Rauma (; sv, Raumo) is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an o ...

and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

of around () inhabitants on the west coast of

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...

, north of

Turku Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...

, and south of

Pori ) , website www.pori.fi Pori (; sv, Björneborg ) is a city and municipality on the west coast of Finland. The city is located some from the Gulf of Bothnia, on the estuary of the Kokemäki River, west of Tampere, north of Turku and north- ...

. Its neighbouring municipalities are

Eura Eura is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Satakunta region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The mun ...

, Eurajoki,

Laitila Laitila (; sv, Letala) is a town and a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Southwest Finland region, and it is from Laitila to Turku. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The populat ...

and Pyhäranta. Granted town privileges on 17 April 1442 (then under the rule of

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

), Rauma is known for its

paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distribu ...

and maritime industry, high quality

lace Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is divided into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted o ...

(since the 18th century) and the old wooden

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings ...

of the city centre (

Old Rauma Old Rauma ( fi, Vanha Rauma, sv, Gamla Raumo) is the wooden centre of the town of Rauma, Finland. It was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1991 because of its unique wooden architecture and its well-preserved medieval town layout. I ...

, Vanha Rauma), which is a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

World Heritage A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

site.

History

In the 14th century, before it was declared a town, Rauma had a

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...

and a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

church. In 1550, the townsmen of Rauma were ordered to relocate to

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

, but this was unsuccessful and Rauma continued to grow. Practically the whole wooden part of the town of Rauma was devastated in the fires of 1640 and 1682. The city centre, which was as large as the town was until 1809, has approximately 600 wooden buildings. The

neo-renaissance Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range ...

style of many of the houses is a result of prosperity brought on by seafaring. In 1897 Rauma had the largest fleet of sailing boats in Finland, totalling 57 vessels. As the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...

broke out in 1853, Rauma was attacked by

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

and

British Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

in 1855 during the Åland War. Goods were mainly exported to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

Stockholm Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropo ...

and the

Baltic states The Baltic states, et, Balti riigid or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term, which currently is used to group three countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone ...

. In the 1890s, Rauma got a teacher's college (a 'seminar'), which was later annexed to the

University of Turku sv, Åbo universitet , latin_name = Universitas Aboensis , image_name = University of Turku.svg , motto = ''Vapaan kansan lahja vapaalle tieteelle'' , established = 1920 , type ...

. A part of the department of education still exists in Rauma. The name ''Rauma'' comes from the Germanic word ''strauma'', meaning "stream".

Geography

Neighborhoods and suburbs

Neighborhoods and suburbs of Rauma include: * Tarvonsaari * Merirauma * Uusi-Lahti * Kappelinluhta * Paloahde *

Haapasaari Haapasaari (Finnish for ''aspen island'') may refer to: * Aspö Aspö is a small village on the Aspö Island in Väståboland, Finland. Until 2009 it belonged to the municipality of Korpo. Its Finnish-language name is Haapasaari, although this na ...

* Syvärauma * Kinno * Kaaro * Luostarinkylä * Impivaara * Äyhö * Uotila * Lajo * Nikulanmäki * Lensunkallio * Nummi * Pyynpää * Otanlahti * Pidesluoto * Komppi * Lonsi * Polari * Sampaanala * Paroalho * Kourujärvi * Kortela * Monna * Kourujärvi *

Kodisjoki Kodisjoki is a village and a former municipality of Finland. At the time of the municipality's disestablishment, Kodisjoki was located in the province of Western Finland, now it is in the Satakunta region. Kodisjoki became part of the city of ...

* Lappi

Climate

Rauma has a humid continental climate with cold winters and warm summers. The marine affect from the Gulf of Bothnia brings both warmth in the winter and cooler temperatures in the summer. And similar to other coastal cities of Finland in the south, the average annual temperature in Rauma is about 6 °C (42.8 °F). On February 3 1966, the lowest ever recorded temperature in central Rauma hit -33.6 °C (-28.5 °F), and the highest temperature record being around 33 °C (91.4 °F) with no clear data, due to the weather station's data having been taken into use only in late 2010's.

Economy

After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Rauma developed into an industrial city, the main industries being

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to bef ...

and pulp mills, and metal industry. Rauma is also the fifth largest

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

in Finland with almost six million tonnes of shipping per year.

Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant The Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant ( fi, Olkiluodon ydinvoimalaitos, sv, Olkiluoto kärnkraftverk) is one of Finland's two nuclear power plants, the other being the two-unit VVER Loviisa Nuclear Power Plant. The plant is owned and operated by ...

is located next to Rauma, in Eurajoki. Near Rauma, there is the static-inverter plant of Fenno-Skan. In 2019 the biggest tax payers in Rauma were Raumaster, Forchem, Länsi-Suomen Osuuspankki, Oras,

Alfa Laval Alfa Laval AB is a Swedish company, founded in 1883 by Gustaf de Laval and Oscar Lamm. The company, which started in providing centrifugal separation solutions for dairy (see Separator (milk)), now deals in the production of specialised produ ...

Aalborg and LähiTapiola Lännen.

Demographics

Transport

Rauma is located between Turku and Pori by the national road 8 ( E8). Finnish national road 12 starts from Rauma and it was extended to the Port of Rauma in 2008. A railway connection from Kokemäki is in active freight use, as there is a straight connection to the heavy industry areas and to the port of Rauma. The rail passenger traffic ended in 1988. Satakunnan Liikenne Oy runs the local bus traffic and it has 3 lines in Rauma. The hub for the local buses is located in Savila while the Long distance buses operate from Rauma bus station. The long distance buses take passengers directly to

and

and to

Tampere Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population ...

and

with one transfer at Huittinen. The nearest

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...

is located in

. The port of Rauma serves only freight ships on frequent basis.

Culture

Rauma has its own

dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety of a language that is ...

of Finnish, " Rauman giäl". The dialect inherits words from languages such as Swedish,

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

due to the seafaring past. The dialect has been diluted into mainstream Finnish in day-to-day use, but it is fairly well studied (mainly by Hj. Nortamo) and practiced as a hobby. The town also is the birthplace of

Raumism Raumism ( eo, Raŭmismo) is an ideology beginning in 1980 with the ''Rauma Manifesto'', which criticized the goals of the traditional Esperanto movement and defined the Esperanto community as "a stateless diaspora linguistic minority" based on ...

, the non-idealist view of the constructed language Esperanto as a vehicle for culture, rather than as an international auxiliary language. Rauma Maritime Museum in the Rauma Nautical School building was founded in 1999.

Lace Week

Annual Lace Week has been arranged in Rauma since year 1971. During the Lace week local craftspeople arrange small exhibitions in the

area. The Lace week culminates to the Black Lace Night, when the small boutiques are open late night, various shows and concerts are held and people dress in black lace.

Other events

*Music festival RMJ, held in

in 2008 and 2009. *Classical music festival Festivo *Jazz-happening Rauma Summer Jazz *Creative and performing music arts festival Klustermus *Movie festival Blue Sea Film Festival *Blues festival Rauma Blues

Sports

Rauman Lukko is the local ice hockey team. Founded in 1936, Lukko plays in

Liiga The SM-liiga (marketed as just Liiga from 2013 on), (Finnish for ''League'') colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. It is one of the six founding leagu ...

, the top professional league in Finland. Lukko has won the Finnish championship twice, in 1963 and 2021. Their home arena is Äijänsuo Arena. Local

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

teams are

Pallo-Iirot Pallo-Iirot (abbreviated P-Iirot) is a football club from Rauma in Finland. The club was formed in 1930 and their home ground is at the Äijänsuon stadion. The men's first team currently plays in the Kakkonen. The Chairman of Pallo-Iirot is ...

and FC Rauma. These two teams share the same home field at Äijänsuo sports centre. Sea City Storm is an American football team playing in the Finnish American Football Association's 2nd division. Fera is a women's Finnish baseball team, whose home field is the Länsi-Suomi Arena at Otanlahti sports centre. Rauma also has an own orienteering club, Rasti-Lukko, two basketball teams known as Kaaron Roima and Rauma Basket, a rinkball team called UKP and a

floorball Floorball is a type of floor hockey with five players and a goalkeeper in each team. Men and women play indoors with sticks and a plastic ball with holes. Matches are played in three twenty-minute periods. The sport of bandy also played a role ...

team named SalBa.

Recreation

One popular saying goes that every family in Rauma owns a boat – this is not true, though the city has room for ca. 2,800Finnish Maritime Administration
August 19, 2008 – Boating in Finland and its economic impacts boats at its docks. People can use their own boats or water buses to get to the Kylmäpihlaja Lighthouse that doubles as a hotel and recreation site. Water buses take people to Reksaari island and former garrison island of Kuuskajaskari. Both islands are in recreational use.

Consolidation of municipalities

Rauma and the surrounding municipality of

Rauman maalaiskunta Rauman maalaiskunta (the rural municipality of Rauma, often abbreviated Rauman mlk) is a former municipality of Finland. It was annexed to Rauma on January 1, 1993. The population of the municipality at the time of annexation was about 9,000. Th ...

("rural municipality of Rauma") were consolidated in 1993, continued in 2007 with the consolidation of municipality of

. The municipality of Lappi was consolidated to Rauma in 2009. File:KirkkoRauma.jpg, Tower of the Church of The Holy Cross File:Vanharauma3.jpg, The old town hall of Rauma file:rauma_3.jpg, Street in city centre File:Fåfänga 2.jpg, Fåfänga

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Rauma is twinned with the following cities and towns: