Neristan – Kokkola Old Town
Kokkola’s old town area, Neristan, is one of the most cohesive and extensive areas of preserved wooden buildings in Finland. This ‘downtown’ area used to be a district inhabited by the city’s craftsmen and sailors, with small plots divided among several families. The forceful Central Ostrobothnian tradition in handicraft and carpentry brought fine proportions and artless elegance to even the most modest of house.
The City of Kokkola was founded by the king of Sweden, Gustav II Adolf, in September 1620. At the time of the city’s founding, sailing ships could be navigated all the way to the city centre, to where the Market Square is now located. Strong uplift along the Ostrobothnian coast has modified the landscape of the area over the centuries. Standing in the Market Square today, all that remains to remind us of the former extent of the Kokkolahti bay is a small channel, the Kaupunginsalmi narrows, with the 21st century sea-front now lying more than a kilometre north of the Market Square. The Vanhansatamanlahti bay, opening out from the mouth of the Kaupunginsalmi inlet, and the stage for many significant episodes in the city’s history, remains the target for constant development.
