THE LACE RAUMA TOWN - A UNESCO HERITAGE
Old Rauma is the most complete and widely preserved wooden town in the Nordic countries. Its area is 28 hectares. Almost until the end of the last century, the built up area in Rauma comprised only the present Old Rauma.
The inhabited part of the town had for centuries been contained
within those limits, which were set as a toll barrier in the
1620's and which wereremoved in 1809.
Kauppakatu and Kuninkaankatu (Shop street and Royal street) still form an important shopping center for the people of Rauma.
In the tightly built Old Rauma there are about 600 buildings. Apart from the church dating from the middle ages, the town hall built in 1776, and acouple of private houses, all buildings are of wood. In addition tobuildings where people live there are also other buildings as well as cowbarns and storage buildings on some plots.
Both the whole block andindividual plots are enclosed. Houses
are situated facing the street and the other buildings at the
back of the yard. The street side of the yard is bounded by houses
and high gates with a secure wooden fence around the yard.
In its present day form the buildings in Old Rauma have
gradually gained several additions and modifications. The old
single main room has been split up into several rooms, and on
the yard side porches and kitchens have been added, and in connection
with the changes the outer boarding has been renewed.
In several buildings the the cladding of vertical boarding
from the end of the 1700's has been preserved, and in some there
still exists the wide 'empire cladding' of the 1820's and 30's.
Most of the buildings of Old Rauma have however received their
current exteriors in the brisk period ofrenovation in the 1860's.
The late flourishing of sailing ships in Rauma brought in its
wake building construction. However it was not possible to construct
new buildings because they would not follow the square area plans,
as this would have required buildings on several plots to be
acquired and then knocked down, so the people in Rauma preferred
to rebuild the old. Over a period of ten years, two thirds of
the buildings in Old Rauma got a new appearance, when their cladding
was changed to the decorative new renaissance style. Due to the
short period of change the appearance of the area was preserved
as a whole and has remained nearly the same for the last one
hundred years.
The historical value of the area plan for the old town was already
recognized at the beginning of the 1900's and in place of the
square area plan it was attempted to have an overall area plan
in which the old street network was preserved. Widening of the
streets was considered to be essential, and this would again
have meant tearing down the old and building new. The fundamental
reconstruction of buildings at the end of the 1800's meant that
the buildings would remain in good condition for decades andneither
would there be any need for new buildings. There was a real threat
to the area in the 1960's when it was proposed that large business
premises and apartment buildings should be built in Old Rauma.
At the same time however the desire arose to preserve the wooden
town and its buildings. By stages the idea ripened in the thoughts
of the people of the town, and when the Old Rauma preservation
plan was approved in 1981, all of the people of Rauma were unanimous
about the value of this area.The major part of the properties
of Old Rauma are privately owned residences. The co-operation
between the town of Rauma, its inhabitants, and the local business
community is essential when solutions are sought for problem
issues of the area. The inclusion of Old Rauma in the UNESCO
World
Heritage Catalogue, to represent a significant Nordic tradition
of woodenbuilding, has increased even more the demands to preserve
the authenticity of this area.
UNESCO: World Heritage Agreement
The basis for the World Heritage Agreement is the principle of international responsibility for the preservation of the most valuable parts of national culture and nature as the common world heritage of human kind. The general agreement provides opportunities for a system of international co-operation and assistance.
The World Heritage committee may, on the basis of criteria defined in theagreement, approve sites that are protected at a national level for inclusion in the World Heritage Catalogue. The approved sites thereforerepresent globally extremely valuable cultural and natural heritage.
Two Finnish sites were approved for the catalogue in 1991, Old Rauma and the fortress of Suomenlinna, the old wooden church of Petäjävesi was included as the third site in 1994 and Verla groundwood and board mill at Jaala in 1996.
Old Rauma was chosen for the catalogue as a unique example of an old Nordic wooden town, this part of the town has been preserved within its historical boundaries as a complete whole where living, working, and social life are combined into a functional entity.
The tourist season
Old Rauma is at its best in the summer when the gardens around the houses are green. Many people grow old favourite flowers in their gardens. Even the smallest yards have room for an apple tree or two, berry bushes and a herb patch.
The early autumn and late spring are also pleasant times. In the wintertimethe snowy old buildings can be very attractive, but the weather on this part of the west coast can be quite unpredictable.
Communications
Rauma is best reached by bus from the Helsinki, Turku, and Pori Vaasadirections. At present there is no passenger traffic on the railway to Rauma.
Contact information
All inquiries on tourist and program services
City of Rauma Tourist Office
Valtakatu 2, 26100 Rauma. Tel. (02) 834 4551, 834 4552, 834 4552,
834 4550,
fax (02) 822 4555,
e-mail matkailu@rauma.fi
Further information also on the City of Rauma
homepages www.rauma.fi
