Examples of other historic wooden towns in Finland are Kaskinen (Kaskö), Old Rauma, Porvoo (Borgå), Jakobstad (Pietarsaari) and Vaasa (Vasa).

Historically an agricultural and maritime region, Ostrobothnia supplied the largest number of immigrants from Finland to the USA and other countries such as Canada and Australia during the Great Migration of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Having acquired the possession of the parish of Salo in 1652, Per Brahe renamed the town Brahestad or Raahe in Finnish.

Six blocks were realized of the town plan, i.e. the area surrounded by present-day Koulukatu, Kirkkokatu, Saaristokatu and Rantakatu.

[9][10] The oldest picture still remaining of the town of Raahe, a seventeenth-century drawing, dates back to the year of 1659.

[9][10] There were two public buildings in Raahe: a handsome, admirable, two-story town hall with a tower, and a wooden church, whose construction had already begun in 1651.

The unbuilt portion of the plot against the street was fitted up with a high, solid plank fence and a drive-in gate.

Considered from the point of view of architectural history, at the time of its foundation Raahe was a quite modern town.

Goods such as tar, boards, tallow, butter, and fur were traded through Raahe, and improved road connections increased the competitiveness of the harbour.

The Rautaruukki steel mill, which up to the 1980s was the largest single industrial site in the Nordic countries, is located in Raahe.

The mill produces steel plate, coil and sheeting and semi-finished products for the engineering works.

[14] With the steel industry, Raahe has grown into the third largest city in the ex-Oulu province, after Oulu and Kajaani.

The men's pesäpallo team Pattijoen Urheilijat competes in the Superpesis national league, playing at Rännäri Stadium.