Nykarleby (Finland Swedish: [nyˈkɑːrleˌbyː]; Finnish: Uusikaarlepyy, Finnish: [ˈuːsiˌkɑːrleˌpyː]) is a town in Finland, located on the west coast of the country. Kronoby is situated in Ostrobothnia, along the Gulf of Bothnia. The population of Nykarleby is approximately 7,000, while the sub-region has a population of approximately 50,000. It is the 127th most populous municipality in Finland.
Nykarleby
Nykarleby – Uusikaarlepyy | |
|---|---|
Town | |
| Nykarleby stad Uudenkaarlepyyn kaupunki | |
 The St. Birgitta Church in Nykarleby | |
 Coat of arms | |
 Location of Nykarleby in Finland | |
| Coordinates: 63°31′N 022°32′E / 63.517°N 22.533°E | |
| Country |  Finland |
| Region | Ostrobothnia |
| Sub-region | Jakobstad sub-region |
| Charter | 1620 |
| Government | |
| • Town manager | Thomas Björk |
| Area (2018-01-01)[1] | |
• Total | 1,675.20 km2 (646.80 sq mi) |
| • Land | 732.83 km2 (282.95 sq mi) |
| • Water | 942.84 km2 (364.03 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 117th largest in Finland |
| Population (2024-08-31)[2] | |
• Total | 7,467 |
| • Rank | 127th largest in Finland |
| • Density | 10.19/km2 (26.4/sq mi) |
| Population by native language | |
| • Swedish | 83.7% (official) |
| • Finnish | 6.5% |
| • Others | 9.8% |
| Population by age | |
| • 0 to 14 | 18.4% |
| • 15 to 64 | 56% |
| • 65 or older | 25.7% |
| Time zone | UTC+02:00 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+03:00 (EEST) |
| Website | www |
Nykarleby is a bilingual municipality with Finnish and Swedish as its official languages. The population consists of 7% Finnish speakers, 84% Swedish speakers, and 10% speakers of other languages.
The largest employers in the town are Prevex (member of KWH Group), a packaging and piping products manufacturer, Westwood, which manufactures wooden staircases, and in the village of Jeppo, KWH Mirka, a coated abrasives manufacturer.[6] A Swedish-speaking art school (Svenska Konstskolan) is located in Nykarleby town.
History
editThe town is located at the mouth of the Lapua River. The name of the place was Lapuan Joensuu or 'mouth of Lapua river'. The municipality was founded in 1607 by merging parts of Pedersöre and Vörå into a new parish. In 1620, the small village of Lepua was chartered as a city, with the Swedish name Nykarleby, which means 'New Karleby'; the Finnish name is a Finnicized version of the same. The town was chartered in the same year as the nearby city of Kokkola, or in Swedish, Gamlakarleby (later, Karleby).
The battles of Nykarleby and Jutas were fought there between Swedish and Russian troops during the Finnish War in 1808.
Zacharias Topelius, an important author in Finland, was born in Nykarleby.
In 1995, the small, idyllic town was ranked as "the happiest city in Finland" in a controversial article in Helsingin Sanomat, the leading newspaper of Finland.[7] Nykarleby has the highest concentration of Ukrainian speakers in Finland.[citation needed]
Population by mother tongue in 2021[8]
Politics
editResults of the 2011 Finnish parliamentary election in Nykarleby:
- Swedish People's Party 63.8%
- Social Democratic Party 24.9%
- Christian Democrats 4.6%
- True Finns 2.0%
- Centre Party 1.6%
- Left Alliance 1.5%
- National Coalition Party 0.7%
- Green League 0.6%
Notable people
editList of notable people that were born in, or have lived in, Nykarleby.
- Zacharias Topelius (1818–1898), author[9]
- Erik Bergman (1911–2006), composer
- Gösta Ågren (1936–2020), poet and director
- Leo Komarov (born 1987), ice hockey player
- Sandra Eriksson (born 1989), a middle distance runner
- Rory Penttinen (born 1979), racing driver
- Alma Hongell (1849–1935) ,children's literature author
International relations
editTwin towns – sister cities
editNykarleby is twinned with:
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Area of Finnish Municipalities 1.1.2018" (PDF). National Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
- ^ "Finland's preliminary population figure was 5,625,011 at the end of August 2024". Population structure. Statistics Finland. 24 September 2024. ISSN 1797-5395. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
- ^ "Population growth biggest in nearly 70 years". Population structure. Statistics Finland. 26 April 2024. ISSN 1797-5395. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
- ^ "Population according to age (1-year) and sex by area and the regional division of each statistical reference year, 2003–2020". StatFin. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
- ^ a b "Luettelo kuntien ja seurakuntien tuloveroprosenteista vuonna 2023". Tax Administration of Finland. 14 November 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
- ^ "Nykarleby :: Historiikki". Archived from the original on 7 September 2007. Retrieved 24 February 2008.
- ^ Helsingin Sanomat Kuukausiliite, January 1995. [1] Archived 9 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Externally referred to in: Asiakastieto. Luottolista 2000. [2][permanent dead link]
- ^ "Väestö 31.12. Muuttujina Alue, Kieli, Sukupuoli, Vuosi ja Tiedot".
- ^ Gosse, Edmund William (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 27 (11th ed.). p. 49.
External links
edit
Media related to Nykarleby at Wikimedia Commons
- Town of Nykarleby – Official website
- A comprehensive collection of stories and pictures from Nykarleby's history (in Swedish)