Pori, Finland

Pori (; ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Satakunta. It is located on the west coast of the country, on the Gulf of Bothnia. The population of Pori is approximately , while the sub-region has a population of approximately . It is the most populous municipality in Finland, and the eighth most populous urban area in the country.

Pori is located some from the Gulf of Bothnia, on the estuary of the Kokemäki River, west of Tampere, north of Turku and north-west of Helsinki, the capital of Finland. Pori covers an area of of which is water. The population density is .

Pori was established in 1558 by Duke John, who later became King John III of Sweden. The municipality is unilingually Finnish. Pori was also once one of the main cities with Turku in the former Turku and Pori Province (1634–1997). The neighboring municipalities are Eurajoki, Kankaanpää, Kokemäki, Merikarvia, Nakkila, Pomarkku, Sastamala, Siikainen and Ulvila.

Pori is especially known nationwide for its Jazz Festival, Yyteri's sandy beaches, Kirjurinluoto, Porin Ässät ice hockey club, FC Jazz football club, which won two championships in the Veikkausliiga in the 1990s, and Pori Theater, which is the first Finnish-language theater in Finnish history. Pori is also known for its local street food called '' porilainen''. During its history, the city of Pori has burned down nine times; only Oulu has burned more often, as many as ten times. The current coat of arms of Pori was confirmed for use by President P. E. Svinhufvud on December 11, 1931, and was later redrawn by Olof Eriksson. The city council reaffirmed the use of the redrawn version on October 27, 1959. The bear motif of the coat of arms comes from a 17th century seal and the motto, ''deus protector noster'' or "God is our protector", is also on the coat of arms of the city's founder, Duke John.

Name

The Finnish name ''Pori'' comes from the -borg part (meaning citadel, fortress or ''castle'') of the original name in Swedish with a Fennicised pronunciation. The whole Swedish name ''Björneborg'' literally means ''Bear Fortress'' or ''Bear Castle'' (), and the Latin-Greek ''Arctopolis'' means ''Bear City'' ().

History

Early years

City of Pori was established on March 8, 1558 by Duke John of Finland () who was later known as John III of Sweden. It was a successor to the medieval towns of Teljä (Kokemäki) and Ulvila. Sailing the Kokemäki river had become more and more difficult since the 14th century due to the post-glacial rebound. The importance of Kokemäki and Ulvila began to decline as the ships could no longer navigate the river. In the 16th century the situation had become so bad that Duke John decided to establish a new harbour and market town closer to the sea.

The Bourgeoisie of Ulvila were ordered to migrate to the newly founded city and on 8 March 1558 John III gave the charter of Pori, which read: ''"Because we have seen that it would be best to build a strong market town alongside the sea, and because we cannot find anywhere suitable for fortifying in Ulvila, we have chosen another location at Pori."''

At the beginning Pori had around 300 involuntary residents. However, they soon recognized the advantages of their new location, which offered opportunities for profitable trading, among other things. Ship building has been important since the beginning of history of Pori. Shipyard started by the river in 1572 and it worked until the early 20th century. The biggest ship probably ever built in Pori was "Porin Kraveli," completed in 1583.

Greater Wrath and Crimean War

During the Greater Wrath of 1713, Pori was occupied by Russian troops. Eight Russian regiments spent four months in town from September 1713 to January 1714 vandalizing and demolishing the city. Some of the wealthiest residents vanished, they were probably imprisoned and taken to Russia. Wind mills and storage houses were burnt. Most of the oxen and horses and more than 400 boats were lost. The Russian invasion of Finland continued another seven years. It meant great financial loss for Pori as the foreign trade was completely finished. After the Greater Wrath, Pori lost its staple rights and the city went into deep depression. A new "golden age" for Pori started in 1765 as the city got back the staple rights for foreign trade.

As the Crimean War broke out in 1853, Pori was attacked by both the French Navy and British Navy in 1855 during the Åland War. The French frigate D'Assos made the first attempt on July and managed to catch one ship outside the Isokari island before they sailed further north. Another attack was made by the British fleet on 9 August. Mayor Klaus Wahlberg negotiated a deal with the enemy and the city was saved. Two sailing ships and 17 smaller boats along with some other properties were given to the British. The activities of the people of Pori were considered shameful and according to some information, Lieutenant General Alexander von Wendt would have later demoted the officer who had retreated from Luotsinmäki to sergeant during a review held at the Pori market square.

City fires

As most of its houses were made of wood, Pori has had its share of fires. The town has burned down and been rebuilt nine times. The city was first destroyed by fire in 1571 and the last major fire was in 1852. More than 75 per cent of the city was destroyed in 1852 and most of the residents became homeless. Only a few buildings, such as the Town Hall, were saved. The Great Fire of 1852 was one of the worst disasters in Finland so far. The new city plan and the shape of the present old town was designed by Swedish architect C. T. von Chiewitz. The newly completed buildings, such as the Pori Theatre and Hotel Otava are historically and culturally important. Four esplanades, which are wider than the other streets, divided the new city center in four parts.

Finnish Civil War and World War II

During the 1918 Finnish Civil War, Pori was a part of the Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic. The city was not on the direct war zone but some terror was made by both sides. The best known incident was the execution of 11 Whites at the schoolyard of Pori Lyceum.

During World War II, Pori was bombed four times by the Soviet Airforce in 1939–1940. The worst bombing occurred on 2 February 1940 as 21 people were killed. Most of the bombs were aimed to the harbour area instead of the city itself. From 1942 to 1944 Pori Airport served as an air depot for the Jagdgeschwader 5 of German Luftwaffe. Pori air depot was known as "Feldluftpark Pori" and it was one of the major German air depots in Northern Europe. In September 1944, Germans left the airport and destroyed many of their facilities with explosives. One German-built hangar is still used today. Total of 319 Soviet Red Army prisoners of war died in Pori as they were used as a forced labor by the Germans. Soviet soldiers are buried at Vähärauma district in the western part of the city.

Geography

River and delta

The geological uplift after the last ice age has been relatively high at the mouth of the Kokemäenjoki river. When the city was established in 1558, it was situated on the shore of Pori bay. Because of this uplift the delta of the river now begins in front of the city. The recreation area of Kirjurinluoto is actually on an island connected with bridges to the mainland. Pori National Urban Park preserves the story of the phases of development of the town born at the mouth of the river Kokemäenjoki.

Climate

Pori has a humid continental climate ( Dfb), with moderation from the Gulf of Bothnia helping to keep September above the 10 °C (50 °F) isotherm, and is amongst the northern extent of that climate in Finland. Winters are long, and cold, but are notably shorter and warmer than in the Northern parts of Finland due to the marine effect and location by the Bothnian Sea. The temperatures measured in the city center are slightly higher on average due to the urban heat island effect. Summers are relatively warm. The highest ever recorded temperature in this weather station was 33.3 °C (91.9 °F), on 13 July 2010 and the lowest official temperature ever recorded was -36.8 °C (-34.2 °F), on 3 February 1966. Visiting the famous "Yyteri" beach is arguably the best pastime thing to do in Pori on warm summer days. In fact, it gathers the most visitors out of any other beach in Finland on summers.

Demographics

Population

The city of Pori has inhabitants, making it the most populous municipality in Finland. The Pori region has inhabitants, making it the eight most populous region in Finland. In Pori, 6% of the population has a foreign background, which is below to the national average.

The significant population increase in 1950 was the result of annexing nearby areas. Population peaked in the mid-1970s when it was over 80 000. After that, the population declined, and in recent years has remained steady at just over 83 000. After the annex of the neighbouring municipality Noormarkku in 2010 and Lavia in 2015 the population rose to the current level. In 1952 Pori was the fifth largest city in Finland after Helsinki, Turku, Tampere and Lahti.

Languages

Pori is a monolingual Finnish-speaking municipality. , the majority of the population, persons (), spoke Finnish as their first language. In addition, the number of Swedish speakers was persons () of the population. Foreign languages were spoken by of the population. As English and Swedish are compulsory school subjects, functional bilingualism or trilingualism acquired through language studies is not uncommon.

At least 40 different languages are spoken in Pori. The most commonly spoken foreign languages are Russian (1.0%), Ukrainian (0.6%), Arabic (0.4%) and English (0.4%).

Immigration

, there were 4,935 persons with a migrant background living in Pori, or 6% of the population. The number of residents who were born abroad was 5,176, or 6% of the population. The number of persons with foreign citizenship living in Pori was 3,723. Most foreign-born citizens came from the former Soviet Union, Sweden, Ukraine, Russia, Sri Lanka and Estonia. There is a Swedish School and a Swedish Culture Club that are aimed at serving the Finland-Swedish minority in the Satakunta region.

The relative share of immigrants in Pori's population is below to the national average. However, the city's new residents are increasingly of foreign origin. This will increase the proportion of foreign residents in the coming years.

Religion

In 2023, the Evangelical Lutheran Church was the largest religious group with 68.3% of the population of Pori. Other religious groups accounted for 1.9% of the population. 29.9% of the population had no religious affiliation.

Politics

The largest parties in Pori are Social Democratic Party and National Coalition Party. In 2021 municipal elections the parties gained 21.5% and 20.4% of vote, respectively. The mayor of Pori is Lauri Inna, who was elected to run the city in 2022 after the former mayor, Aino-Maija Luukkonen, retired from the post.

Transport

Pori railway station and bus station are located in the city center. Since the Pori station is a terminal train station, railway traffic is quite moderate. Pori is only connected to Tampere with 13 daily departures by the Tampere–Pori railway. Bus traffic is very busy instead. Pori has more than 100 intercity buses with major Finnish cities Helsinki, Turku and Tampere as well as smaller places like Rauma and Vaasa