Raseborg is a city in Finland, on the south coast in the western
part of the province of Uusimaa. The city of Raseborg was born on
January 1, 2009, when the cities of Ekenäs and Karjaa and the
municipality of Pohja merged. The municipal councils decided on the
merger on June 18, 2007. The city of Raseborg has 27,597
inhabitants, of which slightly more than half live in the area of
the pre-union city of Ekenäs. Raseborg is the 39th largest
municipality in Finland in terms of population. 64.9 per cent of the
residents of Raseborg are Swedish-speaking.
The name of the
city comes from Raseborg Castle in Snappertuna on Ekenäs. Jouko
Vahtola has considered that the Germans, who may have founded the
castle, named the castle after the Diocese of Ratzeburg near Lübeck.
Historically, the region has belonged to the province of Raseborg in
the Middle Ages. A new coat of arms was chosen for the city on the
basis of an invitation competition, which has been criticized for
its indifference and selection procedures.
Of the Finnish
municipalities, Raseborg has the sixth largest number of summer
cottages. At the beginning of 2009, there were 6,200.
The
neighboring municipalities of Raseborg are Hanko, Kemiönsaari, Salo,
Inkoo and Lohja.
Raasepori's most famous attraction is the Raasepori castle
ruins, which are the most significant historical remains of
Tammisaari and the whole of western Uusimaa. The castle has
been partially restored and in the summer there is a summer
theater near the castle, and the actors also act as guides
in the castle. The Grabbe canal also dates from the Middle
Ages.
There are numerous churches in the city, the
largest of which is the Tammisaari church built in the 17th
century. Its construction work was started in 1651 by Count
Gustaf Adolf Lejonhufvud. The church got its current look
after the fire that destroyed the city in 1821. Tenhola,
Karjaa and Pohja churches are medieval gray stone churches.
The other churches in the city area in Snappertuna and
Mustio are wooden churches from the 17th and 18th centuries.
The current Bromarvi church was built on the site of an
earlier church that burned down in 1980–1981.
There
are also many monuments in Raasepori. Mannerheim's stone is
located in Harparskog, which was erected on the spot where
Marshal Mannerheim received the passing march of the troops
fighting on the Hanko front in 1941. The Maasilla Battle
Memorial is located in Karjaa and the Reds who died in
Tammisaari Prison Camp is located in Dragsvik.
There
are several historical mining villages along the Mustionjoki
river. Tammisaari's oldest district, Barckens Udde, is
protected and calmed down from new buildings. Its building
base consists only of buildings from the 18th and 19th
centuries.
The Tammisaari Archipelago National Park
comprises part of the extensive Raasepor archipelago. In
Tammisaari, there is the Tammisaari Nature Center, which
presents the nature of the archipelago. It is possible to
get to know the Tammisaari archipelago on an archipelago
cruise made by M/S Sunnan II. The ship is a former inland
steamship from Saimaa. Karjaan Lepinjärvi (Läppträsket) is a
bird lake.
There are numerous old manors and castles
in the city area, such as Mustio Castle and the ruined
Grabbacka Castle and Junkarsborg Wooden Castle.
The
long-inhabited area has many cemeteries from different eras.
They can be found, among others, in Brobacka, Stora and
Lilla näset, and Kroggårdsmalmen. In addition to this,
popular sights include the ironworks of Billnäs and Fiskars
and Antskog, which are the birthplaces of Finland's
industrialization.
Raasepori is located in Western Uusimaa right at the base of
Hankoniemi. Pohjanpitäjänlahti cuts through the city area in a
southwest-northeast direction, on the shore of which Tammisaari's
downtown area is located. The coast of the city is dominated by numerous
islands that belong to the Tammisaari archipelago.
In general,
the soil of Raasepori is dominated by Salpausselkä's mainly moraine- and
clay-derived soil. The forests in the city area are mainly dry forest.
The bodies of water mainly consist of deep sea bays and straits between
islands, as well as more than two hundred lakes of at least one hectare.
The largest lakes are Gennarbyviken, Määrjärvi, Iso-Kisko and Degersjön.
The southeastern part of Iso-Kisko is located in Raasepori. There are no
great rivers; the most significant is Mustionjoki.
Raasepori was born in 2009, when Tammisaari, Pohja and Karjaa united
after a two-year merger process. Several municipalities have been
located in the area.
Raasepori Castle was built in Snappertuna in
the 14th century. There are also the first written sources from those
times about Karjaa and Tammisaari.
Tammisaari received city
rights in 1528, when the area's administration moved from Snappertuna to
there. The existence of a significant church in the city could have
saved its city rights, as King Charles XI was still about to revoke them
in the 1690s. In the 17th century, the city's trade also suffered from
mercantilism, i.e. state regulation and patronage. Among other things,
in 1614, the entry of foreign ships into the city's port was prohibited,
and in 1636, foreign trade was completely prohibited.
In the 16th
century, several of Finland's first ironworks were established in the
Raasepori area. Important iron-working villages such as Fiskars,
Billnäs, Fagervik, Antskog and Åminnefors developed in the area.
The area, which was divided into several municipalities, began to
integrate in the late 20th century. However, Mustio was joined to Karjaa
rural municipality as early as 1929. Karjaa mlk, on the other hand, was
joined to Karjaa in 1969. In 1977, large municipal mergers were made in
the area; Snappertuna and Tammisaari mlk were joined to Tammisaari and
Bromarv was divided between Tenhola and Hanko. In 1993, Tenhola was
still connected to Tammisaari.
The largest settlements in Raasepori are the former city centers of
Tammisaari and Karjaa. Tammisaari is an old town, founded in the 16th
century. Karjaa, on the other hand, only developed into a settlement
center around the railway station in the 20th century.
Tammisaari
area
Karja area
Backby, Backgränd, Bengtsmora, Björnbollstad,
Bondby, Brasby, Bredvik, Brynikbacka, Bålaby, Båtsmora, Bällarby, Bällby
Bäljars, Degerby, Domargård, Dönsby, Finnbacka, Finnby, Grabbacka,
Gösbacka, Heimos, Hållsnäs, Högben, Ingvallsby, Joddböle, Jällsby ,
Kansbacka, Karja station (Karis station), Karja center (Karis centrum),
Kasabacka, Kasaby, Kaunislahti (Grundsjö), Kiila (Kila), Kleven,
Knapsby, Konungsböle, Kroggård, Kudiby, Kurby, Kvarvbacka, Leppi (Läpp),
Lågbacka, Lövkulla, Mangård, Meltola (Mjölbolsta), Mjölnarby, Mustio
(Svartå), Nyby, Osmundsböle, Pappila (Prästgården), Päsarby, Reiböle,
Romsarby, Sannäs, Sepänkylä (Smedsby), Snällböle, Starkom, Sutarkulla,
Svarvarböle, Svedja, Tallmo, Torsböle, Visanbacka, Västanby, Österby
Bottom area
Andkärr, Ansku (Antskog), Baggby, Björsby, Bockboda,
Bollsta (Bollstad), Borgby, Brunkom, Brödtorp, Böle, Dalkarby, Degernäs,
Djekenkulla, Ekerö, Elimo, Fiskari (Fiskars), Gammelby, Gennäs,
Grabbskog, Grännäs, Gumnäs , Hindraböle, Hällskulla, Jernvik, Kiila
(Kila), Klinkbacka, Koppskog, Kuovila (Skogböle), Kvarnby, Kyrkbacka,
Lillfors, Mörby, Näsby, Pappila (Prästgården), Persböle, Pinjainen
(Billnäs), Pohjankuru (Skuru), Ramskulla, Sidsbacka, Sjösäng,
Skarpkulla, Skogäng, Skrittskog, Slicko, Sonabacka, Spakanäs, Starrböle,
Sunnanvik, Svedjeby, Sällvik, Tomasböle, Torby, Trädbollstad,
Uusikartano (Nygård), Vesterby, Joensuu (Åminne), Åminnefors
According to the 2018 regional distribution, there are the following
parishes of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland in Raasepori:
Ekenäsnejdens svenska församling
Karis-Pojo svenska församling
The
Finnish congregation of Raasepori
These parishes make up the
Raseborg parish union (Swedish: Raseborgs kyrkliga samfällighet).
Among the congregations of the Orthodox Church of Finland, the
Helsinki Orthodox congregation operates in the Raasepor area.
Bethesda Church - Pingstkyrkan i Raseborg and Karis Betelförsamlingen
operate from the member congregations of the Finnish Pentecostal Church
in Raasepor.
In the following list, parishes in the current area of Raasepor that
have been dissolved in historical time have been mentioned.
Bromarv
congregation (Swedish: Bromarvs församling, divided between
Ekenäsnejdens svenska församling and Raasepor Finnish congregation in
2015)
Karis svenska församling (connected to Karis-Pojo svenska
församling 2015)
Karjaa congregation (Swedish: Karis församling,
divided into Karjaa Finnish and Swedish congregation in 1997)
Karja
Finnish congregation (joined to Raasepor Finnish congregation in 2015)
Mustio factory parish (Swedish: Svartå bruksförsamling, joined to Karja
parish in 1923)
Pohja suomalainen seurakunta (joined to Raasepor's
Finnish saurakunta in 2015)
Pojo svenska församling (connected to
Karis-Pojo svenska församling 2015)
Snappertuna congregation
(Swedish: Snappertuna församling, divided between Ekenäsnejdens svenska
församling and Raasepor Finnish congregation in 2015)
Tammisaari City
Parish (Swedish: Ekenäs stadsförsamling, merged with Tammisaari Country
Parish as Tammisaari Parish in 1977)
Tammisaari country parish
(Swedish: Ekenäs landsförsamling, merged with Tammisaari city parish to
become Tammisaari parish in 1977)
Tammisaari congregation (Swedish:
Ekenäs församling, divided between Ekenäsnejdens svenska församling and
Raasepor Finnish congregation in 2015)
Tenhola parish (Swedish:
Tenala församling, divided between Ekenäsnejdens svenska församling and
Raasepor Finnish congregation in 2015)
Highway 25 from Hyvinkää to Hanko passes through Raasepori. It passes
by both the centers of Karjaa and Tammisaari, and about three kilometers
from the center of Karjaa, the main road 51 leading to Helsinki departs
from it. The main road 52 leads from Tammisaari to Sal.
Karjaa
railway station is a crossing station where the coastal line between
Helsinki and Turku intersects the line leading from Hyvinkää to Hanko.
Some of the trains between Helsinki and Turku stop in Karja. There is
also a commuter train to Hanko. There is only freight traffic between
Hyvinkää and Karjaa. There are four passenger transport stations in the
municipality, Karjaa, Dragsvik, Tammisaari and Skogby, the latter three
of which have connections to both Hanko and Karjaa every two hours in
each direction.
Pohja is the birthplace of the Finnish metal industry. In Pitäjä,
around 1630, the Antskog ironworks, in 1641 the Billnäs ironworks, and
in 1649 the Fiskars ironworks were established.
Today, the most
notable companies operating in the Raasepor area are:
SBA-Interior
Ab, Mustio, ship industry (furniture, wall and floor elements), and
laser and metalwork subcontracting.
Oy Sisu Auto Ab, Finland's only
truck manufacturer
Fiskars
The hometown of Sirkus Finlandia is
Raasepori
Toroidion Oy, electric car manufacturer.
Garrison
The
Uusimaa Brigade operates in Tammisaari's Dragsvik.
In the area of the former Pohja municipality, there are two
full-scale golf courses, two riding centers, a skiing center and a
sports college.
Sports clubs
Bollklubben-46 (BK-46), football
and handball
Ekenäs Sport Club (ESC) futsal
IF Raseborg, athletics
FBC Raseborg Knights (FBC Raseborg), floorball
Fiskarin Urheilijat
-47, orienteering, athletics
Karjaan Career, orienteering
Ekenäs
Idrottsförening, football and handball
OK Raseborg, orienteering
Raaseporin Korilla, frisbee golf and paintball
Ruukkigolf, golf
Billnäs riders, riding club
HC-Grann, equestrian club
Ice Team
Raseborg, ice hockey and ice sports
Team Tamminen (cycling club)
Länsiuusmaa cyclists LUP-82
Raaseporin Kendo - Rensei-Kan ry, kendo