Nykarleby Attractions Uusikaarlepyy
20km/12.5mi south of Jakobstad lies the town of Nykarleby (Finnish name Uusikaarlepyy), founded in 1620, where Per Brahe established the first secondary school in Österbotten (1640). The little town is still mainly Swedish-speaking and is located at the mouth of the Lapua River. Nykarleby was the birthplace in 1818 of Zachris Topelius, the most important Finland-Swedish poet of the 19th century after Runeberg; the house in which he was born is now a museum.
The wooden church of St Brigitta (1708) has fine wall paintings; the bell-frame dates from 1702. Near Nykarleby General von Döbeln defeated a Russian army during the Swedish-Russian war of 1808-09.
The wooden church of St Brigitta (1708) has fine wall paintings; the bell-frame dates from 1702. Near Nykarleby General von Döbeln defeated a Russian army during the Swedish-Russian war of 1808-09.
