Saturday, May 26, 2012

300th Anniversary of the Founding of Raahe


Raahe is a town in Northern Finland on the Bothnian Bay. It is situated between two diversified industrial regions, Ylivieska and Oulu, next to the main high way and the railway routes. Raahe´s logistical location is excellent. The Port of Raahe operates all year round and it is one of the busiest ports in Finland. The distance to the international airport of Oulu is 75 kilometres. It has a great maritime history. Count Pehr Brahe, Queen Kristina´s govenor general in Finland, discovered the first Raahe harbour and founded the town by the name of Salo in 1649. In the year of 1652 the name was changed to Brahestad and later on to Raahe. The Old Town of Raahe is one of the best preserved wooden towns in Finland. The Old Town is a lively part of Raahe. Trade and shipping in Raahe have a long history, they were people´s main livelihood sources until the establishment of Rautaruukki Steelworks in early 1960´s. Rautaruukki was established in municipality of Saloinen. Metal industry in Raahe region works in cooperation. A good example of joint cooperation is Steelpolis Group. Raahe is also getting new strength from research. Raahe has always been a school town, but especially today it is a town of know-how regarding high technology (ICT). Over 1 000 students study in Oulu Polytechnic, Computer Engineering unit in Raahe.
In Raahe you can feel the presence of the sea - a placid expanse of snow in winter and blue paradise in summer. Welcome to Raahe, the Town of Sea Winds. This FDC was issued on  13.8.1949. The Church of Raahe is pictured on the stamp. And the statue of founder W. Runeberg. is shown on the cover. This nice FDC was sent to me by Pia.

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