Kokkola

Sister cities

• Fitchburg
• Fredericia
• Ratingen
• Ullånger
• Marijampolė
• Järva-Jaani Rural Municipality
• Boldog
• Hatvan
• Mörbylånga Municipality
• Averøy Municipality
• Greater Sudbury
• Härnösand Municipality

History

The town of Kokkola was chartered in 1620 by King Gustav II Adolf of Sweden when Finland was a part of the Swedish Empire and is one among the oldest towns in Finland. The king also decided that a tar barrel, with three burning flames coming from both the ends and the plug, should be used as the town seal, because of the tar trade at that time, for which Kokkola was founded as a shipping port. Anders Chydenius (1729-1803) who was one of the leading politicians of Sweden, was a keen supporter of economic freedom and fought in the Swedish Parliament for free foreign trade and further social reforms. In 1765 the Swedish Parliament granted the city of Kokkola the staple rights. Kokkola also became an important shipbuilding centre in Finland. As a result of tar trade and shipbuilding industry, Kokkola was for a time one of the richest towns in Finland. An interesting historical affair, known as the Skirmish of Halkokari, occurred at the town on 7 June 1854 during the Åland War, part of the Crimean War. Royal Marines from HMS Vulture and HMS Odin tried to come ashore to deal with public property in the town "in accordance with the usages of war". The marines were repelled by local defenders armed with hunting rifles supported by troops, artillery and possibly Russian advisors and military. One of the 9 smaller British craft (a gunboat) fell into the hands of the defenders. As such, this boat was the only Royal Navy vessel still in foreign possession in 1914. The boat is still today a museum-object and can be seen in Kokkola's English Park. The town council has refused to return the boat despite several requests by the United Kingdom, most recently by John Stuttard, the Lord Mayor of London. The British Treasury annually pays a small sum to the local church congregation for…

Geography

Kokkola is the capital of the Central Ostrobothnia region, it is located on the coast of Gulf of Bothnia, the northernmost part of the Baltic Sea. The next larger cities are Vaasa is southwest, and Oulu is northeast. The distance to the capital Helsinki is to the south. Neighbouring cities and municipals are Kalajoki in the northern east, Kannus and Toholampi in the east, Halsua and Kaustinen in the southern east, Kronoby in the south and Larsmo in the southern west. The landscape of the region around Kokkola is flat, typical for the area of Ostrobothnia, with numerous river courses flowing through the land. The biggest river in the area is Perhonjoki, which flows into Gulf of Bothnia, north of Kokkola. The annual post-glacial rebound at Kokkola is 8.8 mm. Thus large areas of present-day Kokkola were under water when the town was founded.