Katarina Square is dominated by the Vartiolinna, the headquarters of the Central Ostrobothnian Civil Guard completed in 1927. The building, designed by Ole Gripenberg, represents 1920’s classical architecture at its finest. The building is now the Kokkola City Theatre. In front of Vartiolinna there is the Seals (Hylkeet) statue by Karl G. Nylund (1970), which was a gift from the Outokumpu Oy and Kemira Oy companies on the city’s 350th anniversary.
Kokkola’s old water tower stands on the edge of the square. The need for constructing a public water system for Kokkola arose in the early 20th century. Construction work on the water tower began in 1914, but the project was not completed until 1921. The top level of the tower has been a lookout for the fire warden and was an aircraft observation post during the Winter War.
The Orthodox Chapel