Stories of Old Town Raahe

In the 1600s, a law restricted trade to designated markets. Charles IX ordered merchants to move to coastal ports, one being Saloinen. In 1616, Saloinen was granted a free market starting on St. Olaf’s Day, lasting two weeks. Merchants arrived from various cities, and farmers sold goods like tar and butter.

When Raahe was founded, the market moved from Saloinen to Rantatori, next to the museum. After Raahe’s 1810 fire, market trade changed, moving to the newly built Isotori (now Pekkatori) in the town center. Animal trade shifted to Härkätori, while fish trading remained at Rantatori.

Pekkatori, designed after the fire by Gustaf Odenwall, is a well-preserved Italian Renaissance-style square. It’s one of the best-preserved wooden town squares in Finland, surrounded by 19th-century wooden classicist buildings. Many prominent Raahe families, including merchants, councilmen, and shipowners, built homes around it.

Pekkatori became a famous market square. In the 1800s, Raahe held three annual markets: a month-long butter market in September, an autumn market in October, and a Candlemas market in February. Agricultural products, timber, livestock, and fish were sold. Bartering was common, with patrons trading goods like timber for salt and tobacco. The markets also featured entertainment like dances and fairs with carousels. Market police were necessary to control unruly behavior.

In 1888, when a statue of Pietari Brahe was erected in Pekkatori, trading moved back to Rantatori. Animal trade continued at Härkätori. Pietari Brahe, also known as Pekka, founded Raahe in 1649. He was appointed governor-general of Finland, improving the education system, postal service, roads, and inns. Many Finnish cities owe their existence to Brahe. The statue in Pekkatori was sculpted by Walter Runeberg, and the local festival Pekanpäivät is celebrated in his honor each summer, with a flower wreath placed on the statue. Brahe is also honored with a street named Brahenkatu in Old Town Raahe.

Back in the mid-1600s, when Count Per Brahe founded Raahe (then known as Salo), he needed a strong, enterprising man to manage tax revenues. He chose the loyal Henrik Corte, a German who came to Raahe from Stockholm. Tasked with establishing the town’s harbor, Corte initially hesitated to move from Oulu to undeveloped Raahe, but the decision proved fortunate.

Marrying a local merchant’s daughter, Kristina Forbus, Corte quickly rose in influence, holding council sessions in the Town Hall. Known for his iron-fisted leadership, he often clashed with other merchants but maintained good relations with farmers. Corte’s trade with Stockholm made him a wealthy man, and most of Raahe’s trade flowed through him.

As Corte aged, his son, Henrik Henrikinpoika Corte, took on the title of deputy mayor. Following his father’s death in 1680, the younger Corte became mayor and later served in the parliament. Known for his fiery nature, he married three times and had a son, Gabriel Corte, who succeeded him. Gabriel’s tenure as mayor was interrupted by the Great Northern War, during which the Corte family, like many others, fled to Sweden. Gabriel returned post-war and resumed his mayoral duties.

Henrik Corte’s impressive house once stood next to the market square but was destroyed during wartime. Today, the Sovelius House occupies the site, with Corte Street named in honor of this influential family.

Raahe’s first town hall was built in 1654 by the square (now Myhrberg Park). This original structure, on the site of today’s Heikku house, was burned down by the Russians during the Great Wrath. A new town hall was constructed in 1729 on the same spot, but it too was destroyed in the Great Fire of Raahe in 1810. Following the fire, surveyor Gustaf Odenwall designed a new city plan with a square at its center (now Pekkatori), flanked by the homes of Raahe’s prominent families. The southwest corner was reserved for a future town hall, but the plan was never executed. Eventually, in 1862, the city purchased a building from the estate of customs officer Gustav Robert Brunow, constructed by the renowned architect Anders Frederik Granstedt in 1839, to serve as the new town hall.

Upon purchase, the building required significant work: the walls were plastered, painted white, and fitted with a tin roof. The first floor was completed, though the second floor remained unfinished. During Raahe’s 300th anniversary in the 1940s, major renovations were undertaken, adding new entrances, transforming the attic, and refreshing the floors and walls. In the 1960s, rising ground levels exposed the original foundation logs, which began to decay upon air exposure, necessitating further repairs. The foundations were reinforced, adding 400 square meters of usable cellar space and more work areas on the second floor. In 2004, an extensive restoration returned the entrances to their original locations on the courtyard side.

In the town hall’s ceremonial hall hangs a famous 1894 painting by Swedish marine artist H. Af Sillén, depicting the Swedish navy in training maneuvers. This artwork was won by local shipowner Henrik Sovelius in a Stockholm art lottery, despite Swedish King Oscar II tried to buy the painting from Sovelius. Sillén had previously painted three similar works, owned by the King of Bulgaria, German Emperor Wilhelm II, and King Oscar II himself.

When Raahe was founded, a school was established. The town priest served as the teacher. The students were sons of burghers, craftsmen, and members of the gentry. The language of instruction was Swedish. A school building was constructed north of the church at the end of the 1600s and rebuilt in 1750s. President Kyösti Kallio began his education in this building. The school burned down with the church in 1908. 

Today known as the Central School, was constructed in 1912. In 1958, a new school building was constructed, now the current middle school and high school. The Central School premises were then repurposed for primary education. The primary school initially started next to Lybecker School on Reiponkatu in a building that later housed a Swedish community school. In 1874, the school moved to the now known Frieman’s house. The Central School has served as a lower-level comprehensive school since 1974.

The Lybecker Girls' School, intended for poor girls and orphaned children, was established in 1844. Sofia Franzén donated the funds to establish the school. The school located in Reiponkatu simce 1859 and operated there for the next 125 years, becoming a craft school in 1872. 

The Raahe Civic and Commercial School was inaugurated in 1882. Its establishment was supported by merchant and shipowner brothers Johan and Baltzar Fellman, whose financial contributions made the school possible. The school’s name referred to good general education and high-level business skills. 

A teacher's seminary for women was established in Raahe in 1896. Later young men were also allowed. The seminary began its operations in the Lindberg House on Rantakatu. The seminary building was completed in Pitkäkari in 1899. The practice school operated until the seminary’s closure in 1971, after which it became Pitkäkari Elementary School. 

Founded in 1903, Svenska Småbarns-Skolan was initially located in a corner of Pekkatori. A new school building was later constructed at Palokunnankatu 24, where the school operated until its closure in 1933. 

Raahe's first church, a small preaching hall, was located near current Myhrberg Park. A new church was soon desired, and a wooden church was completed in 1655 in the northeastern part of the village. Around 1670, Mikael Balt created ornate wooden sculptures for the church. After the Great Northern War, the church fell into disrepair and was renovated in the 1740s, during which the interior was whitewashed. In 1884, Balt's sculptures were removed for restoration and repainted, but their return sparked debate. Some valued their artistic significance, while others found them inappropriate. Ultimately, they were moved to the bell tower. Today, the sculptures are displayed in the Packhouse Museum.

On July 23 in 1908, a fire broke out, and by morning nothing remained of the church. This event led to the establishment of the Pattijoki parish, with Pattijoki residents building their own church instead of contributing to Raahe’s new one.

Raahe’s new Church of the Holy Trinity, designed by Josef Stenbäck, was built from granite to ensure it was fireproof. It was consecrated on March 23, 1912. The 52-meter tower served as a navigational landmark for sailors. A weathercock, symbolizing Peter’s denial of Jesus, was installed atop the spire, a typical feature of coastal churches. The chandeliers and sconces, resembling ship railings, were forged by local blacksmith Adolf Frederik Westman.

In 1926, the church received an altarpiece by Eero Järnefelt depicting Jesus calming the storm. A votive ship, a common feature in coastal churches, was added in 1990. It was crafted by Olavi Pelkonen, who spent 2,600 hours creating the detailed model.

On October 6, 1810, a fire started on the Bergh property, spreading quickly due to strong winds. Within four hours, the blaze destroyed the town hall and 75% of Raahe's buildings, sparing only five large houses, the church, and the Katinhäntä area. The city’s three large fire pumps and one small one managed to save part of the town. The cause of the fire remains unknown, though a negligent fire watchman was fined.

Reconstruction introduced strict building regulations: houses had to be at least two meters apart, no two-story buildings were allowed, streets were widened, plots enlarged, foundations raised, roofs could not be tarred, and private saunas were banned from courtyards.

In 1859, Raahe established a fire brigade. Most of the city’s men were at sea, so women also participated. Fire surveillance took place in the hose room and church tower. After the Raahe Church burned in 1908, the fire brigade's equipment and leadership were deemed inadequate, prompting the founding of a volunteer fire brigade. In 1911, the brigade built a firehouse on Aitakatu with the city providing a free plot. The volunteer brigade remained active until the First World War, but enthusiasm waned in the 1920s, and activity ceased by the decade's end.

In 1929, the firehouse was sold to the Civil Guard. After the Civil Guards were disbanded in 1944, the building was donated to the City of Raahe. Renamed Raahela in 1949, it initially served as a youth center. From 1962 onward, it also became a venue for sports, remaining the city’s only indoor sports facility for nearly two decades.

Raahe’s first pharmacy was founded in 1793 by Jean Galenius, making it Finland’s 21st licensed pharmacy. While many 18th-century pharmacists were foreign-born, Galenius was from Pietarsaari. After him, the pharmacy was managed by two Swedish pharmacists, Johan S.N. Stahre and Reinhold O. Fock, before being owned by the locally born Wichman family from 1817 to 1862.

During the Raahe fire of 1810, Stahre’s house (now the Himanka house garden) was listed among damaged properties, but the pharmacy survived. This suggests that some artifacts in Raahe’s Pharmacy Museum, like hand-blown glass bottles and herb boxes, may date back to Galenius’s time. Stahre later sold the pharmacy to Fock, who held the position for six years.

Pharmacists were educated chemists of their time. Unlike Central Europe, Raahe pharmacies never sold remedies made from frog spawn or snakes. Instead, local medicinal plants were widely used, and many medicines were prepared on-site. Supplies were also imported from Stockholm and Lübeck, though long sea voyages often led to spoilage. The arrival of the railway in 1899 improved logistics.

Karl Wichman, the pharmacy’s fourth owner, began as Galenius’s apprentice at 12. He bought the pharmacy in 1817, relocating it to Kirkkokatu opposite the church. Wichman added a pharmacy wing to his home in 1820, while the residential wing on Cortenkatu dates back to 1787. He and his wife Beata Frosterus had 12 children, two of whom became pharmacists. Their son Johan Valentin continued the family’s work in Raahe, while Axel Teodor established Kokkola’s second pharmacy.

The pharmacy remained in the Wichman house until 1924, when Väinö Mäkinen moved it to Kauppakatu. The Mäkinen family operated it for 80 years. In 1999, its inventory was sold to the City of Raahe to establish a pharmacy museum. The collection, spanning over two centuries, is one of Finland’s most significant.

Carl Robert Ehrström moved to Raahe as a doctor in 1855. Known as a friend of J.L. Runeberg, Snellman, Lönnrot, and J.J. Nervander, Ehrström valued education and the accessibility of knowledge, especially for the lower classes. He also saw museums as beneficial. After becoming familiar with Raahe’s people and observing the unique and valuable items brought home by seafarers, Ehrström decided to establish the Raahe Museum in October 1862.

From the very beginning, the museum aimed to collect objects from all over the world. Seafaring was central to the identity of the people of Raahe, which was reflected in the museum’s collections. The museum showcased the residents' connections to distant lands, and its universal collections still distinguish it from today’s typical local museums.

In the 1860s, Raahe was Finland's largest ship-owning town. Despite having only 2,500 residents, the people of Raahe owned as many as 60 large sailing ships. The Raahe Museum highlights this golden age through various exhibits, including around 30 sailing ship paintings, ship models, and nautical artifacts such as a log, oil bag, sailmaker’s pouch, and a captain’s medicine chest. The museum’s most famous artifact is The Old Gentleman, the world’s oldest surviving diving suit from the 18th century, donated by Captain Johan Leufstadius. Additionally, the museum displays 17th-century church sculptures by Mikael Balt, originally from Raahe’s old church.

The museum first operated in Ehrström's home, later moving to a primary school and then to the upper floor of the town hall. In the 1890s, as maritime activity declined, the museum relocated to the Packhouse. Initially, rooms were freed gradually, but by 1919, the museum occupied the entire ground floor, while the library operated upstairs. Since 1960, the Packhouse has been fully dedicated to the museum.

The Sovelius House, the oldest surviving residence in Raahe, escaped the town's devastating 1810 fire. Located on the site of Raahe’s first mayor Henric Corte’s grand mid-17th-century urban mansion, it became home to several mayors before merchant Matts Sovelius acquired it in the 1780s. A quintessential 18th-century bourgeois residence, the two-story house features a Carolinian floor plan and vertically paneled facades with decorative moldings.

The influential Sovelius family, prominent merchants and later shipowners, had been a pillar of Raahe society since its founding. Matts Sovelius built the house, later home to his daughter Kristiina and her Swedish husband Anders Myhrberg, Raahe's first customs officer. Their son, August Maximilian Myhrberg, gained fame as a soldier and patriot. Kristiina, known as "Raahe’s Library" for her intellect and culture, symbolized the family’s legacy of civic prominence.

Matts’s eldest son, merchant Johan Sovelius, inherited the house. His unfulfilled love for his cousin Catharina Freitag is a poignant local legend. Denied marriage due to their kinship despite appeals to monarchs Gustav III, Gustav IV, and Alexander I, Johan and Catharina remained loyal to each other. They expressed their devotion nightly by lighting candles in their windows, now preserved in Raahe Museum. Johan, heartbroken, died years later by his window, with extinguished candles beside him. His spirit is said to haunt the house.

Later, Johan’s nephew, Fredrik Sovelius Jr., and his wife, Ebba Katinka Ljunggren, modernized the house in the 1890s. Ebba, a Swedish governess, married Fredrik despite their significant age difference. Under her influence, the home’s ceiling height was raised, windows enlarged, and its mansard roof replaced with a gable design.

Patron Matts August Sovelius succeeded Johan as the owner. He and his brother Henrik, both lifelong bachelors, contributed significantly to the community. Henrik established the Sovelius Foundation in 1886, which still owns the property.

Since 1974, Raahe has leased the Sovelius House. It initially housed a music school and now functions as a museum. The upstairs features the "Shipowner’s Home" interior museum, showcasing bourgeois life over a century ago. The original Carolinian floor plan remains intact, and the upstairs has been restored to its 1890s appearance, complete with Jugend-style wallpapers reproduced using traditional silk-screen printing.