A black-and-white vintage photograph showing people at the May Day market at Pekkatori in the early 1900s.

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Old Town Raahe is one of Finland's best-preserved wooden towns from the 1800s, featuring around 150 historic residential buildings. The "Stories of Old Town Raahe" article series showcases historical sites, figures, and tales from the area. This series is produced in collaboration with the Raahe Museum and Raahe tourist guides, with photos from the Raahe Museum collection. Check out a new story each week!

1: Pekkatori ja Rantatori
 

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.

May Day celebration at Pekkatori in 1904. Photo from the Raahe Museum collection.
Raahe's Rantatori in the 1890s. Photo from the Raahe Museum collection.
2: Corte Street
 

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.

Corte Street as seen from the church tower. Photo from the Raahe Museum collection.
3: Raahe's Town Hall
 

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.

The current Raahe Town Hall has been in the same building since 1860's. Photo from the Raahe Museum collection. 
4: Schools
 

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 Raahe Central School, still in use today, was built in 1912. Photo by Raahe Museum Collection.

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 Lybecker School operated on Reiponkatu for 125 years, first as a girls' school and then as a craft school. Photo by Raahe Museum Collection.

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. 

The Raahe Civic and Commercial School aimed to provide young people with a good general education and high-level professional skills. Photo by Raahe Museum Collection.

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. 

Teachers and students in front of the Raahe Seminary, also known as the teachers' training school. Photo: Raahe Museum Collection.

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. 

5: Raahe Church
 

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.

Raahe's wooden church was completed in 1655. Photo by Raahe Museum Collection.

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 wooden church burned to the ground in 1908. Photo by Raahe Museum Collection.

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.

The Raahe Church, completed in 1912, was built from granite quarried in the Raahe archipelago. The goal was to construct a fireproof church. Photo by Raahe Museum Collection.

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.

6: The Great Fire of Raahe and Raahe Sports Hall
 

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.

The Raahela Sports Hall has served as a fire brigade station, a Civil Guard facility, and a youth center before being dedicated as a sports hall. Photo by Raahe Museum Collection.

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.

The Raahela Sports Hall has been used for sports since the 1960s. Photo by Raahe Museum Collection.