Pori

 

Pori (Swedish: Björneborg) is a city in Finland and the provincial center of Satakunta, located at the mouth of the Kokemäenjoki River on the Bothnian coast in Satakunta province. The city's population has been rising in recent years due to municipal associations, and on 30 June 2020, the city had a population of 83,790. Pori is the 10th largest city in Finland and the eighth largest urban area. The neighboring municipalities are Eurajoki, Kankaanpää, Kokemäki, Merikarvia, Nakkila, Pomarkku, Sastamala, Siikainen and Ulvila. In addition to the Pori countryside, Ahlainen, Noormarkku and Lavia, which are connected to the city, the former neighboring municipalities are Kullaa, which is connected to Ulvila, and Luvia, which is connected to Eurajoki.

Pori is known for its Jazz Festival, Yyteri's sandy beaches, Kirjurinluoto, the hockey club Pori's Äss, the football club FC Jazz, which won two championships in the Veikkausliiga in the 1990s, and Pori Theater, which is the first theater in Finnish. During its history, the city of Pori has burned nine times. In Finland, only Oulu has burned more often, ten times.

The city of Pori was founded in 1558 north of the then city of Ulvila, when the port of Ulvila had become impassable to large ships due to land uplift. Pori was established on the then coast, but due to land uplift, the shoreline of the Bothnian Sea has spread about ten kilometers from the city center. The seafront districts (Meri-Pori) are 20-30 km from the city center. Pori is still a significant port city on a Finnish scale; The ports are currently located in Mäntyluoto and Tahkoluoto. In addition, Pori has an airport and a train station. The most important road connections are Highways 2, 8, 11 and 23. When Noormarkku and Lavia were connected to Pori, the city's area expanded tens of kilometers inland.

The rest of the Swedish name of the city, Björneborg -borg (city, castle), is derived from the Finnish name Pori. The entire Swedish name means Bear City (Bear Castle) and the Latin name Arctopolis derived from ancient Greece also means Bear City. Pori is often used as a nickname in Finnish.

The present coat of arms of the city of Pori was confirmed by the President of the Republic for use on December 11, 1931, and was later redrawn by Olof Eriksson. The city council reaffirmed the use of the redrawn version on October 27, 1959. The bear theme of the coat of arms comes from a 17th century seal and the motto, Deus Protector noster or "God is our protector", is on the coat of arms of the city's founder, Juhana Herttua.

 

History

The city is born in the estuary of the river
The forerunner of Pori is the city of Ulvila, which was founded along the Kokemäenjoki River in the 14th century. However, sailing on the river became increasingly difficult. The importance of Kokemäki and Ulvila diminished as the ships could no longer reach the river.

Gustav Vaasa abolished the city of Ulvila in 1550 and ordered its inhabitants, as well as the inhabitants of Rauma, Porvoo and Ekenäs, to move to Helsinki. However, the bourgeoisie did not thrive in newly founded Helsinki, and after several applications, these residents of the abandoned cities were allowed to return to their former residential areas. However, a new order to move awaited the people of Ulvila, as Juhana Herttua wanted to establish a new port and trade city, Pori, closer to the sea, where the people of Ulvila had to move. His charter of the city of Pori, dated March 8, 1558, states: "Since we have seen that a strong trading city should be built on the sea side, and we cannot find any suitable place to fortify in Ulvila, we have chosen another place near Pori." At the beginning, Pori was inhabited by about 300 reluctant residents. However, they quickly began to find the pros and cons of their new residence, including an affordable location.

The era of counterattacks
The city of Pori grew and prospered, and the royal manor of Pori was built there. At the end of 1563, however, the situation suddenly changed when John and his brother King Erik XIV disputed. The people of Pori found themselves in a situation where they had to choose between Eerik and Juhana. They rejected Juhana, thus submitting to Erik. Eerik was pleased, and in 1564 gave the people of Pori the prize of city and free trade rights. The development of the city looked very good until it was destroyed by fire in the 1570s. Fire destroyed about a third of the city, but it was soon rebuilt again.

In the early 17th century, Pori had grown into Finland's third largest city. There were less than a thousand inhabitants, and there was no end to the increase in population. In the 1640s, the Pori region was about to be separated into its own county, but the Pori county remained short-lived. [24] However, it was not the only setback experienced by Pori at that time. Pori's pedagogy was discontinued in the 1630s, and its students were forcibly relocated to Turku. Peter Brahe tried to alleviate the city's educational deficit by establishing a trivial school there, but that prestigious institution was completely destroyed in the 1688 city fire. The trivial school was transferred to Rauma and a much more modest pedagogy was opened in its place. As a result of that series of events, Pori drifted into a discount mode. It was conquered in the great Northern War, and the Russian conquerors destroyed the city’s infrastructure to a large extent. However, with the advent of peace, the city began to recover again when it was exempt from taxes.

March of the manufacturing industry
In the middle of the 18th century, the population of Pori rose to over a thousand. Pori had once again got a taste of good development. The drivers of growth are, among other things, abundant foreign trade and land trade in Pori and its surrounding areas. Pori regained its rights in 1765 after a break of more than a hundred years. Exports included grain, livestock, flax and timber. Pori also had an awesome merchant fleet whose ships even visited Germany. The manufacture of sailing ships was significant. The manufacturing industry also raised its head in Pori at that time, and the establishment of a tobacco factory started an industrial revolution, as a result of which a dyeing plant and a flannel weaving mill were also established in the city. The city thus did relatively well again, until the fire again destroyed the city in 1801. The fire almost completely destroyed the city, leaving about 3,000 inhabitants at home.

Reconstruction work began quickly. Pori was still an economically significant city; shipping was significant due to exports of sawn timber and tar. The merchant fleet grew even more spectacular, and in the 1840s the first Steamships were introduced. But it did not take long for the fire to return again to destroy the city on May 22, 1852. This fire destroyed 3/4 of the buildings in Pori, and the poor townspeople built temporary homes from the fire debris. The losers of all their possessions moved into pit dwellings dug in the sand canvas. City leaders got enough of the fires, and decided to stop them once and for all. A new downtown with wide park streets was planned.

 

Ship equipment and the merchant fleet waned in the mid-19th century. Shipbuilding continued to be lively on the coast, e.g. In Luvia, Reposaari and Ahlais. Some of the city's newly established factories went bankrupt, but Pori had become an industrial city. The sawmill, metal and textile industries were the largest employers. In 1852 Rosenlew was founded and in 1900 the Pori cotton mill. Industrial activity gave birth to the upper class of Pori, which quickly took over the coastal quarters of the South Shore and became a residential area for a wealthy people. At the same time, however, an even poorer working class emerged. The gap between rich and poor caused a revolt, and in the early 20th century, the working population began to demand better treatment.

After the wars, the city’s population rose at a rapid pace. The limit of 75,000 inhabitants was exceeded in 1970. The highest peak was in the mid-1970s, when Pori had more than 80,000 inhabitants. After that, however, the population began to decline.

 

Geography

According to the measurements of the National Land Survey of Finland, the area of ​​Pori on 1 January 2020 was 2,062.00 km², of which 1,156.01 km² is land, 61.86 km² is inland water areas and the remaining 844.13 km² is seawater areas. The Kokemäenjoki River flows through Pori, which has had a great impact on the city's history. The width of the river at the center is just under 200 meters. The river flow rate in the urban area is low. Its estuary, where the estuary islands, known as the islets of Pori, lie between the mouths of the river, ie the ditches, begins to feel the center of Pori.

The soil in and around Pori varies from the flat or more broken moraine land of the southern and northern edges to the ridge material of Yyterinniemi and the clay, sand and sand strata of the Kokemäenjoki estuary and the river bank. The coastal areas of the city are low and flat land, with an average altitude of less than ten meters. The sea bays in the area are usually shallow. On the coast, the sand has accumulated in places into gentle dunes, which can be seen in Yyteri, whose sandy beaches are the most famous in Finland.

The most common rock type in Pori soil is sandstone. It has spread into the bedrock into a flat mattress and is covered with thick loose layers of soil. The highest point in Pori is Tornivuori in the eastern part of Lavia.source? According to the basic map, the peak exceeds 137.5 meters.

Pori is an archipelago association, ie the provisions concerning the archipelago municipality apply to its archipelago parts.

Regional associations
Before regional unions, the area of ​​the city of Pori was 66.1 square kilometers, of which 35 square kilometers were land and 31.1 water areas.

Bedrock
The bedrock appears as silo cliffs on the sea coast and islets and in some places even as ridges of hills. The exposed bedrock has eroded into large boulders in some places. This is seen in Ahlais, for example. Kokemäenjokilaakson, as well as the southern and south-western side of bedrock is sandstone. Diabase rocks penetrate through the sandstone layer in Luvia and the southwestern parts of Nakkila. On the northern and northeastern side of the Kokemäenjoki River, the bedrock is mainly of various diorites. The bedrock lines often follow the direction of the Kokemäenjoki River, ie they are in the northwest – southeast direction.

The provincial stone of Satakunta is a sandstone. According to structural studies, the sandstone of Satakunta is a estuary sediment, where the main transport directions of the material have been northwest and north. Ores have been explored in the Pori regions, especially in Ahlais. Ore minerals have been found in surveys, but the ore content has been so low that it has not been worthwhile to start mining.

Soil
The soil in the edge areas of Pori is especially moraine in the direction of Viasvesi and Kuuminaistenniemi, which consists of aggregates of all sizes. Usually the moraine lands are covered with spruce forest. In Ahlais and Ruosniemi, moraine ridges are eroded by rock outcrops and there are clay and peat soils in the depressions. Ridge material is especially in Yyterinniemi. Sand and gravel have been taken from the ridges in places for various purposes, so only large bumps remain. Sand on the coast has accumulated in some places into sand dunes. The most common soil types in lowland plains and river embankments are clay, loam and fine sand.

The clay layers are in some places up to 50 meters thick. Fields containing clay and sand are excellent arable land. The largest bogs around Pori are located in Kulla and the eastern parts of Noormarkku. Few of them are no longer in their natural state. The bogs have been dried and put into cultivation and peat has been taken from them in places.

 

Bodies of water
Pori has many water bodies. The coast of the Bothnian Sea is about 20 kilometers near Pori. The bays are shallow. The seawater flow directions are on the coast from south to north. The water level varies on average 130 centimeters. The seawater temperature in the pits is 2–3 degrees, while the surface water warms to 14–15 degrees in July. Coastal waters freeze in November-December and the strength of solid ice is 30-50 centimeters. The water in Pori's Kokemäenjoki River has been very polluted, but it has started to purify when the treatment plants prescribed by the new water laws have been put into operation.