After the fire the town was quickly rebuilt. Houses were brought from the countryside, and some were even transported across the Gulf of Bothnia, from Sweden.
The largest and the most impressive building complex was naturally the new marketplace, Pekkatori, with its buildings. As a square composition, Pekkatori represents the closed corner square type conforming to the ideals of Italian Renaissance, and is one of the best preserved examples of its kind in Europe.
Due to the recovering shipping, Raahe began to prosper and grow in the 19th century The town was extended several times. During the Crimean War, the Englishmen that landed in May 1854 burnt down the town’s shipyards, and tar and pitch burning yards, among other things. The devastation of the war was 3 million euros in today’s money. The latter part of the century was a time of prosperity for Raahe. The sailing ship era brought the town a merchant fleet, which at its best consisted of 58 vessels. Almost all of these were built on town’s own shipyards. During 1867—1875 Raahe was the biggest shipowner town in Finland.