Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Stretching for several blocks north of the new town, Jakobstad's mainly residential Old
Town, Skata, has around 300 of the best-preserved wooden houses in Finland.
Over half the population are Swedophone in Jakobstad (Finnish: Pietarsaari). The
town's name comes from Swedish war hero Jacob de la Gardie, whose widow Ebba Braha
founded Jakobstad in 1652 in her husband's memory. It's the birthplace of Finland's na-
tional poet, JL Runeberg (1804-77), who wrote in Swedish.
