Rauma

Rauma (Finnish) or Raumo (Swedish) is a town in Satakunta. The wooden houses in the centre of the old town are a UNESCO World Heritage site, as is the Bronze Age burial site Sammallahdenmäki about 20 km east of the centre. Rauma is the third oldest town in Finland, and has almost 40,000 inhabitants (2023). It is a historic seafaring town but in the 20th century paper milling became its main industry. The Olkiluoto nuclear power plant in nearby Eurajoki municipality is a major regional employer.

Understand


Rauma is one of the six medieval towns in Finland (with Naantali, Porvoo, Turku, Ulvila and Vyborg). It has a lot of seafaring history. It also developed a reputation for high quality lace. These traditions are actively being marketed by the tourism industry, though in day-to-day life they are no longer mainstream (except for the port operations, as Rauma is still a major port in Finland). Folk culture, tourism and older people try to preserve much of Rauma tradition, but as everywhere, Finland is gradually becoming homogenized due to the influence of mass media. Younger generations in Rauma these days hardly differ from those in most other Finnish cities.

The post-World War II years were mainly driven by pulp and paper milling, which cast its ugly (and sometimes smelly) shadow on the town. However, the wood industry also brought prosperity and compared to many other similarly sized towns, Rauma has done pretty well. Environmental impact (including the abovementioned smell) is now rather small due to modern technology. Most of the 'smoke' you see coming from the factory area (tucked into the outskirts of the town) is actually water vapour.

Rauma had important ship building industry in the age of sails, and this was revived by the 1940s' war reparations. In the 2010s the surviving shipyard was building corvettes for the Finnish marine and a cruiseferry for the Vaasa route. Combined with the wood industry and other metal industry companies, Rauma really has a blue-collar history.

Because of the construction of the new nuclear power plant (Olkiluoto 3, built 2005–2022) by a Franco-German company, there has been an influx of engineers and their families from Central Europe. This has contributed positively not only to the economy but also to the offerings of restaurants and cafés.

The neighbouring municipality of Lappi was merged into Rauma in 2009.

Talk
The locals are mainly Finnish speaking. Rauma has a peculiar dialect of its own. Rauma giäl ("Rauman kieli", or the language of Rauma) is characterized by many lonewords from Swedish and a slightly more guttural intonation than standard Finnish. It was one of the first Finnish dialects to get literature: Hj. Nortamo wrote several books in this tongue around 1900. Its most extreme form is, however, mostly reserved for traditional folk events or touristic marketing. The day to day language is mostly standard Finnish mixed with some Rauma idioms, words and pronunciation. If you know Finnish, you'll understand practically everything. However, you may have to ask your interlocutor to speak slower, because the way of speech is also quicker and more verbose than in many other Finnish dialects.

As in most of Finland, anybody born since 1965 knows at least some English.

By plane
The nearest airport, Pori airport is located in the neighbouring city of Pori. Another option is Turku airport, which may have slightly better connections abroad. The main option from abroad is still Helsinki Airport. For the remaining distance, it may be faster to transfer to train or coach than to wait for a connecting flight.

By bus
Rauma is well connected to other cities by coach and most tourists arrive this way. The bus station (Linja-autoasema) is in the city centre, by the old town. Coaches arrive every 1–3 hours except during the night, from e.g. Helsinki (3½ hr, mostly via Turku), Turku (1½ hr), Tampere (2½ hr), Vaasa and Oulu.

Coming via Tallinn or Stockholm, there may be coach connections from the ports of Helsinki with arranged transfer, mostly via Kamppi. Coming via Turku harbour, there may be a direct service from the ferry terminal.

Timetables can be found on the website of Matkahuolto.

By train
There is no passenger rail traffic directly to Rauma. There are train stations in Harjavalta Pori ), Kokemäki ), Turku ) and Tampere ), which, except perhaps Kokemäki and Harjavalta, have good coach connections to Rauma. Using the train may be faster than a direct coach service, depending on time of day and other factors.

By car
There are easy road connections from Helsinki (via Huittinen in the east, ), Tampere (likewise via Huittinen, 145 km), Turku (in the south, 94 km) and Pori (in the north, 49 km). There are no roads going west since that way lies the sea. If you drive from Helsinki, you can also use the old route, via roads 1, 110, 280, 52, 10, 213, 204 and 12.

By boat
There is no commercial passenger traffic by sea but many tourists, especially Finns, arrive in Rauma with their private yachts. There are a couple of guest harbours around Rauma.

Get around
Since Rauma is a small town, walking around the city, and especially the old town, is easy. Bringing your own bicycle would be convenient.

The local buses are by Koiviston Auto (timetables and Matkahuolto route planner).

The local bus system is extremely limited and services only the handful of most important routes. You'll find the main bus stop near the old town, at Savila, a couple of blocks from the intercity bus terminal.

By bike
Easybike offers city bikes for rent.

By scooter
You can rent electric kick scooters for use in the centre from Finnish Joe Scooter and Finnish Swup.

By taxi
Taxis operate widely around the city and you can flag a cab when you see one or call +358 2 106-400.


 * Apps: Valopilkku, 02 Taksi, Taksinappi

See
Most of Rauma's sights are conveniently located within a walking distance of the centre.

Old Rauma


(Vanha Rauma) is the largest uniform wooden town in the Nordic countries, and is a since the 550th anniversary of the city. The oldest inhabited buildings date back to the 17th century. Some of the architecture may make you think you're in southern Sweden or Denmark (e.g. the city hall with its straight yellow walls and brick roof), or the Baltics (the wooden houses with their decorated details). Compared to the wooden old town of Porvoo, the streets are wider and the houses tidier but because of that it also seems less livelier/busier.

Archipelago of Rauma
The archipelago is not very extensive, still hundreds of islands and islets, several of which have some service for visitors. The Bothnian Sea National Park stretches along the coast, mostly in the sea off the archipelago, but including some of the islands. Many islands are protected as nature reserves or otherwise. In summer, when the weather is fine, the islands offer nice day trips.



In peak tourist season, there are regular boat connections to each of these islands. In most winters, it is also possible to walk, ski or skate over the frozen sea. Be sure to ask locals whether the ice is thick enough, never embark alone, and avoid shipping routes with potentially thinner ice. There are few or no tourist services available on the islands during winter.

Churches




Other




Do
The Culture and Leisure Centre operates an information service called Fyyr which helps to find things to do and see, and may be able to help with more information about any of these opportunities. Their service is available in Finnish and English, at Nortamonkatu 5,, and on their website.

Rauma Regional Tourist Office will also be able to help especially with the more touristy services. Their office is at Valtakatu 2,.



Festivals
Despite its small size, Rauma hosts numerous festivals, mostly during summertime. For exact dates and program, check the City of Rauma website.

Buy
In Old Rauma you can still find plenty of traditional lace on sale and at the main square you will find the seafarers' museum containing some impressive stuff. The old town also has shops selling for example second-hand goods and art. The newer parts of the city have more "everyday" shops and in the north of the city there are two hypermarkets next to each other (Prisma and Citymarket).

Eat
There are a couple of local foods which are borne of the seafaring past: lapskoussi (mashed potatoes and salted meat) and topseilvellinki (raisin soup, usually served with pancakes).

Budget
Budget choices are largely limited to fast food. In addition to McDonald's and its Finnish imitator Hesburger, Rauma has a bunch of pizza and kebab places, where a meal typically costs around €4.5-8.



Self-catering
You can buy fresh and smoked fish and fruits and vegetables at the market, in the heart of Old Rauma. Also, Rauma has many supermarkets. The biggest (and cheapest) two are Citymarket (Karjalankatu 5) and Prisma (Porintie 4). They both are within a five minutes walk northwards from the Church of the Holy Cross. In addition, the large shop at ABC gas station (Unajantie 2) is open 24/7.

Mid-range


Many of the better hotels have restaurants of their own.

Drink
Rauma has its own drink, Puksprööt, made of juniper-rowan liqueur and white wine, served with a tar-infused rope. Some bars do not use juniper liqueur, in which case you might want to add some gin.

A common perception among young Raumans is that there is absolutely nothing to do in Rauma. This perception is shared to such a degree that if a Rauman teenager asks another if there's anything happening in Rauma, the other one starts outright laughing. As usual, teenagers have somewhat of an extremist view and also are not fully aware of all their options – still, there is some truth to their opinions. Rauma is not a happening party town. There are a couple of night club options and a number of seedy bars, and each usually has their own clientèle where everybody knows each other. It might be difficult to find a place that fits you in Rauma, and if you do, it might be difficult to get to know the people who already know each other.

Bars and clubs are concentrated in Old Rauma and west of Old Rauma. Main party days are Friday and Saturday, Wednesday coming as third.

Cafés
There are a number of nice cafés (kahvila) in the Old Rauma, some in the inner yards of the old wooden houses, sometimes with live music or art galleries - obviously patios are usually only open in summertime. The best option is to walk around and pick the one you like.

Cafés are typically Finnish-style. American style tall lattes are hard to come by, and surprisingly many offer light-roasted drip coffee only (no espresso). This is, however, slowly changing.

Some established cafés include



Sleep
Most of the accommodation available in Rauma is mid-range. The only real budget option is the camping ground.

Connect
There are no internet cafes in Rauma since most people have broadband access at home. However, you can access internet free of charge at public libraries, such as:

Go next

 * Olkiluoto nuclear power plant is in neighbouring Eurajoki. It has a visitor centre, open daily (but mind security procedures, you may need to register in advance). Occasionally there are bus tours from Rauma.