Pori (Finnish:[ˈpori];Swedish:Björneborg[bjœːrneˈborj]ⓘ;Latin:Arctopolis)[8] is acity inFinland and the regional capital ofSatakunta. It is located on the west coast of the country, on theGulf of Bothnia. The population of Pori is approximately 83,000, while thesub-region has a population of approximately 128,000. It is the 10th most populousmunicipality in Finland, and the eighth most populousurban area in the country.
Pori is located some 10 kilometres (6 mi) from the Gulf of Bothnia, on theestuary of theKokemäki River, 110 kilometres (68 mi) west ofTampere, 140 kilometres (87 mi) north ofTurku and 241 kilometres (150 mi) north-west ofHelsinki, the capital of Finland. Pori covers an area of 2,062.00 square kilometres (796.14 sq mi) of which 870.01 km2 (335.91 sq mi) is water.[3] Thepopulation density is 71.93/km2 (186.3/sq mi).
Pori is especially known nationwide for itsJazz Festival,Yyteri's sandy beaches,Kirjurinluoto,Porin Ässät ice hockey club,FC Jazz football club, which won two championships in theVeikkausliiga in the 1990s, andPori Theater, which is the first Finnish-language theater in Finnish history.[9] Pori is also known for its localstreet food calledporilainen.[10] During its history, the city of Pori hasburned down nine times; onlyOulu has burned more often, as many as ten times.[11][12][13][14][15] The currentcoat of arms of Pori was confirmed for use by PresidentP. E. Svinhufvud on December 11, 1931,[16] and was later redrawn by Olof Eriksson. The city council reaffirmed the use of the redrawn version on October 27, 1959. The bear motif of the coat of arms comes from a 17th century seal and themotto,deus protector noster or "God is our protector", is also on the coat of arms of the city's founder, Duke John.[1]
The Finnish namePori comes from the -borg part (meaning citadel, fortress orcastle) of the original name in Swedish with a Fennicised pronunciation.[17] The whole Swedish nameBjörneborg literally meansBear Fortress orBear Castle (Finnish:Karhulinna), and the Latin-GreekArctopolis meansBear City (Finnish:Karhukaupunki).[18][19][20]
City of Pori was established on March 8, 1558 by Duke John of Finland (Finnish:Juhana III or Juhana-herttua) who was later known asJohn III of Sweden.[2] It was a successor to themedieval towns ofTeljä (Kokemäki) andUlvila. Sailing theKokemäki river had become more and more difficult since the 14th century due to thepost-glacial rebound. The importance of Kokemäki and Ulvila began to decline as the ships could no longer navigate the river. In the 16th century the situation had become so bad that Duke John decided to establish a new harbour and market town closer to the sea.
Old town hall and market square in 1852 painting
TheBourgeoisie ofUlvila were ordered to migrate to the newly founded city and on 8 March 1558John III gave the charter of Pori, which read:"Because we have seen that it would be best to build a strong market town alongside the sea, and because we cannot find anywhere suitable for fortifying in Ulvila, we have chosen another location at Pori."[21]
At the beginning Pori had around 300 involuntary residents. However, they soon recognized the advantages of their new location, which offered opportunities for profitable trading, among other things. Ship building has been important since the beginning of history of Pori. Shipyard started by the river in 1572 and it worked until the early 20th century. The biggest ship probably ever built in Pori was "Porin Kraveli," completed in 1583.
During theGreater Wrath of 1713, Pori was occupied byRussian troops. Eight Russian regiments spent four months in town from September 1713 to January 1714 vandalizing and demolishing the city. Some of the wealthiest residents vanished, they were probably imprisoned and taken to Russia. Wind mills and storage houses were burnt. Most of theoxen and horses and more than 400 boats were lost. The Russian invasion of Finland continued another seven years. It meant great financial loss for Pori as the foreign trade was completely finished. After the Greater Wrath, Pori lost itsstaple rights and the city went into deep depression. A new "golden age" for Pori started in 1765 as the city got back the staple rights for foreign trade.[22]
As theCrimean War broke out in 1853, Pori was attacked by both theFrench Navy andBritish Navy in 1855 during theÅland War. The Frenchfrigate D'Assos made the first attempt on July and managed to catch one ship outside the Isokari island before they sailed further north. Another attack was made by the British fleet on 9 August. Mayor Klaus Wahlberg negotiated a deal with the enemy and the city was saved. Two sailing ships and 17 smaller boats along with some other properties were given to the British.[23] The activities of the people of Pori were considered shameful and according to some information,Lieutenant General Alexander von Wendt would have later demoted the officer who had retreated from Luotsinmäki tosergeant during a review held at the Pori market square.[24]
As most of its houses were made of wood, Pori has had its share of fires. The town has burned down and been rebuilt nine times.[25] The city was first destroyed by fire in 1571 and the last major fire was in 1852. More than 75 per cent of the city was destroyed in 1852 and most of the residents became homeless. Only a few buildings, such as theTown Hall, were saved. The Great Fire of 1852 was one of the worst disasters in Finland so far.[26] The new city plan and the shape of the present old town was designed by Swedish architectC. T. von Chiewitz. The newly completed buildings, such as thePori Theatre andHotel Otava are historically and culturally important. Four esplanades, which are wider than the other streets, divided the new city center in four parts.
During the 1918Finnish Civil War, Pori was a part of theFinnish Socialist Workers' Republic. The city was not on the direct war zone but some terror was made by both sides. The best known incident was the execution of 11Whites at the schoolyard of Pori Lyceum.
DuringWorld War II, Pori was bombed four times by theSoviet Airforce in 1939–1940. The worst bombing occurred on 2 February 1940 as 21 people were killed. Most of the bombs were aimed to the harbour area instead of the city itself.[27] From 1942 to 1944Pori Airport served as an air depot for theJagdgeschwader 5 of GermanLuftwaffe.[28] Pori air depot was known as "Feldluftpark Pori" and it was one of the major German air depots in Northern Europe. In September 1944, Germans left the airport and destroyed many of their facilities with explosives.[29] One German-builthangar is still used today. Total of 319 SovietRed Army prisoners of war died in Pori as they were used as aforced labor by the Germans. Soviet soldiers are buried at Vähärauma district in the western part of the city.[30]
The geological uplift after the last ice age has been relatively high at the mouth of theKokemäenjoki river. When the city was established in 1558, it was situated on the shore of Pori bay. Because of this uplift the delta of the river now begins in front of the city. The recreation area of Kirjurinluoto is actually on an island connected with bridges to the mainland.Pori National Urban Park preserves the story of the phases of development of the town born at the mouth of the river Kokemäenjoki.
Pori has ahumid continental climate (Dfb), with moderation from theGulf of Bothnia helping to keep September above the 10 °C (50 °F) isotherm, and is amongst the northern extent of that climate in Finland. Winters are long, and cold, but are notably shorter and warmer than in the Northern parts of Finland due to the marine effect and location by the Bothnian Sea. The temperatures measured in the city center are slightly higher on average due to theurban heat island effect. Summers are relatively warm. The highest ever recorded temperature in this weather station was 33.3 °C (91.9 °F), on 13 July 2010 and the lowest official temperature ever recorded was -36.8 °C (-34.2 °F), on 3 February 1966. Visiting the famous "Yyteri" beach is arguably the best pastime thing to do in Pori on warm summer days. In fact, it gathers the most visitors out of any other beach in Finland on summers.
Climate data forPori Airport, records 1960 - present
The city of Pori has 83,157 inhabitants, making it the 10th most populous municipality in Finland. ThePori region has 128,095 inhabitants, making it the eight most populous region in Finland. In Pori, 6% of the population has a foreign background, which is below to the national average.[34]
The significant population increase in 1950 was the result of annexing nearby areas. Population peaked in the mid-1970s when it was over 80 000. After that, the population declined, and in recent years has remained steady at just over 83 000. After the annex of the neighbouring municipalityNoormarkku in 2010 andLavia in 2015 the population rose to the current level. In 1952 Pori was the fifth largest city in Finland afterHelsinki,Turku,Tampere andLahti.[35]
Population size of Pori (and merged municipalities) 1990–2020[36]
Pori is a monolingualFinnish-speaking municipality. As of 2024[update], the majority of the population, 77,974 persons (93.6%), spoke Finnish as their first language. In addition, the number ofSwedish speakers was 467 persons (0.6%) of the population. Foreign languages were spoken by5.8% of the population.[34] AsEnglish andSwedish are compulsory school subjects, functional bilingualism or trilingualism acquired through language studies is not uncommon.
At least 40 different languages are spoken in Pori. The most commonly spoken foreign languages areRussian (1.0%),Ukrainian (0.6%),Arabic (0.4%) andEnglish (0.4%).[34]
As of 2024[update], there were 4,935 persons with a migrant background living in Pori, or 6% of the population.[note 1] The number of residents who were born abroad was 5,176, or 6% of the population. The number of persons with foreign citizenship living in Pori was 3,723. Most foreign-born citizens came from the formerSoviet Union,Sweden,Ukraine,Russia,Sri Lanka andEstonia.[34] There is a Swedish School and a Swedish Culture Club that are aimed at serving the Finland-Swedish minority in theSatakunta region.
The relative share of immigrants in Pori's population is below to the national average. However, the city's new residents are increasingly of foreign origin. This will increase the proportion of foreign residents in the coming years.
In 2023, theEvangelical Lutheran Church was the largest religious group with 68.3% of the population of Pori. Other religious groups accounted for 1.9% of the population. 29.9% of the population had no religious affiliation.[38]
Pori railway station and bus station are located in the city center. Since the Pori station is aterminal train station, railway traffic is quite moderate. Pori is only connected toTampere with 13 daily departures by theTampere–Pori railway. Bus traffic is very busy instead. Pori has more than 100 intercity buses with major Finnish citiesHelsinki,Turku and Tampere as well as smaller places likeRauma andVaasa. Public transport is managed by the city owned bus company Porin Linjat. It has also service to nearby municipalities. The most significant highways from Pori to other cities areHighway 2 to Helsinki,Highway 8 (to south) to Turku and (to north) to Vaasa,Highway 11 to Tampere andHighway 23 toJyväskylä.
There were 35,216 jobs in 2014. 7,548 residents of other municipalities worked in Pori and 5,710 Pori employees outside the city in 2014. Theunemployment rate was 10.7% in May 2018.[42]
Pori is widely known for its internationaljazz music festival, established in 1966. TodayPori Jazz is one of the major jazz festivals in Europe as well as one of the largest culture events in Finland. The nine-day festival is held annually in July.[49] Many renowned musicians have played the festival over the years, including artists likeB. B. King,Ray Charles,Miles Davis,Keith Jarrett,Bob Dylan,Elton John,Kanye West andSantana.[50]
Concert arenas are located around the city. Main venue isKirjurinluoto Arena, which is an open-air concert park holding an audience more than 30,000. The arena has hosted also many other events likeSonisphere Festival in 2009 and 2010.SuomiAreena in an international public debate forum held simultaneously withPori Jazz.[51]
Pori is considered to be the birthplace of Finnish-language theatre[9] as theFinnish National Theatre gave its first performance atHotel Otava on October 13, 1872.Pori Theatre is a municipal theatre established in 1931 as a merger of two local stages. Theatre building was completed in 1884. Another professional theatre in Pori is Rakastajat-teatteri. It is also hosting an annual festival for independent theatre groups.[52] Pori is a home for several amateur and youth theatres and the Kirjurinluoto Summer Theatre that presents open-air productions in summertime.
Pori Symphony Orchestra was established 1938 and it is today known asPori Sinfonietta. The orchestra performs in 1999 built Promenadikeskus music hall. The first city orchestra was founded in 1877. In its early years the orchestra was mostly performinglight orchestral music and its musicians were German. The very firstsymphony concert was played in 1902. Most famous classical composer from Pori isSelim Palmgren, even called as "The Finnish Chopin". Pori Opera was established in 1976. It performs a yearly production together with Pori Sinfonietta and Pori Opera Choir. In 2004 they recordedKung Karls jakt which is the first opera composed in Finland.
Pori is known as one of the birthplaces ofFinnish rock music, where the bandsDingo andYö, among others, originate.[53] With this, the concept of "Porirock" was born to define the music made by rock musicians from Pori.[54]
Satakunta Museum is a historical museum established 1888. It is one of the oldest historical museums in Finland and presents the history ofSatakunta province and the city of Pori. Museum building was completed in 1973.[55]Pori Art Museum is a museum ofcontemporary andmodern art. It was opened in 1979. Museum is based on the collections of local art collector and patronageMaire Gullichsen. Pori Art Museum is located in a formerweigh house originally built in 1860.[56] Other museums in Pori are the Rosenlew Museum which is presenting the industrial heritage ofRosenlew Company[57] and thenatural history museum Luontotalo Arkki.[58] Toivo is the renovation center of Satakunta Museum. It presents traditional ways of restoring wooden houses with an exhibition of typical early 1900s home.[59]
Major team sports in Pori areice hockey andfootball. Pori is especially known for its popular hockey teamÄssät which is a three-timeFinnish Champion, most recently in2013.[60] Their victory parade gathered some 20,000 people to the Pori market square.[61] Local top football sideFC Jazz have won the Finnish premier leagueVeikkausliiga in1993 and1996. The club has also competed in severalUEFA competitions. As of 2024[update], FC Jazz plays in the third tierYkkönen.[62] Jazz's main rival and other local football team isMusan Salama which plays in fifth tier,Kolmonen.
Other popular team sports in Pori arebandy andpesäpallo, the Finnish version ofbaseball. Women's pesäpallo teamPesäkarhut and bandy sideNarukerä are both playing in the premier divisions. Pori has also men's and women's lower division teams in almost all major team sports, including clubs likePori Futsal (futsal),Bears (American football),Pori Rugby (rugby union) andFBT Karhut United (floorball). The oldest sportsclub in Finland,Segelföreningen i Björneborg, was established 1856 in Pori.[63]
The biggest sports club in Pori is Liikuntaseura Pori, which offers multiple sports including gymnastics, TeamGym and cheerleading.
12,300 seatedPori Stadium, which is primarily used for football, is one of the largestmulti-purpose stadiums in Finland. It is the home ground for FC Jazz and NiceFutis. The stadium has also been a venue for twoFinland internationals. Pori Stadium has hosted theFinnish Championships in Athletics three times and was the venue of 2015 games.
Stadium is located at the Isomäki sports center. The area includes several other facilities like theIsomäki Areena ice hockey arena for 6,150 spectators, an indoor football arena, a rink for bandy and skating, tennis courts and an outdoor swimming stadium. Pori Racetrack is one of the majorhorse racing venues in Finland.
the speedway track in 2010
Themotorcycle speedway track, Yyterin speedwaystadion is approximately 16 kilometres to the north off the Mäntyluodontie, the track has held the final of theFinnish Individual Speedway Championship six times from 1983 to 2019.[64] Yyteri Golf is also located in this region.[65] The other golf course, Pori Golf Club, is on the outskirts of the city.[66]
The city-owned indoor swimming pool was opened in September 2011. It is a modern facility with seven pools of variable depth and size, three saunas and a gym.[67]
Radio Pori is a radio station established in 1985 as one of the first commercial stations in Finland.[74]Eazy 101 was during 2012–2015 a local radio station mainly for younger people under 30.[75][76] Public service radio in Pori area is Yle Satakunta, a regional station ofYle Radio Suomi.[77]Yle TV2 screens daily local news from the Pori region andSatakunta province on its national channel.
Yyteri Beach is located 17 kilometres out of the city center. The six-kilometre-long beach is one of the largest inBaltic Sea.[25] Tourist facilities in Yyteri include a hotel/spa, camping/caravan park and a golf course. It is also very popular amongwindsurfers.[78] Island ofReposaari is located some 10 kilometres further of Yyteri. It is connected with the mainland by highway. Reposaari is a unique village with a townscape of mostly wooden buildings and a population of 1,000 people. The island has a church, marina, hostel, camping site, several restaurants and a fishing port.[79]
Villa Mairea is a design of Finland's most famous architectAlvar Aalto. It is considered one of his most significant works. The villa is widely known all over the world among the ones interested in modern architecture.[80] Villa Mairea is located inNoormarkku, a municipality annexed with Pori in 2010.
The northernmost district of Pori,Ahlainen, is a naturalseaside village consisting of wooden houses. The Ahlainen's wooden church, built in 1796, is located in the district and is the oldest surviving church building in Pori.[25]Eteläranta ("South Shore"), located along the Kokemäki River, is a value area of Pori, as the stone house blocks of theriverside landscape were built mostly after the Great Fire of Pori in 1852.[25][81]
^J.W., Ruuth (1958). "Kaupungin perustamiskirje".Porin kaupungin historia II (in Finnish). Porin kaupunki. p. 269. Archived fromthe original on 8 December 2008. Retrieved7 March 2009.
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