Uusikaupunki

Uusikaupunki was founded in 1617 on the Gulf of Bothnia and grew on shipbuilding and sailing, and its centre is still largely wooden: low painted houses along a long harbour inlet that runs into the middle of the town, with a wooden church, sea captains' houses and a cultural history museum in one of them. Its modern economy runs on a car factory that has assembled vehicles under contract for foreign manufacturers since the 1960s. The oddest thing in the town is the Bonk museum, a private invention that displays elaborate machines and a corporate history that are entirely fictional, presented with a straight face throughout.

History

Uusikaupunki, "new town" in both Finnish and Swedish, grew from a village called Kalainen, "rich in fish", in a region already trading in wooden goods and salt in the early Middle Ages, and it received town rights by a decree of Gustav II Adolf on 19 April 1617. In 1647 Queen Christina made her half-brother Gustav of Vasaborg count of Nystad, which is why the town was sometimes called Vasaborg, and in 1721 the Peace of Nystad, ending the Great Northern War between Sweden and Russia, was signed here. The town was an important port for trade and fishing into the 19th century, and its shipbuilding industry lasted into the latter half of the 20th (Wikipedia, Uusikaupunki).

Highlights

• The harbour inlet into the town - water running into the centre.
• Wooden houses and sea captains' homes - the old town along the water.
• The Bonk museum - elaborate machines from an invented company history.
• The car factory - the contract assembly plant the town runs on.

When to go

June to August for the fullest opening; museums close or reduce outside the summer. Half a day. The archipelago boats run in summer only.

Things to know

Museums keep short seasons and limited hours. The town is quiet and many places shut outside summer. The car factory is not open to visitors. Public transport connections are slow.

Nearby

Rauma is north; Turku lies south-east.

Key facts