Raahe

Infobox City
official_name = City of Raahe
native_name = Raahen kaupunki - Brahestads stad
nickname =
motto =

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image_shield = Raahe.vaakuna.svg


mapsize =
map_caption = Location of Raahe in Northern Europe
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = Finland
subdivision_type1 = Province
subdivision_name1 = Oulu Province
subdivision_type2 = Region
subdivision_name2 = Northern Ostrobothnia
subdivision_type3 = Sub-region
subdivision_name3 = Raahe
leader_title = City Manager
leader_name = Kari Karjalainen
leader_title1 =
leader_name1 =
leader_title2 =
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established_title = Charter
established_date = 1649
established_title2 =
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established_title3 =
established_date3 =
area_magnitude =
area_total_km2 = 535.7
area_total_sq_mi =
area_land_km2 = 527.3
area_land_sq_mi =
area_water_km2 = 8.4
area_water_sq_mi =
area_water_percent =
area_urban_km2 =
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area_metro_km2 =
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population_as_of = 2007
population_note =
population_total = 22,407
population_density_km2 = 43.28
population_density_sq_mi =
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timezone = CET
utc_offset = +2
timezone_DST = CEST
utc_offset_DST = +3
latd=64 |latm=41 |lats= |latNS=N
longd=24 |longm=28 |longs= |longEW=E
elevation_m =
elevation_ft =
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website = [http://www.raahe.fi www.raahe.fi]
footnotes =
blank_name =Official languages |blank_info =Finnish|

Raahe ("Brahestad" in Swedish) 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 22,594 (2003) and covers an area of 535.65 km² of which 8.34 km² is water. The population density is 42.8 inhabitants per km². 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.

ister Cities

* Skellefteå, Sweden, since 1946
* Løgstør, Denmark, since 1946
* Bergen, Norway, since 1946
* Cherepovets, Russia, since 1968
* Košice, Slovakia, since 1987
* Vårgårga, Sweden
* Kullamaa, Estonia

External links

* [http://www.kirjastovirma.net/vanharaahe/?lang=en Old Raahe historical information in English, Finnish, German, and Swedish.]
* [http://www.raahe.fi Raahe municipality information.]
* [http://www.migrationinstitute.fi/index_e.php Finnish Institute of Migration English pages with historical information and databases.]
* [http://www.genealogia.fi/indexe.htm Genealogical Society of Finland pages in English.]