Jakobstad Skata

Skata is the old workers' and sailors' quarter of Jakobstad, several hundred small wooden houses in tight blocks with yards and outbuildings, built from the eighteenth century onward for the people who worked in the town's tar trade, shipyards and later its tobacco factory, and it is among the largest surviving wooden town districts in the Nordic countries. It is a lived-in neighbourhood rather than a museum, painted in reds, ochres and greys, with narrow streets and fences. Elsewhere in the town are the Malm merchant house museum, a tobacco factory that shaped the local economy for two centuries, and a replica of the barque Jacobstads Wapen at the harbour.

What you actually see

• Hundreds of small wooden houses - one of the largest such districts in the north.
• A lived-in quarter - yards, fences and everyday use rather than preservation.
• The Malm merchant house - the museum of a trading family.
• The Jacobstads Wapen replica - the sailing ship at the harbour.

When to go

June to August for museums and the harbour ship; the district itself can be walked year round. Half a day. Winter is dark and most attractions close.

Honest expectations

People live here and gardens and yards are private. Museums keep short summer seasons. The town is quiet and services are limited outside the centre. Rail access requires a bus connection.

Nearby

Kokkola is north; Vaasa lies south.