Kokkola Travel Guide, Finland

Kokkola Travel Guide – The City Of The Tar

With a population of about 45,766 inhabitants, Kokkola is a town and municipality situated in the Western Finland, being part of the Central Ostrobothnia region. It should be known that the municipality in Kokkola is bilingual: Finish (84.2 %) and Swedish (13.9%). That’s why the city is also named Karleby in Swedish.

The name of Kokkola comes from the Finnish word kokko which means bonfire or white-tailed eagle, and the suffix ‘-la’ which denotes a location.

Kokkola is known to have been founded in 1620 during the reign of Swedish King Gustav II Adolf as at those times Finland belonged to Sweden. At its beginnings, the town was an important shipping port for the tar trade, which made it be the wealthiest town in Finland as the trade in tar mainly developed the economy of the city and Northern Europe as well. Nowadays, it is a main shipbuilding centre and one of the busiest ports in Finland.

The city of Kokkola is situated on the main railway connecting Helsinki and Oulu.

Kokkola Travel Guide – The Native City of the Drakes

Kokkola, the capital city of Central Ostrobothnia region, is one of the oldest towns in Finland. It was originally situated on the sea, but now it is 5 km inland as the result of a rise in the level of the water. Its harbor is the deepest on the Finish west coast. Not far away, Seven Bridges Archipelago attracts a lot of visitors with the local specialty shops.

Its cultural heritage is mostly concentrated in the K. H. Renlund Museum, which, alongside exhibitions, offers a wide range of educational programs encompassing an extensive audience. Various exhibitions are to be seen at the Pedagogio, Roos House, Lassender House as well as at the Exhibition Hall. Drake House, the private residence of Fredrik and Anna Drake which has been turned into museum open to the large public, is worth to be visited.

It should be also mentioned that Kokkola Opera House hosts the Summer Festival, which concentrates the most famous musicians from Finland and abroad.

Kokkola Travel Guide – Public Transportation and Architecture

Kokkola travel guides must point out that the public transport is extremely poor. Local buses provide a low service especially in the evenings and Sundays. Being a small city, the easiest way to do its sightseeing is by walking.

Once arrived in Kokkola, do not hesitate to go on a trip to Tankar Island. It is a wonderful rocky island which has an old church, a seal-hunting museum and its own lighthouse. The island can be reached by ferry.

The architecture in Kokkola may be found as being quite interesting by its visitors from abroad. Large areas which consist of old wooden residential houses are perfectly preserved and buildings representing different styles can be seen. It is believed that the architects in Kokkola have chosen Gothic style for churches, New Renaissance for banks, New Baroque for theatres and the neoclassical style for museums.

Interesting, isn’t it? It should be a good reason to visit Kokkola.