Kristiinankaupunki Attractions

Just under 100km/62mi south of Vaasa, off Road 8, is the little town of Kristiinankaupunki (Swedish Kristinestad), whose 9,000 inhabitants are mainly Swedish-speaking. The town was founded by Per Brahe in 1649 and named after Queen Christina of Sweden, a daughter of Gustavus Adolphus. During the 18th and 19th centuries, as a busy port for the shipment of tar, Kristiinankaupunki prospered, but thereafter it declined. The town center still preserves the grid pattern of its original layout.

Kristiinankaupunki was spared the devastating fires which afflicted so many towns, and there are large numbers of 18th and 19th century wooden houses in the old part of the town. A picturesque feature is the red-painted Old Church (1698-1700), which has a handsome organ, a Roccoco pulpit and a separate belfry (1703). Other notable buildings are the centrally situated Town Hall, in Empire style (1858).