Raahe (Swedish: Brahestad) is a town on the northwest coast of
Finland on the shores of the Gulf of Bothnia. Raahe is located in
the western part of the province of Northern Ostrobothnia, and is
the center of the Raahe region. Count Peter Brahe founded the town
bearing his name in 1649 to promote trade. Raahe developed into a
major port, school and industrial city. Old Raahe, or Puu-Raahe,
which is connected to the city center and is one of the
best-preserved 19th-century Finnish wooden cities, gives its special
stamp to the city.
The population of Raahe is, as a result of
the municipal associations, 24,577 people. The city covers an area
of 1,888.97 km², of which 12.82 km² are water bodies (1 January
2020). The population density is 24.2 inhabitants / km². The Raahe
region, together with Raahe, is formed by the municipalities of
Pyhäjoki and Siikajoki. The total population of the area is about
35,000. Originally, the city was founded in two languages, but today
it is officially in Finnish. The local newspaper Raahen Seutu and
the free distribution magazine Raahelainen are published in Raahe.
The city of Raahe is connected to three neighboring
municipalities: Saloinen (1973), Pattijoki (2003) and Vihanti
(2013). Raahe's current neighboring municipalities are Haapavesi,
Oulainen, Pyhäjoki, Siikajoki and Siikalatva.
The city's site plan was drawn by land surveyor Claes Claesson in the
17th century. The layout of the area originally followed the ideals of
the Great Power era and was a regular Renaissance grid pattern, which
was divided into six blocks. The original square plan can be seen in the
well-preserved Old Raahe district, which is a protected wooden town
milieu. The old buildings in the center are largely wooden, with a few
exceptions such as Raahe Yhdysbanki's former office building and Raahe
Central School.
Raahe's church is a symbol of Raahe and an
integral part of the town's appearance. The church was built between
1909 and 1912, when the former wooden church had burned down in 1908.
The church represents national romanticism and art nouveau. The church
tower rises to 56 meters and the church can seat 580 people. The church
has undergone several renovations since its completion, the most recent
of which was done in 2010–2011, when efforts were made to return the
interior of the church to its original orientation, including its
colors.
Another very prominent building in the city is the Raahe
tower house. The 44-meter high tower house was built in 1958 as a water
tower, where it was used until 2019. In addition, the tower has 11
residential floors. There is a water tank above the apartments, on top
of which there is a restaurant and a view terrace and a cafe. The
building has an elevator with a view and from the top floors there is a
far-reaching view of the Raahe archipelago. The building was renovated
in 1994.
Villages and Districts
Some of Raahe's neighborhoods
are considered villages in Raahe. The districts of Palonkylä and
Saloinen are not considered villages in Raahe in zoning matters, but a
village association operates in both districts. Pattijoki is not a
village in terms of planning and there is no functioning village
association.
Time before the city was founded
Raahe's most notable ancient
relic is Pattijoen Kastelli, which is the largest of the stone blocks
made of natural stones found in Northern Ostrobothnia. The uniform
ramparts of the giant church are about 7–11 meters thick and almost 2
meters high, and they form a 36 × 62 m rectangle. It has not been
possible to find out the purpose of the castle. It may have been a base
for sealers.
In the Middle Ages, the Raahe region was an area of
dispute between Satakunta and Karelian landowners. In the Middle Ages,
the land holdings of the Satakunta people strengthened in the area, and
some researchers think that the peace border of Pähkinäsaari signed in
1323 ran along Pattijoki.
The earliest information about the
settlement of the Raahe region is from 1413, when there were 40 houses
in the administration of Ranna, later Salo. The settlement increased
rapidly in the 16th century.
Saloinen Satamalahti has been a
famous trading place since early times. In 1616, by order of Gustavus II
Adolf, an annual free market was held in nearby Markkinaniemi, which
started on Olav's day and lasted for two weeks. During the reign of
Queen Kristina and with the support of Count Pietari Brahe, a small town
was founded. This supported Count Brahe's plan to improve coastal and
inland connections. It was a short trip to the port of Saloinen from
Kainuu, Pohjois Savo and Pohjois Karelia.
The founding of the
city and the 17th century
The town of Raahe was founded by the
Governor General of Finland, Pietari Brahe, on December 5, 1649. The
town was initially planned to be founded near the harbor, because the
old Saloinen harbor had already subsided too much. The new city was
placed on a promontory protected by islands in Fantinlahti's cape. The
city was first named the city of Salo. In 1652, Count Brahe bought the
entire Saloinen keep with its towns from the cash-strapped crown. Then
he named the city Brahestad after himself. Later, the name changed in
the people's mouth to its current form Raahe. In 1666, Brahe added
another 30 houses from the villages of Pattijoki and Olkijoki to the
town. In 1690, the Raahe parish was merged into the main parish of
Raahe-Salo, the main church of which became the Raahe church. The trade
connections of the young city extended deep inland all the way to
Varkaute and Liper. The good success of the new city aroused envy in
Oulu and Kokkola. At their request, the town of Raahe was ordered to be
abolished within two years in 1680. However, the devout requests of the
people of Raahela prevented the implementation of the decision. The
first mayor of Raahe and at the same time a prominent businessman was
Henrik Corte, whose son and grandson served as mayors of the city until
1728.
In the first two decades of the 18th century, the Great Northern War
and bigotry almost completely destroyed the city. In 1705, the town had
641 inhabitants, while after the peace, there were only 134 residents of
Raahela. Most of the town's bourgeoisie had fled the war to Sweden. The
city gradually recovered and trading started again. In 1791, Raahe
received township rights, further enlivening the city's traffic and
trade. Raahelain ships were already moving in the North Sea and the
Mediterranean. Among other things, tar, boards, tallow, butter and furs
were transported via Raahe. The improvement of road connections promoted
the competitiveness of the export port. The most prominent person in the
city at that time was merchant and ship owner Johan Lang (1745–1823).
19th century
The economic life of the city began to rise in the
19th century when shipping in Finland revived. However, the rise was
slowed down first by the strains of the war in Finland. On October 6,
1810, there was a big fire that destroyed a third of all the buildings
in the city. In connection with the reconstruction after the fire, the
city got a new market, Isotori (now Pekkatori), where the statue of
Peter Brahe is also located today. Next, Raahe was tested by the Crimean
War that took place between 1854 and 1856.
In the Crimean War, or
the Oolanni War, the English landed in Raahe at the end of May 1854 and
burned the shipyards, tar yard, eleven ships of the pitch burner, 25,000
barrels of tar and other property. Only six of the city's 32 ships
remained. Fortunately, the wind blew from the mainland to the sea, which
is why the city itself was spared from destruction. Despite the attack,
the end of the 19th century was a time of prosperity for the city. At
the end of the century, Raahe had a large merchant fleet, which at its
peak included 58 of the city's own sailing ships. In the years
1867–1875, Raahe was Finland's largest shipping town and most of its
inhabitants earned their living from shipping. Other important
livelihoods at that time were the export of tar, timber and butter. The
transition to the steamship era and the completion of the railway to
Oulu in 1886 reduced Raahe's importance as an export port.
Trade in Raahe collapsed in the 20th century and the town fell into a
quiet life. The last Raahela sailing ships, Merilokki, Lännetär and
Tiira, were built in 1919–1920. The only way to get trade to Raahe was
to get a railway connection. This was realized in 1900, when the
Raahe–Tuomioja branch line was completed. The completion of Lapaluoto
harbor at the same time started the transportation of timber and the
industrialization of the city. Ruona Oy developed into a more
significant industrial plant, which at its peak employed approx. 700
people. The bankruptcy of the factory in 1952 and the lull in the export
of round timber paralyzed shipping again.
During the civil war,
on February 1, 1918, the whites captured the city, taking 230 Russians
as prisoners. The notorious Raahe prison camp was located in the city.
However, until the middle of the century, the main livelihoods of
the city were the small-scale sawmill and machine shop industry and the
port. A saying has been preserved from the past, according to which only
cows and semis walked the streets of Raahe at that time. On the other
hand, Raahe became known as a school town thanks to the teachers'
seminar, the Raahe Bourvari- and Kauppakoulu and the Lybecker handicraft
school.
After the war, the people of Raahela, like other Finns,
left in large numbers to Southern Finland and Sweden. Raahe went on a
new rise with the establishment of the Rautaruukki steel factory in the
1960s. Saloinen municipality was merged with Raahe in 1973, Pattijoki
municipality in 2003 and Vihanni municipality in 2013.
The total area of Raahe is 1,888.94 km2, of which 12.89 km2 are water
bodies. The population density is 23.71 inhabitants/km2. The large
archipelago located in front of the city is rich in biodiversity. A
special feature of the nature of the Raahe area is the land uplift,
which raises new land from the sea.
Climate
Raahe's climate is
maritime. The most significant emission sources in Raahe are SSAB Europe
Oy, Nordkalk Oy Ab, Raahen Voima Oy and Raahen Energia Oy.
Archipelago and waterways
A large number of islands lie off Raahe.
These include Akkunalauta, Iso-Kraaseli, Kalla, Kello, Konikari,
Koninpää, Kumpele, Louekari, Maapauha, Pikku-Kraaseli, Preiskari,
Puluvärkki, Rääpäkka, Rääpäkänriutta, Smitinriutta, Smitti, Taksu,
Ulkopauha, Ammä, Aijä. Right outside the city are Ulko-Fantti,
Maa-Fantti and Musta. A large part of the archipelago belongs to the
Natura 2000 network. In Raahe, the Natura 2000 network also includes the
bird water area between the Pattijoki and Olkijoki estuaries, and far
inland the wilderness-type Pitkäisneva area, where the clear water
Pitkäislähde is a specialty.
The Raahe archipelago offers
year-round recreational opportunities and camping services, and it was
awarded the Travel Destination of the Year recognition in 2016.
In Raahe, the majority of the tasks of the Nature Conservation Act fall
under the competence of the Environmental Center of North Ostrobothnia.
To the south of Pienen Kumpele is Lapaluoto, which has become a
promontory due to land uplift. The biggest bays are Kuljunlahti,
Siniluotonlahti and Tammilahti, which almost form a lake, and the open
Kultalanlahti. Land uplift is constantly changing the shape of the coast
and the archipelago. Several islands rise, the old fairways become
shallower and the islands turn into capes. Raahe was once founded on a
promontory overlooking Kaupunginlahti. In those days, the sea was so
deep up to the shore that even large ships could sail to the shore of
Kauppatori without hindrance. The rise of the seabed and siltation of
the bottom have changed the travel routes. Even in the middle of the
19th century, it was possible to row between Pitkäkari and the mainland
as far as Härkäsalme at the mouth of Pattijoki. Similarly, heavy barges
were used to travel through the strait between Musta and Maa-Fanti,
which is now overgrown. Kaupunginlahtik is also shallow, silted up and
about to land.
The region has little water resources. Small
insignificant rivers and ditches flow into Pohjanlahti, including
Pattijoki, Piehinkijoki, Piipsanjoki, Luohuanjoki and Haapajoki. The
most notable lakes are Viitajärvi, Kirkkojärvi and the Haapajärvi
reservoir, which is comparable to a lake, with an area of 1.5 km² and a
usable volume of 11.5 million. m³.
The bedrock of the area is variable. In Pitksäkari and nearby
islands, the bedrock is plagioclase porphyrite. Near the core of the
city, the bedrock is granite. Mica slates and phyllites in Lapaluoto and
Antinkanga. In the southern parts there is amphibolite. In the
archipelago there are silage rocks exposed by sea urchins. On the border
of Pattijoki, there are plenty of large boulders and exposed rocks such
as Nahkakallio and Jylhänkalliot. At Pattijoki, the bedrock on the coast
is mica gneiss. Towards the interior, the rock type changes into granite
gneiss and granite. There are also small gabbro and diorite areas in the
area of the former Vihanni municipality. There is zinc-rich ore in
Lampisaari, which also contains copper, sulfur and lead.
Sand is
the most common type of loose soil in the Raahe region. It is found in
large areas, for example south of Piehinkijoki. There are also quicksand
fields on the coast. Vast sand fabrics comprising moraine humps and in
some places broken by marshes continue from the coast deep into the
interior, there is also peat at Pattijoki, there are few clay loams in
the area. Going towards Vihanti, the terrain becomes very moraine-rich.
The most prominent ridges are Vihanninharju and Lumijärvenkangas.
Lumijärvenkangas is part of the national ridge protection program.
The coast is a low plain, but the terrain gently rises inland. The
area varies in altitude, but even the highest points are usually 110
meters above sea level. South of Piehinkijoki, the landscape changes
into a typical expanse of Ostrobothnia.
Forests and swamps
The
forests in the area are partially swampy spruce and pine forests. Thick
alder bushes and sea buckthorn grow on the coasts. There are extensive
coastal meadows on the sea shores, which have, among other things, plant
rarities of the Arctic Ocean coast, such as ruijanesikko and vihnesera.
The swamps of the region, Juttisuo, Peuraneva and Ispinäneva, Märsyneva,
Kuuhkamonneva, Ahmaneva and Hirvineva, which is partly in the Raahe
area. Raahe's nevs are modest compared to Ostrobothnia's large nevs.
Raahe received township rights in 1791. In 2007, the town's tax rate
was 19.75%. Today, the Raahe region is especially known as an area of
steelmaking, heavy metal, shipping, machine shops, information
technology fields and education, as well as rural businesses. Raahe is
home to SSAB's steel factory, which was known as the largest integrated
factory complex in the Nordic countries even in the 1980s. The steel
mill's products include various steel sheets, coils and webs, as well as
semi-finished products from the engineering industry. In addition to the
city of Raahe, the municipality of Pyhäjoki and Siikajoki make up the
region with about 35,000 inhabitants.
Raahe is an old sea town.
In the era of sailing ships, after the middle of the 19th century,
Raahela ship owners had the largest sailing fleet in Finland, which at
its peak comprised almost 60 ships. Today, the port of Raahe is the
sixth busiest port in Finland and around 700 ships visit it every year.
Various raw materials and bulk cargoes, steel, lumber, containers and
project-based shipping are transported through the port.
With the
metal economy, Raahe has grown from a city haunted by immigration to the
third largest city in Oulu county after Oulu and Kajaani. Like Oulu, the
city is currently striving to develop information technology expertise
in cooperation with the metal industries (Steelpolis) and ICT industries
(Softpolis) network and the companies belonging to the ProMetal
competence center program.
In 2007, Raahe's workplace
self-sufficiency was 114.4 percent. Agriculture and forestry account for
approximately one percent of jobs, industry 43 percent, construction six
percent, and trade and other services and social services account for 50
percent.
At the beginning of 2014, the population of Raahe was 25,507 people.
In terms of population, Raahe is the 42nd largest municipality in
Finland. The population density in the city is 42.75 inhabitants per
square kilometer. There are 35,032 inhabitants in Raahe district. There
were only 27 Swedish-speaking residents in Raahe in 2007, and the city
is officially monolingual. The population is predicted to decrease
little by little. According to forecasts, the population will be 20,318
in 2030 and 19,160 in 2040.
At the end of 2013, 19.3 percent of
the city's residents were between the ages of 0 and 14, 61.6 percent
were between the ages of 15 and 64, and 19.2 percent were over the age
of 65.
The following diagram shows the population development of
the city every five years since 1980. The regional division used is in
accordance with the situation on January 1, 2017.