Kurikka

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kurikka is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Southern Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of 10,630 (2003) and covers an area of 465.06 km² of which 2.01 km² is water. The population density is 22.9 inhabitants per km². The municipality is unilingually Finnish.

Kurikka is recognized not only as a dynamic town of trade and business activities but also as an important hub of agriculture. Tens of small to medium sized furniture manufacturers create design furniture to the Northern European market. Kurikka is at the same time comfortably small and big enough, with excellent services nearby, and a very nice nature surrounding the whole town.

In Kurikka, you can live in a modern fashion in the city centre or in a peaceful countryside setting. The spirit of the city includes a lot of entrepreneurship and activity, features typical of South Ostrobothnia – and also more and more international elements. Kurikka has a very advanced public school system including elementary, high school and secondary grade education and high quality health care system provided by the municipality.

The town of Kurikka is financially very stable. Kurikka is one of the biggest shareholders in the Finnish energy giant Fortum as well as in Neste Oil, one of Northern Europe's biggest oil companies. The political scene of the town is dominated by the Finnish Centre because of the agricultural roots & past of the town.

Famous people having their origins in Kurikka include Jorma Ollila, Nokia and Royal Dutch Shell chairman of the board and Juha Mieto, a former cross country skier.