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Rauma is one of the oldest cities in Finland. The entire Old Town (Vanha Rauma) with around 600 wooden houses is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. No fire for over 300 years – an absolute rarity for a city made purely of wood.
In 1442 Rauma received the city rights. The houses, all of which bear historical names, sometimes have richly decorated facades. The angled floor plan dates back to the Middle Ages. While other wooden house districts in Finland mostly fell victim to fires, the old town of Rauma has been spared from fires since 1682 and is therefore exceptionally well preserved.
The city of Rauma is located on the southern coast of the Gulf of Bothnia, the northernmost part of the Baltic Sea, in southwestern Finland. Founded in 1442, when all of Finland was part of Sweden, Rauma is the third oldest Finnish city after Turku and Porvoo. It was founded as the successor of a Franciscan monastery. The last major city fire was in 1682, so since then the wooden houses of the city have been saved from destruction. Rauma was an important seafaring city in the 17th century and gained a reputation in the 18th century. In the twentieth century, it gained an international reputation due to lace Löppeln.
