The city museum at Storgatan 2 covers the cultural and maritime history of Jakobstad and the surrounding Ostrobothnian coast. The collection concentrates on the town's two great historical industries — shipbuilding and tobacco — and includes material on the bilingual Swedish-Finnish character that has shaped the town since its founding in 1652.
The harbour annex (Fantasea Park) nearby covers the region's maritime and natural history with a more outdoor, family-oriented approach. Together they give a good picture of what made this small Gulf coast town prosperous enough to survive the agricultural poverty of the surrounding interior.