Rauma

Another object of the world heritage list of UNESCO is the Old Town Rauma in Finland, one of the oldest cultural centers in Finland founded in 1442. Despite a long and complicated history, the devastating fires of the XVII century which destroyed most part of the city, there still remains a certain unique wooden town with area of 28 hectares.

Rauma is one of the most extraordinary places in the world where you can feel the presence of history and culture; there are over 600 picturesque wooden buildings. But this is not an open air museum, most of the buildings are owned by private individuals.

Here it would seem to you that the time machine has transferred you to the past.
In Rauma you can visit a few museums and numerous antique shops. One of the major attractions of Rauma is the Holy Cross Church, built in XV century and it used to belong to the Franciscan monk before. Medieval frescoes of this church brought Rauma a world fame. Do not forget to visit Rauma museum and also the ruins of the Church of the Holy Trinity, burned down in 1640; I am sure it won’t leave you indifferent.

The center of Old Town is the market square, where you can find about two hundred small workshops, where modern masters continue the work of their ancestors.

Among the attractions of the city I can recommend you to visit the Maritime Museum. Here is the only marine simulator, a copy of the ship 30-ies.

In Rauma  there are other interesting museums: the collection of old clothes can be viewed at the Museum Marela and the ancient paintings can be admired in the art museum Lennstrema.

Rauma is known not only as an old city it is also considered to be one of the oldest ports in Finland, even today.
By the way for a better view of the town you can climb the observation tower and enjoy the picturesque surroundings.

Photo credit to fede_gen88
Photo credit to Pjotr I
Photo credit to rarakarjalainen