city that the Swedish king, Gustav I Vasa, decided to found. This forced exodus weakened the municipality. The origin of the lacemaking activity remains uncertain. The only certainty is that Rauma lace has long remained a reference in this field. Another particularity is the astonishing talk that takes place in the area resulting from the maritime activity of the city. This mixture of Latin, Old Flemish, Estonian, Swedish and English has given rise to a particular dialect that is difficult for other Finns to understand.
Rauma - beyond its past, which it has been able to preserve and enhance - is also looking to the future. The intense activity of the shipyards and the importance of the paper-processing sector are proof of this. Rauma is one of the economic nerve centres of the West Coast. Since 2005, Areva has been managing the nuclear power plant on the Olkiluoto peninsula, a few kilometres from Rauma. It employs around 7,000 people, mainly expatriates from all over Europe, many of them French. You will certainly come across some of them during your visit to Rauma. These 7,000 employees found it difficult to find accommodation at the beginning because Rauma is a small town... As a result, Areva bought a lot of buildings to house its employees, which caused housing prices to skyrocket. Even if it is true that Areva is boosting the region economically, the locals therefore tend to be more and more hostile to the presence of this French industry in their region. As for the French expatriates on the spot, they often complain aloud about living in Finland, forgetting that many Finns understand French, which hardly restores France's image in their eyes... Having said that, don't worry, the people of Rauma have nothing against tourists; just avoid telling them about Areva.
FORMER RAUMA
The site of the old rama covers 30 hectares and has some 600 wooden houses (real dwelling houses or simple workshops) spread over 250 plots of land for a total population of about 800 inhabitants. The old town has retained its medieval character, the narrow, winding streets and the irregular terrain. The oldest buildings date back to the eighteenth century, the town having been ravaged by fire in 1640 and 1682. Most of the houses are now inhabited and privately owned; those along the two main streets and around the market square are mainly for commercial use.
Among the outstanding wooden buildings are the Kirsti, a seaman's house from the 18th and 19th centuries, and the Marela, a shipowner's house from the 18th century with a neo-Renaissance façade from the 19th century, both of which have now been converted into museums. The few stone buildings in the old town are the Church of the Holy Cross of the former Franciscan monastery, dating from the 15th century, with a choir decorated with medieval frescoes, and the old town hall built in 1776. Rauma had another church, also from the 15th century, the Church of the Holy Trinity, which was destroyed in the fire of 1640 and whose ruins have been preserved.
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