Old Rauma

Rauma, Finland

Old Rauma is the largest unified historical wooden town in the Nordic countries. Fire has destroyed it several times since 1500s, last major one occured in 1682. There are 600 buildings in old town, mostly privately owned. Oldest still existing houses are from the 18th century.

Locations of special interest include the Kirsti house, which is a seaman's house from the 18th and 19th centuries, and the Marela house, which is a shipowner's house dating to the 18th century but with a 19th century facade, both of which are currently museums. The population of Old Rauma is 800. the Church of the Holy Cross, an old Franciscan monastery church from the 15th century with medieval paintings and the old town hall from 1776.

In 1991 Old Rauma was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

References:

Address

Vähäkirkkokatu 8-10, Rauma, Finland

See all sites in Rauma

Details

Founded: 18th century
Category: Historic city squares, old towns and villages in Finland
Historical period: The Age of Enlightenment (Finland)

More Information

www.worldheritagesite.org
en.wikipedia.org
www.oldrauma.fi
whc.unesco.org

Rating

4.5/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby

The Church of the Holy Cross (0,1 km)
Rauma Maritime Museum (1 km)
The Church of the Holy Trinity (0,3 km)

The Old Courthouse (42,9 km)
Central Pori Church (43 km)
Sammallahdenmäki (14,2 km)
Reposaari Fortress (53,3 km)
Uusikaupunki Old Church (37,1 km)
Mynämäki Church (56,3 km)
Juselius Mausoleum (42 km)
Irjanne Church (19,4 km)
Vuojoki Mansion (13,2 km)

User Reviews

Tony Rutter (13 months ago)
It's a sunny day and the city is busy. The shops are are open and full of shoppers. The cafes are full. Great city to visit, full of things to see of the old Ruama

TH3 TR/\V1R (2 years ago)
Gorgeous old town of Rauma consisting of wood-cladden, colorful houses, the biggest in Scandinavia. You'll find small shops, cafés and restaurants here. North of it is also a small creek that's running into a lake nearby. Nice for a walk as well.

Ville Kemppinen (2 years ago)
Old Rauma is a well-maintained area with wooden buildings. It is a Unesco world heritage site. Some of the buildings are open to visitors during the Pitsiviikot. There are plenty of restaurants and shops in the area.

Barbi Gearhart (2 years ago)
This is a really neat little town. It has shopping, cafés, a center market and it's beautiful. Looks almost like a movie set.

Dan Leung (2 years ago)
The old city was certainly the old city, I thought I was in a western movie. The smell of the wooden buildings was wonderful. Great for taking pictures and looking at history. There is a museum in this town and it has a lot of historical items. Worth the visit

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Photo from Flickr, copyright Andy Hay

Historic Site of the week

Argos Theater

The ancient Argos Theater was built in 320 BC. and is located in Argos, Greece against Larissa Hill. Nearby from this site is Agora, Roman Odeon, and the Baths of Argos. The theater is one of the largest architectural developments in Greece and was renovated in ca 120 AD.

The Hellenistic theater at Argos is cut into the hillside of the Larisa, with 90 steps up a steep incline, forming a narrow rectilinear cavea. Among the largest theaters in Greece, it held about 20,000 spectators and is divided by two landings into three horizontal sections. Staircases further divide the cavea into four cunei, corresponding to the tribes of Argos A high wall was erected to prevent unauthorized access into the theatron and may have helped the acoustics, but it is said the sound quality is still very good today.

Around 120 CE, both theaters were renovated in the Roman style.