Local Press Photos

These newspaper photographs invite us to look back and reflect on everyday life in Kotka and the surrounding area as seen through the eyes of the local press. Local politics, events, culture and sport each have their own section on the exhibition wall. What topics captured people’s attention in the 1970s? Municipal mergers, the market hall and changes to the school system certainly got people talking.

Local newspapers report on life in their community, and old newspapers form part of a community’s collective memory. The changes in people’s lives and the landscape are evident in both the photographs and the newspaper articles. Many of the buildings featured in the photos have disappeared. However, the photos also reveal similarities with the present day – people still celebrate the victories of the football team KTP and attend the summer theatre in Kyminlinna. A newspaper article does not always discuss what is shown in the photograph. For example, a photo depicting the landscape of Karhula could be linked to a feature on residents’ quality of life.

The newspapers Etelä-Suomi and Eteenpäin, both published in Kotka, merged to form Kotkan Sanomat at the beginning of 1989. In autumn 1991, the newspaper was renamed Kymen Sanomat. In 1991, Kymen Sanomat donated photographs and negatives from Etelä-Suomi to the Kymenlaakso Museum. The collection contains around 1,700 photographs in total. The exhibition features approximately a hundred photographs originally published in the newspaper.

The exhibition forms part of the programme marking the Kymenlaakso Museum’s centenary.