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.

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.

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.

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Wikipedia