Rauma (; ) is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, on the western coast of the country. Rauma is in the

Satakunta Satakunta (in both Finnish language, Finnish and Swedish language, Swedish, ; historically ''Satacundia'') is a Regions of Finland, region ( / ) of Finland, part of the former Western Finland Province. It borders the regions of Southwest Finland ...

region, by the

Gulf of Bothnia The Gulf of Bothnia (; ; ) is divided into the Bothnian Bay and the Bothnian Sea, and it is the northernmost arm of the Baltic Sea, between Finland's west coast ( East Bothnia) and the northern part of Sweden's east coast ( West Bothnia an ...

. The population of Rauma is approximately , while the sub-region has a population of approximately . It is the most populous

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

in Finland. Rauma lies north of

Turku Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Aura River (Finland), River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while t ...

and south of

Pori 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 Pori sub-region, sub-region has a population of a ...

. 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 muni ...

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

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

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

), Rauma is known for its

paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, Textile, rags, poaceae, grasses, Feces#Other uses, herbivore dung, or other vegetable sources in water. Once the water is dra ...

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 split 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 construction, constructi ...

of the city centre ( Old Rauma, Vanha Rauma), which is a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

History

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

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

and a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

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

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

, 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 mostly comprised the entire town 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 Revivalism (architecture), architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival architecture, Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival ar ...

style of many of the houses is a result of prosperity brought on by seafaring. In 1897 Rauma had the largest fleet of sailing ships in Finland, totalling 57 vessels. Goods were mainly exported to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

and the

Baltic states The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The three sovereign states on the eastern co ...

. As the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

broke out in 1853, Rauma was attacked by French and

British navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

in 1855 during the Åland War. In the 1890s, Rauma got a teacher's college (a 'seminar'), which was later annexed to the

University of Turku The University of Turku (, shortened ''UTU'') is a multidisciplinary public university with eight faculties located in the city of Turku in southwestern Finland. The university also has campuses in Rauma and Pori and research stations in Kevo ...

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

Geography

Neighbourhoods and suburbs

Part of the centre (''Vanha Rauma'', Old Rauma) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, due to its well-preserve old wooden architecture. Neighborhoods and suburbs of Rauma include: * Tarvonsaari * Merirauma * Uusi-Lahti * Kappelinluhta * Paloahde * Haapasaari * Syvärauma * Kinno * Kaaro * Luostarinkylä * Impivaara * Äyhö * Uotila * Lajo * Nikulanmäki * Lensunkallio *

Nummi New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. (NUMMI) was an American automobile manufacturing company in Fremont, California, jointly owned by General Motors and Toyota, that opened in 1984 and closed in April 2010. The plant is located in the East Ind ...

* Pyynpää * Otanlahti * Pidesluoto * Komppi * Lonsi *

Polari Polari () is a form of slang or Cant (language), cant historically used primarily in the United Kingdom by some actors, circus and fairground performers, professional wrestlers, merchant navy sailors, criminals and prostitutes, and particula ...

* Sampaanala * Paroalho * Kourujärvi * Kortela * Monna * Kourujärvi * Kodisjoki * 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other Watercraft, floating vessels. In modern times, it normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation th ...

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 Hamburg, Manch ...

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

Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant The Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant (, ) is one of Finland's two nuclear power plants, the other being the two-unit Loviisa Nuclear Power Plant. The plant is owned and operated by Teollisuuden Voima (TVO), and is located on Olkiluoto Island, on th ...

is located next to Rauma, in

. 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 Aalborg and LähiTapiola Lännen.

Demographics

Population

The city of Rauma has inhabitants, making it the most populous municipality in Finland. The Rauma region has inhabitants.

Languages

Rauma 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 30 different languages are spoken in Rauma. The most common foreign languages are

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

(0.9%), Polish (0.9%), Ukrainian (0.8%) and

Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

...

(0.6%).

Immigration

, there were 3,725 persons with a foreign background living in Rauma, or 9% of the population. The number of residents who were born abroad was 3,668, or 9% of the population. The number of persons with foreign citizenship living in Rauma was 3,182. The relative share of immigrants in Rauma's population is below 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.

Transport

Rauma is located between Turku and Pori by the national road 8 ( E8).

Finnish national road 12 Finnish national road 12 (; ) is a highway in Finland between Rauma and Kouvola via Huittinen, Tampere and Lahti. The road is long. It is known as Teiskontie to the east of the Tampere urban area. Route The route of the road is: Rauma � ...

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 is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Pirkanmaa. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Tampere is approximately , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately . It is the most populous mu ...

and

with one transfer at Huittinen. The nearest

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

is located in

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

Culture

Rauma has its own

dialect A dialect is a Variety (linguistics), variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standard language, standardized varieties as well as Vernacular language, vernacular, unwritten, or non-standardize ...

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

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also 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 practised as a hobby. The town also is the birthplace of Raumism, 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 Old Rauma 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 SM-liiga, 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, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

teams are Pallo-Iirot 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 Rinkball is a winter team sport played on ice with ice skates and is most popular in Finland, where it is known as ''kaukalopallo''. This ball sport originated in Sweden in the 1960s and from there landed in Finland in the 1970s. The objective ...

team called UKP and a

floorball Floorball (also known by other names) is a sport played with five players and a goalkeeper in each team. It is played indoors with sticks and a hollow plastic ball with holes. Matches are played in three periods. The sport of bandy also playe ...

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

Notable people

* Sebastian Aho, professional ice hockey player * Markus Niemelä, racing driver *

Antti Raanta Antti Raanta (born 12 May 1989) is a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender who currently plays for Lukko in the Finnish Liiga. He last played with Genève-Servette Hockey Club, Genève-Servette HC of the National League (ice hockey), Nationa ...

, professional ice hockey goaltender *

Timo Soini Timo Juhani Soini (born 30 May 1962) is a Finnish politician who is the co-founder and former leader of the Finns Party. He served as Deputy Prime Minister of Finland from 2015 to 2017 and Minister of Foreign Affairs (Finland), Minister of Foreig ...

, former Finnish foreign minister * Jorma Tommila, actor