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Kokkola (Swedish: Karleby) is a town in Central Ostrobothnia, Finland, with a population of 48,000 (2021). It's the largest town in the region, with industry based on chemicals and metals. The old wooden town (Neristan) has been well-preserved, and is the main reason to visit.

Understand

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The city hall

Kokkola was founded in 1620 under Swedish rule, and much of the current built-up area was underwater at that time; the area is still rebounding from glaciation, at almost 9 mm a year. Kokkola was an important exporter of tar in the 18th and 19th century, an essential commodity when ships were built of wood. But it was always losing a race with the receding sea, as its offshore archipelago became a narrow peninsula, then a broad headland, and the harbour dwindled to a narrow creek. The modern dockland and industry are now 5 km to the west.

Get in

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By train

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There are six direct trains daily from Helsinki via Tampere, taking just under 4 hours, and continuing to Oulu (Uleaborg) and other far-north towns. A couple of sleeper trains to the far north also call at Kokkola in the small hours. 1 Kokkola railway station is central, but cold and shuttered at those hours. The waiting room is open Su–F 07:00–18:00, Sa 07:00-15:30 with a couple of ticket machines and a Sixt car rental office. See Finland#Get around: By train for advice on fares and ticket purchase.

By bus

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Kokkola has direct buses from Helsinki (8-9 hr), Turku (7 hr), Jyväskylä (4 hr), Vaasa (2 hr 30 min), Jakobstad (1 hr), Oulu (3 hr) and Tampere (5 hr 35 min). Bus is the quickest way from Vaasa, Jakobstad and Jyväskylä as the railway route is indirect. The town bus station is just across the road from the railway station.

By car

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The main highways into town are E8 Turku–Vaasa–Kokkola–Oulu–Kemi–Tromsø, and E12 Helsinki–Tampere–Kokkola.

By plane

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2 Kokkola-Pietarsaari Airport (KOK  IATA) (20 km south of Kokkola). The airport has two direct flights daily from Helsinki operated by NyxAir, taking just over an hour. A third flight is triangular, Helsinki > Kemi-Tornio > KOK > Helsinki, taking 2 hr 30 min, and one of the direct flights from Helsinki is the reverse triangle. Amapola has a route from Stockholm. There are also a few summer charters from holiday destinations around Europe. There's no bus to Kokkola or Jakobstad, book a taxi via or ☏ +358 45-121-1515 for €20 each way, taking 15 min, see here for more information. There's a small cafe open for the early morning and midday flights down to Helsinki. Kokkola-Pietarsaari Airport (Q196087) on Wikidata Kokkola-Pietarsaari Airport on Wikipedia (updated Jun 2019)

By boat

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See also: Boating in Finland#Kvarken

There are ferries from Umeå to Vaasa, taking 5 hours.

The passage from the High Coast of Sweden via the Kvarken Archipelago, or along the coast from the Bothnian Sea can be a nice voyage by yacht. From Sweden, the open-sea leg can be made short, with lighthouses in view all the time (if visibility is good).

Get around

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The town is fairly small, so the easiest way to see the sights is walking.

By bus

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A small number of city bus lines circle Kokkola. The Matkahuolto route planner covers local transport. The only two lines a visitor is likely to use are numbers 4 and 5, which run hourly from the centre via the market square to Halkokari (east of the river outlet) and west to the dockland.

By bike

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Pyöräliike Lybäck Oy on Isokatu 21 does bike repairs and rentals. They're open M–F 09:00-17:00 and Sa 10:00–14:00.

By electric kick scooter

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See also: Finland#By motorised scooter

German Tier rents electric kick scooters for use in the centre.

By taxi

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See

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View of Tankar island
  • Neristan is Swedish for "lower town", the artisan and sailors' quarter (Finnish Vanhakaupunki). This is a fine old district of wooden houses, one of the best preserved in Finland, laid out on a grid pattern. Oppistan or "upper town" was the more prosperous merchant quarter, but less of this has survived. The station area is bland and modern, go north a couple of blocks back to come into the attractive part, bounded to the east by the river and park and to the north by Chydeniuksenkatu. The tourist map suggests a walking route but you can just quarter the streets at random.
  • 1 Museum Quarter, Pitkänsillankatu 28. Tu–Su 11:00–16:00. This is a small city block just south of the new church with four buildings around a grassy square with cafe. The four are Pedagogium the old school house, Lassander House showing life of a prosperous 18th-century family, the natural history collection, and the gem and mineral collection. The latter two (east side) are closed for rebuilding following a fire in Jan 2019. Free. (updated Jun 2019)
  • K.H. Renlund Art Museum (Roos' House), Pitkänsillankatu 39 (just east of Museum Quarter). Tu–Su 11:00–16:00. Councillor Karl Herman Renlund (1850-1908) donated his art collection to the city, and gives his name to the museum sited at several locations. The bulk of the collection is here in Roos House, built in 1813 by the merchant & shipping Roos family to show off their wealth and classical leanings. Plus modern exhibitions on the ground floor. Free. (updated Jun 2019)
  • 2 The English boat: 19th-century Finland was part of the Russian Empire, and in 1854 during the Crimea War a force of British Royal Marines raided the town. They were beaten off, nine were killed, and one boat was captured. It's by the creek along Isokatu, in a boathouse which is locked but has a shop-window front. The British ask for the boat's return, but the Finns decline. It's being looked after nicely (the boathouse is being re-painted in mid-2019) and is safe enough where it is.
  • 3 West Park: this area was outside town until the 19th century when it was laid out as a public park. At its north-west corner, the Katarina Cemetery is a walled graveyard set up in 1770 on the site of the earlier plague pits. It's surrounded by charnel houses, where those who died in winter were stored until the ground thawed in spring and they could be buried. One block north, note the Orthodox Chapel and the 1930s-style filling station.
  • 4 Kaarlela Church (600 m south of railway station). Attractive stone church built circa 1460 and extended in the late 18th century; Lutheran since the Reformation. (updated Jun 2019)
  • 5 Kaarlela Museum of Local History and Culture (Karleby hembygdsmuseum), Kirkkopolku 4 (1 km south of railway station off Ventuksentie). June-mid Aug: Tu W F–Su 11:00-16:00. Displays local rural life from the 19th century. There's a windmill, stable, workshop and forge, a smoke sauna, drying barn, cottage, tannery and carding works. (updated Jun 2019)
  • 6 Tankar Island. A charming little island with a lighthouse, an old church and a seal-hunting museum plus café; it used to be the base for sea pilots. The lighthouse, built 1889, is an automated steel tower, you can't go inside. The island's main buildings can be reached with strollers or wheelchairs from the jetty by boardwalk and decent track, but other paths (e.g., the nature trail) are rough going. The ferry MS Jenny makes regular trips June–Aug. It usually leaves at noon for a 90 min crossing, returning at 15:30 for 17:00. Trips sail June–Aug on W F Sa Su, plus late June to mid August on Thursday evenings and Tuesday noon. The boat sails from Meripuisto 2.5 km north of the centre, west bank of the creek (same side as the camp site). Bus 7 runs partway there but it's a pleasant 40-min walk from town centre, see "Do". Adult fare €20. (updated Jun 2019)

Do

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  • 1 Kokkola City Theatre (Kokkolan kaupunginteatteri), Torikatu 48. The theatre has a regular programme of entertainment, but only in Finnish. (updated May 2019)
  • Walk or cycle north along the creek to the sea shore, 2.5 km. There are tarmac paths both sides, but the west bank is more pleasant, a bosky parkland of native birch and fir. At the ring road Pohjoisväylä / Norraleden you need to switch briefly onto the east bank. Then take the footbridge by the supermarket to return to the west bank path, for the campsite and ferry to Tankar Island.
  • Kokkola Cup[dead link] is an annual football (soccer) tournament for under-18s held in and around town in July. The next event is 18-21 July 2019.
  • The Venetian Festival[dead link] (Venetsialaiset) at the end of August is when people close up their summer cabins and cottages and have a party, before the September nights and cold winds set in. There's a lot of bonfires, lights and fireworks - hence the name, as fireworks were introduced to Finland from Italy and became known as "Venetian lights".
  • Live music is often on at local bars and pubs, e.g. at Bar West Coast on Rantakatu 16.
  • Classical music: the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra often play at Snellman Hall, Kokkola.
  • Anniversary: The city's anniversary is celebrated on 7 Sep.

Buy

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Chydenia shopping centre

There are many larger stores and smaller shops as it is regional centre.

  • 1 Chydenia, Tehtaankatu 3-5 (about 100 meters north of Kokkola railway station). The shopping centre is named for Anders Chydenius (1729–1803), Sweden's Adam Smith. Includes about 45 stores. 

Eat

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Old town view

There are at least three fast-food franchises, over ten pizzerias and many small cafés and food stalls, plus Italian, Chinese and (sort-of) Mexican. The main concentration is in and around Chydenia mall near the railway and bus stations.

  • 1 Rosso, Isokatu 4 (in Chydenia mall), ☏ +358 20-780-7975. M–Sa 11:00–21:00, Su 12:00–21:00. Mid-range chain restaurant with Italian food. (updated Jun 2022)

Drink

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  • 1 West Coast Billiard, Rantakatu 16 (corner with Torikatu). W, F, Sa 21:00–04:30 Th 18:00–24:00. Downstairs bar with pool tables and live music. (updated Jun 2022)
  • 2 Corner's Pub, corner of Rantakatu and Torikatu (by Hotel Seurahuone). Tu–Su 20:00–03:00. Small mellow place. (updated Jun 2019)
  • 3 Huismann, Torikatu 27, Kauppatori, ☏ +358 50-353-9470. M–Th Su 16:00–00:00, F Sa 14:00–02:00. Sports bar with good selection of beers. (updated Jun 2022)
  • 4 Calle Nightclub, Kauppatori 4, ☏ +358 20-780-8920. F, Sa 23:00–04:00. Gets awfully crowded and difficult to get served. (updated Jun 2022)
  • Reino Nightclub (formerly Socis) is in Hotel Seurohuone (listed below), F Sa 23:00–03:30.
  • 5 Vanha Kippari, Satamakatu 12 (out west in Ykspihlaja near docks). M–F 15:00–23:00, Sa 12:00–02:00, Su 12:00–23:00. Handy for industrial zone. (updated Jun 2019)

Sleep

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Go next

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  • Kalajoki 70 km north has sandy beaches where you can swim in the Gulf of Bothnia in the summer.
  • Raahe 125 km north is an industrial town.
  • Oulu 200 km north is the largest city in Northern Finland and the provincial centre of the region North Ostrobothnia, with many sights and activities, e.g. an excellent science museum.
  • Jakobstad (Pietarsaari), 35 km south, still has a Swedish-speaking majority, has an extensive wooden town, the ship replica Jacobstads Wapen and a nice botanical garden.
  • Vaasa (Vasa) 120 km south is the provincial centre of the Ostrobothnia region, with plenty of history and with a ferry across the sea to Umeå in Sweden.
Routes through Kokkola
Vaasa ← Jakobstad ←  SW  NE  → Kalajoki → Oulu


This city travel guide to Kokkola is a usable article. It has information on how to get there and on restaurants and hotels. An adventurous person could use this article, but please feel free to improve it by editing the page.
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