Rauma
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TourismInformationHistory
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The development of Rauma was threatened by a series of fires and a royal edict in 1550. Its citizens, like those of the towns of Ulvila, Porvoo and Tammisaari, were forced to leave in order to populate Helsinki, the new foundation of the King of Sweden, Gustavus Vasa; it wasn't until 1557 that they were authorised to return.
During the final years of the sailing ship era in the 1890s, Rauma enjoyed great prosperity. For a while, it possessed Finland's first sailing fleet. The majority of the buildings in the historic city are inspired by the Neo-Renaissance style. |
Rauma, a small trading centre which developed around a
Franciscan monastery, attained the status of a town in 1442. Like a few other towns in
Swedish Finland that dated to the same period, Rauma possessed an administrative
organisation.
Other fires in 1640 and 1682, as well as an isostatic uplifting that increased the
distances from the city to its wood export port, left their toll on the evolution of
Rauma's urban landscape. In the 17th century, a customs fence was erected around the city,
and this limited its expansion. Planning regulations, which were based on an orthogonal
layout, also influenced the city's development.
When the troops of Peter the Great invaded Finland during the Great Wrath of 1713-1721,
Rauma was subjected to much damage.