Raahe (; ; ) is a town and municipality of Finland. Founded by Swedish statesman and Governor General of Finland Count Per Brahe the Younger in 1649, it is one of 10 historic wooden towns (or town centers) remaining in Finland. Examples of other Finnish historic wooden towns are Kaskinen (Kaskö), Old Rauma, Porvoo (Borgå), Jakobstad (Pietarsaari), and Vaasa (Vasa). After a devastating fire in 1810, Raahe was rebuilt adhering to new design principles which minimized the risk of fire and enlarged some civic spaces. Old Raahe (or "Wooden Raahe") is noted for its Renaissance-inspired rectilinear town plan featuring an unusual central-square (called Pekkatori) with closed corners. Raahe is located on the northern shores of the Gulf of Bothnia in the region of North Ostrobothnia, southwest of Oulu and northeast of Kokkola. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Historically an agricultural and maritime region, Ostrobothnia supplied the largest number of immigrants from Finland to the US and other countries such as Canada and Australia during the great migration of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The neighboring municipalities of Raahe are Haapavesi, Oulainen, Pyhäjoki, Siikajoki and Siikalatva. Founded as a Swedish-and-Finnish-speaking town, the municipality is now unilingually Finnish. Three municipalities have been consolidated with Raahe: Saloinen in 1973, Pattijoki in 2003 and Vihanti in 2013. The asteroid 1786 Raahe was named after this town and municipality. History Before the establishment The area of Raahe was originally a part of the parish of Saloinen, known until 1913 as Salo. It was one of the first parishes in northern Ostrobothnia. Seventeenth century history Count Per Brahe the Younger, the governor-general of Finland, gave a charter to the town of Salo (not to be confused with Salo in Finland Proper) in the year of 1649 with the purpose of constructing a town at Satamakangas, near the old harbour site. However, the harbour area had become so low that the future town was decided to be transferred. A new and better location was found further to the north, at the bay of Raahe. Having acquired the possession of the parish of Salo in 1652, Per Brahe renamed the town Brahestad or Raahe in Finnish. The planning of the town for the purpose of building Raahe was given to the surveyor Claes Claesson. His town plan followed the ideals