From the toil of port work to museum experiences.
The colourful past of the City Port in Kotka.
Maritime Centre Vellamo lies at the heart of maritime Kotka, at the old City Port, amidst the traditional and genuine harbour environment. The building just could not have a better location.
In the early years of Kotka, in the 1870s, there was not yet a need for a port. Sailing ships which arrived to load sawn timber from the nine sawmills in Kotka cast their anchor beside the sawmill or remained in the roadstead to await the loading of timber.
The first quay built through public funds, Pakkahuoneenlaituri, was completed in 1879 in the area where Maritime Centre Vellamo is now located. Pharmacist Grahn had a lemonade kiosk built near the quay, and the port soon evolved into a place where the townspeople could meet their friends and see the hustle and bustle of the port.
Another quay was built in the 1880s. A step towards a larger port was taken when a great novelty, railway, was built to facilitate cargo traffic.
The construction of the City Port did not progress without glitches. There were arguments over the ownership of water areas, and also whether or not the port had the correct location in the first place. The arguments had an impact on the construction of the Eastern Quay, with the work started in 1911 and completed as late as 1921. Due to its high costs, the new quay was referred to as Miljoonamöljä (Million Quay).
Cargo traffic at the City Port decreased when the focus in traffic flows in Kotka shifted to the new Mussalo Deep-Water Harbour from 1989 onwards. However, the genuine port appearance of the City Port with the cranes and other port-related items will be retained into the future in the surroundings of Maritime Centre Vellamo.
