Kotka is a city and municipality of Finland. Kotka is located on the coast of the Gulf of Finland at the mouth of Kymi River and it is part of the Kymenlaakso region in southern Finland.
The Port of Kotka is the second-largest export port and the biggest transit port in Finland, that serves both the foreign trade of Finland and Russia.
The city centre of Kotka is located at Kotkansaari island. The municipality officially speaks Finnish.
Kotka region was one of the first heavily industrialized regions of Finland.
Since the 1980s the population of Kotka has been slowly decreasing, mostly due to domestic migration to the Helsinki region.
The town’s identity is in part defined by the Kymijoki River, the Baltic Sea, and the archipelago around it, and most of its area is in fact water.
Kotka has a rich history and played an important role in the many struggles between Sweden and Russia down the years, especially in maritime battles.
The Church of St Nicholas is located in Isopuisto Park in Kotka city centre. Based on designs by Jakov Perrin, the neoclassical church was constructed between 1799–1801, and it is the oldest building in Kotka today.