Raahe
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| Raahe | |||
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| — Town — | |||
| Raahen kaupunki | |||
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| Coordinates: 64°41′N 024°28′E / 64.683°N 24.467°ECoordinates: 64°41′N 024°28′E / 64.683°N 24.467°E | |||
| Country | Finland | ||
| Region | Northern Ostrobothnia | ||
| Sub-region | Raahe sub-region | ||
| Charter | 1649 | ||
| Government | |||
| - City manager | Kari Karjalainen | ||
| Area (2009-01-01)[1] | |||
| - Total | 1,399.28 km2 (540.3 sq mi) | ||
| - Land | 527.68 km2 (203.7 sq mi) | ||
| - Water | 871.6 km2 (336.5 sq mi) | ||
| Area rank | 73rd largest in Finland | ||
| Population (2009-06-30)[2] | |||
| - Total | 22,551 | ||
| - Density | 42.74/km2 (110.7/sq mi) | ||
| Population rank | 46th largest in Finland | ||
| Population by native language [3] | |||
| - Finnish | 98.5% (official) | ||
| - Swedish | 0.1% | ||
| - Others | 1.4% | ||
| Population by age [4] | |||
| - 0 to 14 | 19.2% | ||
| - 15 to 64 | 66.9% | ||
| - 65 or older | 13.9% | ||
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) | ||
| Municipal tax rate[5] | 19.75% | ||
| Website | www.raahe.fi | ||
Raahe (Swedish: Brahestad) is a town and municipality of Finland. Founded by Swedish statesman and Governor General of Finland Count Per Brahe the younger in 1649, it is one of 10 historic wooden towns (or town centers) remaining in Finland. Examples of other Finnish historic wooden towns are Kaskinen (Kaskö), Old Rauma, Porvoo (Borgå), Jakobstad (Pietarsaari), and Vaasa (Vasa). After a devastating fire in 1810, Raahe was rebuilt adhering to new design principles which minimized the risk of fire and enlarged some civic spaces. Old Raahe is noted for its Renaissance-inspired rectilinear town plan featuring an unusual central-square (called Pekkatori) with closed corners.
Raahe is located on the northern shores of the Gulf of Bothnia in the province of Oulu and is part of the Northern Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of 22,551 (June 30, 2009)[2] and covers an area of 1,399.28 square kilometres (540.27 sq mi) of which 871.6 km2 (336.5 sq mi) is water.[1] The population density is 42.74 /km2 (110.7 /sq mi). Historically an agricultural and maritime region, Ostrobothnia supplied the largest number of immigrants from Finland to the US and other countries such as Canada and Australia during the great migration of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Founded as a Swedish- and Finnish-speaking town, the municipality is now unilingually Finnish.
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[edit] International relations
[edit] Twin towns — Sister cities
Raahe is twinned with:
Skellefteå, Sweden, since 1946
Løgstør, Denmark, since 1946
Bergen, Norway, since 1946
Cherepovets, Russia, since 1968
Košice, Slovakia, since 1987[6]- Vårgårga, Sweden
Kullamaa, Estonia
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Area by municipality as of 1 January 2009" (in Finnish and Swedish) (PDF). Land Survey of Finland. http://www.maanmittauslaitos.fi/Pintaalat_kunnittain_1.1.2009.pdf. Retrieved 20 February 2009.
- ^ a b "Population by municipality as of 30 June 2009" (in Finnish and Swedish). Population Information System. Population Register Center of Finland. http://www.vrk.fi/vrk/files.nsf/files/AE1290D892E86719C22575EB002B065C/$file/090630.html. Retrieved 26 July 2009.
- ^ "Population according to language and the number of foreigners and land area km2 by area as of 31 December 2008". Statistics Finland's PX-Web databases. Statistics Finland. http://pxweb2.stat.fi/Dialog/varval.asp?ma=060_vaerak_tau_107_fi&ti=V%E4est%F6+kielen+mukaan+sek%E4+ulkomaan+kansalaisten+m%E4%E4r%E4+ja+maa%2Dpinta%2Dala+alueittain++1980+%2D+2008&path=../Database/StatFin/vrm/vaerak/&lang=3&multilang=fi. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
- ^ "Population according to age and gender by area as of 31 December 2008". Statistics Finland's PX-Web databases. Statistics Finland. http://pxweb2.stat.fi/Dialog/varval.asp?ma=050_vaerak_tau_104_fi&ti=V%E4est%F6+i%E4n+%281%2Dv%2E%29+ja+sukupuolen+mukaan+alueittain+1980+%2D+2008&path=../Database/StatFin/vrm/vaerak/&lang=3&multilang=fi. Retrieved 28 April 2009.
- ^ "List of municipal and parish tax rates in 2009". Tax Administration of Finland. 1 December 2008. http://www.vero.fi/nc/doc/download.asp?id=6425;167571. Retrieved 8 March 2009.
- ^ "Partnership towns of the City of Košice" (in Slovak). © 2007-2009 City of Košice Magistrát mesta Košice, Tr. SNP 48/A, 040 11 Košice. http://www.kosice.sk/clanok.asp?file=gov_s_c-00.html. Retrieved 2009-07-12.
[edit] External links
Media related to Raahe at Wikimedia Commons- Town of Raahe – Official site
- Old Raahe historical information in English, Finnish, German, and Swedish
- Finnish Institute of Migration English pages with historical information and databases
- Genealogical Society of Finland pages in English
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