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Introduction to the ancient city of Rauma, Finland

Rauma is a city in the province of Western Finland in the Republic of Finland, which acquired the status of a town in 1442. The ancient city of Rauma is located on the west coast of Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Bothnia, and is one of the oldest ports in Finland. The ancient city of Rauma is 50 kilometers away from Pori in the north and 92 kilometers away from Turku in the south. The total area of ​​the jurisdiction is 1110.14 square kilometers, of which the land area is 495.51 square kilometers and the water area is 614.63 square kilometers.

The ancient city of Rauma is famous for its exquisite lace making craftsmanship and ancient wooden buildings. The ancient city was built around the Franciscan monastery, and the Holy Cross Church in the mid-15th century still stands tall. This is a typical Nordic city with wooden structure; although it was destroyed by fire in the late 17th century, the style of ancient folk architecture still exists.

In 1991, according to the cultural heritage selection criteria (iv) (v), the ancient city of Rauma was approved by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee as a cultural heritage and included in the “World Heritage List”.

Selection was based on criterion (iv): The ancient city of Rauma is one of the best preserved and most extensive examples of Nordic architecture and urbanism.

Selection criteria (v): The ancient city of Rauma is an outstanding example of a Nordic wooden structure city and has witnessed the history of traditional Nordic settlements.

Evaluation of the World Heritage Committee:

The ancient city of Rauma, located in the Gulf of Botnia, is one of the oldest ports in Finland. It was built around the Franciscan monastery, and the Holy Cross Church in the mid-15th century still exists here. It is a typical Nordic wooden building structure, although it was damaged by fire in the 17th century, it still retains the style of ancient buildings.

Introduce

Grouma is located on the west coast of Finland, on the Gulf of Bothnia, and is one of the oldest ports in Finland. Ancient Rauma was built in 1422 AD. In the Middle Ages, Rauma before the 15th century was a commercial center developed around the monasteries of St. Finji. It has two rivers with good navigable conditions and a natural deep-water port with good mooring conditions, so many businessmen are happy to Use its shipping advantages to collect and distribute goods. Until 1442, Rauma was granted the status of a town and thus had its own administration. However, continuous fires and a royal edict in 1550 affected the development of the ancient Rauma.

Like the townspeople of Turku, Porvoo, and other towns, the citizens of Grouma were forced to relocate to Helsinki, the new city of Sweden’s King Gustav Vasa, and were not allowed to return home until 1557. The two fires in 1640 and 1682 gradually increased the distance between the city center and the port, so the ancient Rauma invested the port tax in improving the urban environment and began to rebuild away from the timber export port.

In the 17th century, customs barriers were built along the city, which limited the expansion of urban space, and the adjustment of planning regulations affected the development of the city. During the Great Panic of 1713-1721, Peter the Great invaded Finland, causing serious damage to the ancient city.

When all the blows gradually became a thing of the past, Rauma finally took a breather and entered a prosperous period. First of all, at the end of the 18th century, lace (Lace) was very popular, and many ladies liked to decorate their church hats. Many towns in Finland have put this craft into production, and Rauma’s top-quality hand-woven lace has become a high-quality brand-name product. Rich families built neo-Renaissance style buildings one after another, and they competed to show off their wealth; ordinary people enthusiastically built wooden houses with beautiful colors, such as light green, light purple, or pink yellow.

In the eyes of modern people, it looks like the location background in a romantic fairy tale. In 1890, in the last years of the sailing age, the ancient Rauma enjoyed unprecedented prosperity. At the same time, she also owned Finland’s first sailing fleet. Most of the buildings in this historic town reflect the Neo-Renaissance style.

The Rauma people carefully preserved as many as 600 historical houses within the 28-hectare area of ​​the ancient city, forming the largest ancient wooden building complex in Northern Europe. Rauma still retains its medieval structure of narrow city streets dating back to the 17th century. A long main traffic artery stretches along the ancient streets, stretching from the city center to the port. The market square, once the widening of this ancient road, has been widened in full accordance with medieval tradition. In the urban area, other early squares can still be found, with a balanced design reminiscent of the achievements of 17th-century urban planning.

In addition to several famous monuments, such as (built in 1449-1538) and the city hall (built in 1776), the houses, fashion shops and handicraft workshops in the city also fully demonstrate the rich architectural scene of ancient Rauma. With the exception of the church, the other buildings are later than the 1682 fire. The buildings were built according to the Norse-Germanic tradition, with stone as the foundation and wood as the main building material.

Ancient Rauma preserves a large number of buildings in the Neo-Renaissance style: narrow panelling, wainscoting and rich floral patterns around the windows. She is an excellent example of wooden architecture in early northern European cities, and it truly preserves the style and features of traditional Nordic residential areas. The town is typical of early Nordic Germanic town architecture and urban design, and it is by far one of the most beautiful and largest of its kind.

UNESCO included the ancient city of Rauma in the list of World Cultural Heritage in 1991. Walking on the stone streets left over from the Middle Ages, visitors can admire the old mansions made of narrow wooden boards one after another, as well as their elegant decorations. The wooden building complex is not an empty house museum. Most of them are still inhabited. Some have been converted into art galleries, and some have been converted into boutiques and restaurants.

This has also added a bit of new life to the historic sites, so that tourists will not feel boring. For example, in the Marela shipowner’s mansion (Marela), tourists can visit the wealthy family in the 18th century; the Kirsti sailor’s house (Kirsti) lays out the real life of ordinary people more than 200 years ago; and 14 The century-old medieval Church of the Holy Cross and the city hall, which was changed to the Rauma Museum, are also the focus of the tour.

Rauma, on the Gulf of Portnia, is one of Finland’s oldest ports, built around a Franciscan monastery, where the mid-15th-century Church of the Holy Cross still stands. It is a typical Nordic wooden building structure, although it was damaged by fire in the 17th century, it still retains the style of ancient buildings.