Merikarvia

Merikarvia
Sastmola
Municipality
Merikarvian kunta

Coat of arms

Location of Merikarvia in Finland
Coordinates: 61°51.5′N 021°30′E / 61.8583°N 21.500°ECoordinates: 61°51.5′N 021°30′E / 61.8583°N 21.500°E
Country Finland
Region Satakunta
Sub-region Pori sub-region
Charter 1639
Government
  Municipal manager Pentti Ala-Luopa
Area (2011-01-01)[1]
  Total 1,246.24 km2 (481.18 sq mi)
  Land 446.04 km2 (172.22 sq mi)
  Water 800.2 km2 (309.0 sq mi)
Area rank 89th largest in Finland
Population (2014-11-30)[2]
  Total 3,231
  Rank 240th largest in Finland
  Density 7.24/km2 (18.8/sq mi)
Population by native language[3]
  Finnish 99.1% (official)
  Swedish 0.3%
  Others 0.6%
Population by age[4]
  0 to 14 13.9%
  15 to 64 59%
  65 or older 27.1%
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
  Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)
Municipal tax rate[5] 19.5%
Website www.merikarvia.fi

Merikarvia (Swedish: Sastmola) is a municipality of Finland.

It is located in the Satakunta region. The neighboring municipalities are Isojoki, Kristiinankaupunki, Pomarkku, Pori and Siikainen.

The municipality has a population of 3,231 (30 November 2014)[2] and it covers an area of 1,246.24 square kilometres (481.18 sq mi), of which 800.2 km2 (309.0 sq mi) is water.[1] The population density is 7.24 inhabitants per square kilometre (18.8/sq mi).

The municipality is unilingually Finnish. The coastline was formerly swedishspeaking. Merikarvia is known by the Oura Archipelago, which is part of the Bothnian Sea National Park.

History

The area has been inhabited since as early as 1800 BC. There are grave sites from the Bronze and Iron Ages within the municipality. Most of the cairns are located in Tuorila village located east of the municipal center.

The birth of the earliest villages in Merikarvia - Kasala, Riispyy, Ala- and Yli-Kylä, and Köörtilä - is dated to between the 13th and 14th centuries. As a separate municipality, Merikarvia has existed since 1865.

The first church in Merikarvia was built in 1776 and was named after the queen consort of Sweden at the time, Sofia Magdalena. The church, still in use today, was finished in 1899.

As a coastal municipality, Merikarvia largely lived from the sea until modern times. Fishing, sawmills and shipyards were common businesses until the end of the 19th century.

Politics

Results of the Finnish parliamentary election, 2011 in Merikarvia:

Sights

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Area by municipality as of 1 January 2011" (PDF) (in Finnish and Swedish). Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 9 March 2011.
  2. 2.0 2.1 "VÄESTÖTIETOJÄRJESTELMÄ REKISTERITILANNE 30.11.2014" (in Finnish and Swedish). Population Register Center of Finland. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  3. "Population according to language and the number of foreigners and land area km2 by area as of 31 December 2008". Statistics Finland's PX-Web databases. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
  4. "Population according to age and gender by area as of 31 December 2008". Statistics Finland's PX-Web databases. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 28 April 2009.
  5. "List of municipal and parish tax rates in 2011". Tax Administration of Finland. 29 November 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.

External links

Media related to Merikarvia at Wikimedia Commons