Pori National Urban Park
The Pori National Urban Park, located in the town of Pori, Finland, was established in May 2002 and it preserves the story of the phases of development of the town born at the mouth of the river Kokemäenjoki. It emphasizes importance of the culturally valuable building legacy and the boulevards and other parkland. The most prominent monuments are the industrial buildings on the north bank of the Kokemäenjoki, the neo-gothic Central church of Pori and neo-renaissance building, the Junnelius palace which is currently used as the City Hall. The National Urban Park also contains the Pori bridge; the Old Courthouse; the unique collection of stone buildings, "stone Pori"; the Juselius Mausoleum, and Kirjurinluoto island, made famous by the Pori Jazz Festival.
Green corridor through the town
The Pori National Urban Park forms a single green corridor dissecting the city and you can move along it from the Kokemäenjoki river delta with its famous birdlife, through the city centre to the Isomäki open-air sports complex and then on to the countryside surrounding the town. The urban park counterbalances the built-up sections of the city and saves the natural part of the town, the parks that have been built, and the cultural landscape, to form a unified area of recreation for the citizens of Pori.
Small islands are part of the history
Pori was founded in 1558 by Duke John, John III of Sweden, at which time the mouth of the Kokemäenjoki was at the site of the present town centre. As time passed, as a result of the rise of the land and the decomposition of river silt, small islands, or islets, were formed just off the shore. The names of the islets come from the historical recreation areas of the city officials. The special thing about the islets is the idyllic villa community of early twentieth-century workers "summer homes". An example of an English-style park, Kirjurinluoto has been the recreational area for Pori people for over a century. The historical park oasis was complemented by the beach added in 1996, and the Pelle Hermanni children’s playground. Kirjurinluoto has been the concert venue for the Pori Jazz festival since 1966. The park complex is being expanded towards the Kirjurinluoto Arena on Raatimiehenluoto. Kirjurinluoto is connected to the city centre by the pontoon bridge Taavi. The Pormestari bridge completed in the summer of 2001 connects Kirjurinluoto to the Pormestarinluoto and Isosanta districts of Pori.
Nature a strong presence
The Kokemäenjoki river flows through the middle of the Pori national urban park, and from its northern side the river fans out towards the sea into the widest river delta of the Nordic countries. The unspoiled nature of the riverbank groves reaches right up to the town centre. In the centre of town, nature is present in the crisscross boulevards, which are famous for providing a nesting place for rooks. To the south, the urban park is connected directly with the surrounding countryside.
Industrial history of the North bank
Industrialisation gave rise to a heritage of buildings along the riverbank, which have been well preserved. The north bank of the Kokemäenjoki is dominated by the redbrick building of the cotton mill. Large-scale industry has, however, partly given way after the period of industrialisation, to make room for a thriving centre of excellence, containing the university centre of Pori.
Pearl of the urban park - the south bank of the river, Eteläranta
The stone buildings on the south bank of the river Kokemäenjoki with their administrative buildings and the boulevards that dissect the centre tell of numerous fires in the city and of the set of values of that time. "Kivi-Pori" (stone Pori), built in the spirit of the neo-renaissance, is a cultural environment of national significance.
Avenues a part of the townscape
The key features of the urban park – the tree-lined avenues, which criss-cross the centre of Pori – have featured in the city structure since the last town fire of 1852. Pori's national urban park is an integral part of the inhabitants' everyday life with the opportunities it brings for recreation. The pedestrianised area in the town centre, Promenadi-Pori, which has been developed since the 1970s, is now complemented by the national urban park of Pori.
Portal that connects
Railway buildings have brought their own theme to the national urban park of Pori. The old wooden railway station of Pori is located at the end of Länsipuisto (West Avenue) and the present railway station built in the functional style lies to the south. The Portal, an underpass going under the railway station, was completed in 1998 and connects the southern and northern areas of the urban park. The length of the zone is 11 km and at the point of the central avenues the zone measures almost 3 km in the east-west direction. The width of the urban park varies from a good kilometre at the islands and the forest of Pori to only a hundred metres at the central avenues. The narrowest point of the urban park is as it passes below the railway and highway 2 along the Portal. The total surface area of the park is about 9.5 km².