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Jakobstad (; fi, Pietarsaari) is a town and municipality in Ostrobothnia, Finland. The town has a population of () and covers a land area of . The population density is . Neighboring municipalities are Larsmo, Pedersöre, and Nykarleby. The city of Vaasa is located southwest of Jakobstad.


Origin of the names

The
Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
name literally means ''Jacob's City'' or ''Jacob's Town'', in reference to Jacob De la Gardie. The town was founded at the old harbour of the parish '' Pedersöre'' and this name lives on in the Finnish name of the municipality, ''Pietarsaari'', literally ''Peter's Island''.


History

The town was founded in 1652 by Ebba Brahe, the widow of the military commander Jacob De la Gardie, and was granted city privileges by Queen Christina of Sweden. The town was founded at the old harbour of the parish '' Pedersöre''. Pedersöre remains an independent municipality neighbouring Jakobstad. The city grew slowly at first, with the authorities scarcely promoting any growth. In 1680 the inhabitants were ordered to relocate to the cities of Karleby ( Kokkola), Uleåborg (
Oulu Oulu ( , ; sv, Uleåborg ) is a city, municipality and a seaside resort of about 210,000 inhabitants in the region of North Ostrobothnia, Finland. It is the most populous city in northern Finland and the fifth most populous in the country after: ...
) and Nykarleby, but the order was rescinded. Wars also contributed to the slow growth, and the city was invaded by Russian troops twice during the Greater Wrath, and large parts of the town were burnt to the ground. A majority of the inhabitants fled the city. While those with means moved across the sea to the Swedish side, others took shelter in the forest or in the archipelago. Many were captured or killed. During the 1720s, some of the previous inhabitants returned, while newcomers also added to the population. The subsequent decades were finally marked by a period of growth, and the current church was built in 1731. The economic foundation was laid in the mid 18th century, with tar manufacturing and tobacco packaging at its centre. Trade started to develop rapidly in Jakobstad as of 1765, when the cities along the Finnish shore of the
Gulf of Bothnia The Gulf of Bothnia (; fi, Pohjanlahti; sv, Bottniska viken) is divided into the Bothnian Bay and Bothnian Sea, and it is the northernmost arm of the Baltic Sea, between Finland's west coast ( East Bothnia) and the Sweden's east coast (West ...
were granted privileges by the Swedish crown to trade directly with foreign countries. This also led to shipbuilding becoming a major activity in Jakobstad. The first ships to sail with goods to foreign countries were the galeas '' Jacobstads Wapen'' and the
brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...
''Enigheten''. Trade and shipbuilding made Jakobstad a wealthy city, and a notable businessman of that time was the merchant and shipbuilder Adolf Lindskog, who also became one of the richest men in Finland. The early 19th century was a time of upheaval, which saw the 1808–1809 war between
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 country located on ...
and Russia, as well as a devastating fire in 1835 that destroyed approximately half of the city. Despite this, the economic progress continued, and a brewery, a matchstick factory and several banks were founded after 1850. In 1859, the merchant and shipowner
Peter Malm Peter Malm (22 September 1800 – 7 August 1868) was a major ship owner and merchant in Grand Duchy of Finland in the 19th century, and the father of Otto A. Malm. Life Born in Jakobstad, Malm moved to Turku, Finland for his studies. He wor ...
started a steam powered sawmill, which was only the second such installation in Finland. The Crimean War was a major setback to shipping industry, as the British navy puts up an effective blockade and the shipping fleet in Jakobstad during the Åland War was reduced from 26 ships to 9. Notable businessmen in the 19th century were Otto Malm and
Wilhelm Schauman Berndt Wilhelm Schauman (8 November 1857 – 14 November 1911) was a Finnish industrialist, the most important in Jakobstad at the beginning of the 20th century. He was the older brother of Ossian Schauman, and a member of the Schauman noble fa ...
, the latter founding a chicory (coffee substitute) factory in Jakobstad in 1883. This moment in time is usually considered as the start of industrialization in Jakobstad. In 1900, the
Strengberg Strengberg is a town in the district of Amstetten in Lower Austria in Austria. Geography Strengberg lies in the Mostviertel in Lower Austria between Linz and Amstetten south of the Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-s ...
tobacco factory was the largest employer in Jakobstad. An artillery school was located in Jakobstad during the Finnish civil war. During World War II, the city was bombed once by Soviet bomber planes, causing a few casualties. Up until the 1960s, the town was overwhelmingly Swedish speaking, but as a consequence of industrial expansion in the 1960s and 1970s, the need for additional work force caused a large influx of Finnish speakers. The town remains bilingual with being
Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
and Finnish speakers.


Early industries

During the second half of the 19th century, the city changed from a city of shipping to an industrial city. From 1850 to 1900, the population increased from about 1,500 to over 6,000 inhabitants. The existing factories developed rapidly and new factories were established. Production in the factories was still small-scale. The city produced everything from beer and spirits to soaps and matches. The Finnish-speaking population in the city increased sharply when the tobacco factory expanded and was in great need of labor.


Politics

Results of the 2017 Finnish municipal election in Jakobstad:


Events

On Jul
Jakobsdagar
is one of the main summer events which attracts almost every resident in Jakobstad and it is also the best time to see the local population at once. the event goes whole week. At the end of November a chamber music festival called Rusk is held annually in Pietarsaari/Jakobstad. At the heart of this festival embracing superb
chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...
and various other genres of the arts is the Schauman Hall in the centre of town, but the events also spread out into the surrounding urban environment.


Culture and sights

*
Jakobstad City Hall Jakobstad City Hall ( sv, Jakobstads rådhus, fi, Pietarsaaren raatihuone) is a historic building in the city of Jakobstad, Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in ...
(Swedish: Jakobstads rådhus) is a historic building in the city which was completed in 1875. The current look of the building dates from 1890. *Jakobstad is the home of the galeas '' Jacobstads Wapen'', a full-scale replica built between 1987 and 1992, based on the original 1755 drawings by Swedish naval architect Fredrik Henrik af Chapmanbr>
*
Jakobstad - Pietarsaari Museum The Jakobstad - Pietarsaari Museum ( sv, Jakobstads museum, fi, Pietarsaaren museo) is a city museum in Jakobstad, Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Norther ...
is the main museum in the city, concentrating on maritime and ship building history *The Arctic museum
Nanoq Nanoq (Inuit for polar bear) is a museum in Jakobstad, Finland, specializing in arctic culture and Greenland in particular. The museum hosts exhibitions about famous polar expeditions and displays many items, e.g. a replica of the balloon gond ...
is located outside Jakobstad. * Chicorymuseum is the only chicorymuseum in Finland. In the former chicory factory from the 19th century visitors can familiarize themselves with the production of chicory, get acquainted with Wilhelm Schaumans early industrial career and also experience authentic old factory conditions. The museum in Pietarsaari will also offer art exhibitions and other events. *The botanical garden Skolparken (literally "the school park"), with approximately 1,000 plant species, is renowned both as one of the most northerly botanical gardens in the world and for its classical park architecture. The foundation was laid in 1915 and the park was completed in 1932. The funding was provided by the Schauman family, who wanted to honour the memory of Elise and Viktor Schauman. The park was designed by the prominent Finnish garden architect
Bengt Schalin Bengt Michael Schalin (7 January 1889 – 9 November 1982) was a well-known garden architect and botanist in Finland during the 20th century. Life Schalin obtained his secondary school diploma in 1907 in Turku and went on to study horticultu ...
. *
Skata Jakobstad (; fi, Pietarsaari) is a town and municipality in Ostrobothnia, Finland. The town has a population of () and covers a land area of . The population density is . Neighboring municipalities are Larsmo, Pedersöre, and Nykarleby. The ci ...
is a protected residential area close to the city centre which dates from 1783. Up until the late 19th century, Skata was home primarily to sailors and their families. As of the 1890s, it transformed into a mainly working class area, providing housing to a large part of the work force employed by the Strengberg tobacco factory. * Pedersöre Church


Food

In the 1980s, a rural liverwurst was named traditional food of Jakobstad. The culture of cafés and
restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...
s is lively in Jakobstad anyway, as the Strengberg tobacco factory was the first Finnish industrial plant to offer lunch to its employees. Jakobstad has ethnic restaurants, home-cooked lunch restaurants, à la carte restaurants and cafés, pubs and nightclubs.


Sports

The town's football team
FF Jaro FF Jaro is a Finnish football club, based in the bilingual town of Jakobstad. It currently plays in ''Ykkönen''. Home matches are played at the Jakobstads Centralplan. Current squad ''Updated 7 March, 2022.'' Managem ...
currently plays in Ykkönen, the second league in Finland. The woman's league football club FC United has been very successful over the years.


Twin towns – sister cities

Jakobstad is twinned with: * Asker, Norway *
Bünde Bünde (Low German ''Buine'') is a town in the Herford district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Bünde is situated between Osnabrück (west), Hannover (east) and Bielefeld (south). Waterways The town is crossed from west to east ...
, Germany *
Eslöv Eslöv (; older da, Eslev) is a town and the seat of Eslöv Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 19,598 inhabitants as of 2018. Eslöv is part of the Öresund Region. History According to a map from 1717, Eslöv village was originally l ...
, Sweden * Garðabær, Iceland * Jamestown, United States * Jūrmala, Latvia * Rudersdal, Denmark


Notable people

*
Alexei Eremenko Jr. Alexei Eremenko (born Aleksei Alekseyevich Yeryomenko; russian: Алексей Алексеевич Ерёменко; born 24 March 1983) is a former professional footballer. He is from a footballing family, with his father, Alexei Eremenko Sr ...
, footballer *
Roman Eremenko Roman Alekseyevich Eremenko (russian: Роман Алексеевич Ерёменко; born 19 March 1987) is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder who plays for HIFK in the Veikkausliiga. Eremenko is best known for hi ...
, footballer * Sara Forsberg, singer, actress, and comedian * Bertel Jung, architect and urban planner * Mathias "Vreth" Lillmåns, singer of Finnish metal band Finntroll * Karl and his son Walter Nars, industrialists *
Fredrik Norrena Fredrik Jan Elis Norrena (born November 29, 1973) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played 100 games in the National Hockey League with the Columbus Blue Jackets between 2006 and 2008. The rest of his career, which lasted ...
, ice-hockey player (goalkeeper) *
Jens Portin Jens Portin (born 13 December 1984) is a retired Finnish association footballer. He spent his career at FF Jaro in Veikkausliiga and with Gefle IF in Allsvenskan, the Swedish premier division of football. His younger brother Jonas Jonas may ...
, footballer * Jonas Portin, footballer *
Fredrika Runeberg Fredrika Charlotta Runeberg (née Tengström; 2 September 1807, Jakobstad – 27 May 1879, Helsinki) was a Finnish (Finland-Swedish) novelist, journalist and the wife of Finland's national poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg. She was a pioneer of Finnish ...
, writer *
Johan Ludvig Runeberg Johan Ludvig Runeberg (; 5 February 1804 – 6 May 1877) was a Finnish priest, lyric and epic poet. He wrote exclusively in Swedish. He is considered a national poet of Finland. He is the author of the lyrics to (''Our Land'', ''Maamme'' in Fin ...
, national poet and author of the national anthem of Finland * Tomas Sandström, ice-hockey player * Ossian Schauman, founder of the Swedish-speaking non-governmental organization
Folkhälsan Samfundet Folkhälsan, or in short Folkhälsan (literally "Public Health"), is a non-governmental organization based in Finland. It is active in advocating social welfare and health care for the Swedish speakers of Finland. The organization carri ...
* Magnus Schjerfbeck, architect *
Simon Skrabb Simon Skrabb (born 19 January 1995) is a Finnish footballer who plays for Swedish Allsvenskan side Kalmar FF and the Finland national team. Club career Jaro On 12 May 2011, he became the youngest player to score a goal in a Veikkausliiga ma ...
, footballer *
Philip Ulric Strengberg Philip Ulric Strengberg (2 August 1805 – 8 October 1872) was a prominent business man in Jakobstad and the majority owner of the Ph. U. Strengberg tobaccy factory, which he co-owned together with Wilhelm Schauman. Life Strengberg was born ...
, prominent businessman and majority owner of the local tobacco factory in the 19th century *
Heidi Sundblad-Halme Heidi Gabriella Wilhelmina Sundblad-Halme (25 September 1903 – 30 April 1973) was a Finnish composer and conductor who founded the Helsinki Women’s Orchestra and conducted it for 30 years. Career Sundblad-Halme was born in Jakobstad, where her ...
, composer and founder of the Helsinki Women’s Orchestra


See also

* Kristinestad


References


External links

* *
Town of Jakobstad
– Official site
Österbottens Tidning
– Local newspaper
Jakobs Dagar

Chicorymuseum
- Chicorymuseum {{Authority control Cities and towns in Finland Grand Duchy of Finland 1652 establishments in Sweden Populated places established in 1652