History of Poroholma
In the 19th century, Rauma's sailing fleet was the largest in Finland, and Rauma was also a lively spa town at that time.
Poroholma's sailing harbor reminds of that era of large sailing ships, and all that remains of Rauma's famous Kaivopuisto spa is a restored gazebo in Poroholma Holiday Resort.
The Otanlahti area has been a place for summer houses for centuries.
The Otanlahti area and Poroholma Resort have quite a long history
There has been activity in the Otanlahti area since the 17th century, and Poroholma has later developed into its own separate area.
Poroholma was still an island in 1838, and it was not until the rise of the land that Poroholma became a cape. Poroholma was previously known by its Swedish name Bornholma.
The manufacturer Isak Östman-Kallio built a villa in Bornholma in 1895 (now called Augusti's pavilion), which after thirty years of villa use became the popular summer cafe "Poroholma" run by Lottie.
Poroholma has slowly developed into the heart of the entire Otanlahti region.
Otanlahti becomes a public park
The popular Kaivohuone spa was founded in Rauma in 1821, next to a well-known health spring not far from Otanlahti.
The spa's health spring attracted guests from far away. In addition to traditional water treatments and tub baths, the spa offered steam and cold water baths. The sulfur bath was a special experience. Kaivopuisto's spa building had seven rooms, a bowling alley and a billiards room. Back then, you didn't stop at the spa for only a couple of days, but you could spend the entire summer season there. The guests were mostly nobles and other wealthy people. Kaivopuisto also held a summer parties, where the entrance fee was the same regardless of decency
Rauma was a popular spa resort until the 1830s. The activity of the spa began to decline little by little, and the spa facility sold the buildings that had reached a bad condition for demolition in 1857. Kaivopuisto's spa area slowly turned into a factory area when the Lönnström companies built a large ammunition factory in the area in 1937.
The idea of a new recreation area started in 1937, when the mayor of Rauma, Oskar Nero, wrote a letter to the Park Board. He writes that a public park intended for recreational use should be established in Rauma:
"After Kaivopuisto has been given as the site for the ammunition factory to be built, the question of organizing a new public park in our city arises. The main requirements should then be taken into account that the park is at least partly by the sea or that there is a wide view of the sea and that a large area is set aside for it, which will be gradually developed over the course of years, maybe even decades."
However, it wasn't until 1950 that a public park plan was made for the Otanlahti area. At that time, the area was developed by building an in-ground swimming pool and a dance stage.
Otanlahti Beach Park has since expanded and over the years has become a recreation area for the entire nation. The area now offers a wide variety of activities, culture, sports and restaurants. The gazebo has also moved from the old public park to the new one - Poroholma Holiday Resort.
Poroholma can be called the lively heart of the Otanlahti Beach Park, where both locals and other vacationers enjoy themselves.
Otanlahti and Poroholma
There has been activity in the Otanlahti area since the 17th century. At that time there was Otsa port in the area, the third landing place near Rauma.
In the 18th century, the area was a place for fishermen to dry their fish, and in the 19th century, the area also served as grazing land for horses. Otanlahti has already been a popular swimming spot at that time. A "dressing room with a door" was already built there in 1886.
At the beginning of the 20th century, boat sheds and numerous laundry sheds were built in Otanlahti. Finally, swimmers also got a better setting when the sea spa (Merska) was built in the area of the Soffronof villa plot.
At the same time, the townspeople built seven private villas on plots rented from the area. After the Second World War, the villas were taken over by associations and communities. After the land leases expired, most of the villas were demolished during the 1950s and 1960s. One of the surviving villas is a villa built by Isak Östman-Kallio in 1895, which today stands as Augusti’s Pavilion in Poroholma. Poroholma's villa was designed by architect August Heleinus from Turku. He designed several other publicly and privately owned buildings in Rauma, such as Rauma's town hall. In 1924, the city bought Bornholma and its buildings from Kallio's estate, and a public swimming hall was built on the tip of the promontory in 1925. At that time, the area began to be called Poroholma, from the position of Swedish Bornholma. Rauma's newspaper from 1927 says that Poroholma was already a popular summer cafe at that time. People visited the area to enjoy the beautiful nature and live music.
The city leased the entire Poroholma area to the Lotta-Svärd association in 1935. From 1935, the Lottas ran a cafe for several years in the Poroholma villa next to the swimming room. Poroholma's swimming room, located in the sea, suffered so badly in the autumn storms of 1939 that it was never repaired, but was finally demolished. The summer cafe was always opened on May Day and the occasion was celebrated with musical performances, the orchestra played and singing choirs performed. The locals then went for a walk in Poroholma.
In 1950, a national park plan was made for the Otanlahti area, and a year later an in-ground swimming pool and a dance stage were built in the area at the tip of the Fåfänga cape.
In the 1960s, Poroholma officially became a camping area and the villa was turned into a camping lodge. The mother's day event organized by the lions is also still remembered among the locals. Mother's Day was celebrated in Poroholma in droves for 22 years. However, there were rarely any events in Poroholma and the area was modest. From the nineties until 2008, Poroholma lived a quiet life, there were few tourists, there were no events for the locals, and no investment was made in the area.
