"Kokkola - on the Muddy banks of Bothnia Gulf" Kokkola by yumalation

At the time when tar was needed to build wooden ships, Kokkola was one of the biggest tar-export towns in Scandinavia. That tradition is still seen in our coat of arms. This city founded 1620 is born from the sea and the ships.

Small wooden houses of Neristan

The old wooden part of the city is a nice place to have a walk in a warm summer evening but as it's best Neristan is at Christmas time when all electric street lights are switched off.

Pedestrian area at Christmas time

Three smaller municipalities joined Kokkola 2009 rising the population over 45 000. Almost 20% of them speak swedish.

• Pros:Compact
• Cons:Where's the sea?
• In a nutshell:If I was a tourist, I'd spend an idle day here