Jakobstad
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For the Latvian town known in German as Jakobstadt, see Jēkabpils.
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| City | Jakobstad (1620) |
| Administrative Province | Western Finland |
| Historical Province | Ostrobothnia |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
93 km² 89.1 km² 3.9 km² |
| Population - Total (2003) - Density |
19,431 219.7/km² |
| Time zone | Helsinki, Riga, Tallinn: UTC+2 |
Jakobstad in Swedish, or Pietarsaari in Finnish, is a town and municipality in Ostrobothnia, Finland.
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[edit] History
The town was founded in 1652 by Ebba Brahe, the widow of the military commander Jacob De la Gardie, and was granted city privileges by Queen Christina of Sweden. The Swedish name literally means Jacobs's City or Jacobs's Town. The town was founded at the old harbour of the parish Pedersöre and this name lives on in the Finnish name of the municipality, Pietarsaari.
The economic foundation was laid in the mid 18th century, with tar manufacturing and tobacco packaging at its centre. Trade started to develop rapidly in Jakobstad as of 1765, when the cities along the Finnish shore of the Gulf of Botnia were granted priviligies by the Swedish crown to trade directly with foreign countries. This also led to shipbuilding becoming a major activity in Jakobstad. The first ships to sail with goods to foreign countries were the galleon Jacobstads Wapen and the brig Enigheten. Trade and shipbuilding made Jacobstad a wealthy city, and a notable businessman of that time was the merchant and shipbuilder Adolf Lindskog, who also became one of the richest men in Finland.
The early 19th century was a time of upheaval, with the 1808-1809 war between Sweden and Russia, as well as a devastating fire in 1835 which laid waste to half of the city. Despite this, the economic progress continued, and a brewery, a matchstick factory and several banks were founded after 1850. In 1859, the merchant and shipowner Peter Malm started a steampowered sawmill, which was only the second such installation in Finland. Other notable businessmen in the 19th century were Otto Malm and Wilhelm Schauman, the latter founding a chicory (coffee substitute) factory in Jakobstad in 1883. This moment in time is usually considered as the start of industrialization in Jakobstad.
The town is bilingual, and today there are approximately 55% Swedish speaking inhabitants and 42% Finnish speaking inhabitants.
[edit] Notable people from Jakobstad
Ossian Schauman, the founder of the Swedish-speaking non-governmental organization "Folkhälsan" was born and spent his youth in Jakobstad. Folkhälsan provides social welfare and health care services in Finland.
[edit] Culture
Johan Ludvig Runeberg, the national poet of Finland, was born in Jakobstad.
Home of the galleon Jacobstads Wapen based on 1755 drawings by Swedish naval architect Fredrik Henrik af Chapman [1]
The famous Arctic museum Nanoq lies also in Jakobstad.
[edit] Sports
The town's football team FF Jaro plays in Veikkausliiga, the first league in Finland.
[edit] External links
- Jakobstad Pietarsaari - Official site
- Interactive map of Jakobstad
- Jakobstads Tidning - Local newspaper
| Municipalities of Ostrobothnia |  |
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| Isokyrö | Jakobstad | Kaskinen | Korsholm | Korsnäs | Kristinestad | Kronoby | Laihia | Larsmo | Malax | Nykarleby | Närpes | Oravais | Pedersöre | Vaasa | Vähäkyrö | Vörå-Maxmo | ||
| Ostrobothnia Region | Western Finland | Finland |
