MP30 – Old Rauma and Suomenlinna 30+1 years as World Heritage Sites – commemorative seminar and World Heritage Forum 3.-4.5.2022

The World Heritage sites of Old Rauma and Suomenlinna had to postpone their joint 30th anniversary seminar last year due to the corona situation. Old Rauma and Suomenlinna were the first in Finland to be designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1991. The event, postponed to early May, will also mark the 50th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention. Change will be the overarching theme of the celebration seminar and World Heritage Forum, with speeches, lectures and panel discussions on topics relevant to both Old Rauma and Suomenlinna.

On the first day of the event, Tuesday 3 May, participants will have the opportunity to enjoy morning coffee in the local way, i.e. the Rauma way, with a vertical coffee in the square. The special feature of the coffee hour is that the coffee is enjoyed standing near a coffee stall. Locals gather at the coffee stall to exchange news and discuss the hot topics of the day, and the regulars’ group is informally known as the “market parliament”. The earliest history of the tradition is not known exactly, but similar coffee stalls have existed in the market since at least the 1930s.

In the morning, the doors of the Town Hall, a museum on the edge of the square, the Marela Shipowner’s Home Museum on Kauppakatu and the Tammela Renovation Centre on Eteläpitkäkatu will be open to seminar participants. The Tammela exhibition will showcase both the world heritage of Old Rauma and Sammallahdenmäki and the restoration activities related to the care of Old Rauma.

The programme at Poselli starts on Tuesday at 10 am and will include a speech by Minister of Science and Culture Antti Kurvinen, lectures on restoration, local economic impacts and a panel discussion on housing and entrepreneurship in a World Heritage site. The appeal of World Heritage status will be discussed with representatives of the aspiring World Heritage sites of the Saimaa Norfolk Archipelago and the Alvar Aalto complex. On Tuesday, the event will be moderated by journalist Jussi-Pekka Rantanen.

In the evening, there will be a musical performance open to all at the Church of the Holy Cross in Rauma. The medieval stone church is a World Heritage Site, built as a church for the Catholic Franciscan convent. The music performance will include a performance by the Rauma Symphony Orchestra of composer Timo Katila’s Fregatti Osmo, a composition celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Old Rauma World Heritage Site, and organ music related to the history of the church.

On the second day of the World Heritage Forum and Gala Seminar on Thursday at Posell, the speakers will hear and discuss topics such as archaeology, climate change and Nordic cooperation. The event will be moderated by journalist Nina Rahkola. The Minister for the Environment and Climate Change, Emma Kari, will speak remotely, and we will hear UNESCO’s contribution via video. The final lecture of the day will be given by historian Teemu Keskisarja on the history of wood use.

The two-day event is open to all and free of charge and will take place in Rauma, in the Poselli Cultural Centre from 3-4 May 2022. Registration is open until 18 April 2022. Welcome!

The event is organised in cooperation with the City of Rauma, the Suomenlinna Management Committee, the Ministry of Education and Culture, the Ministry of the Environment, Metsähallitus and the Finnish Association of World Heritage Sites.

Aino Koivukari
World Heritage Coordinator
City of Rauma