Every design for Kokemäki

Everything in Kokemäki comes back to the river. The Kokemäenjoki, which gives its name to one of Finland's largest river systems, flows out of Lake Liekovesi, through the town and on to the Gulf of Bothnia at Pori, and it has long been prized for salmon, whitefish and lamprey. Within the town's borders the Kolsi hydro-electric plant harnesses its fall, and the old museum bridge at Tulkkila has become the town's unofficial emblem.

Kokemäki sits in the heart of Satakunta, a position that once made it the province's administrative centre and the seat of the Kumogård castle district. After the ice age the whole area lay under the sea. As the land rose, the Kauvatsa ridge appeared first, then Hiittenharju, Järilänharju and Ronkanharju sheltered the new shore, and a drying inland lake left the wide wetlands that became Puurijärvi and Isosuo national park. The medieval Huovintie trade route ran along the river from Turku, and legend has it that Bishop Henry stayed here on his preaching tour; St Henry's Chapel, a neo-Gothic brick building, stands over the site of the granary he used. Piispa Henrikin rintakuva and the bishop's mitre on the coat of arms keep the story alive.

The detail locals know best: graavilohi and salmon soup, named the parish dishes: a fitting choice for a town that grew up on a salmon river.