Ekenäs (; fi, Tammisaari ) is a town and former

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...

that comprised the former municipalities of

Snappertuna Raseborg ( fi, Raasepori) is a town (administrative area) and municipality of Finland. It was created on January 1, 2009, when the municipalities of Ekenäs, Karis and Pohja were consolidated into a single town. Of these, Ekenäs now serves as t ...

and Tenala together with the town of Ekenäs. It was merged with Pohja and

Karis Karis (; fi, Karjaa ) is a town and former municipality in Finland. On January 1, 2009, it was consolidated with Ekenäs and Pohja to form the new municipality of Raseborg; fi, Raasepori. It is located in the Finnish province of Souther ...

to form the new municipality of

Raseborg Raseborg ( fi, Raasepori) is a town (administrative area) and municipality of Finland. It was created on January 1, 2009, when the municipalities of Ekenäs, Karis and Pohja were consolidated into a single town. Of these, Ekenäs now serves as ...

on January 1, 2009. Ekenäs is in the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...

Southern Finland Southern Finland ( fi, Etelä-Suomen lääni, sv, Södra Finlands län) was a province of Finland from 1997 to 2009. It bordered the provinces of Western Finland and Eastern Finland. It also bordered the Gulf of Finland and Russia. History ...

, and is part of the

Uusimaa Uusimaa (; sv, Nyland, ; both lit. 'new land') is a region of Finland. It borders the regions of Southwest Finland, Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme), Päijänne Tavastia (Päijät-Häme), and Kymenlaakso. Finland's capital and largest city, ...

( sv, Nyland)

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

. The town had a population of 14,754 (as of 31 December 2008) and covered a land area of . The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was . The town is

bilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all ...

, with the majority being Swedish speakers (81%), and the minority Finnish speakers (17%).

History

Ekenäs is Finland's seventh oldest town and the first of the non-medieval town. King

Gustav Wasa Gustav I, born Gustav Eriksson of the Vasa noble family and later known as Gustav Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560, previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm ('' Riksföre ...

granted town rights to Ekenäs in 1546, but even before that Ekenäs played a significant role in

maritime transport Maritime transport (or ocean transport) and hydraulic effluvial transport, or more generally waterborne transport, is the transport of people (passengers) or goods (cargo) via waterways. Freight transport by sea has been widely used throug ...

. Today it is mostly noted for its

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Arch ...

, part of which is the

Ekenäs Archipelago National Park Ekenäs Archipelago National Park ( sv, Ekenäs skärgårds nationalpark, fi, Tammisaaren saariston kansallispuisto) is situated in the Ekenäs archipelago, in the Uusimaa region of Finland. It was established in 1989 and covers . The park is ...

. The old, mainly wooden town center is protected due to its cultural historical value, and renovation of even residential buildings is strictly controlled. The history of the old town dates back to 16th century, but most of the current buildings have been built between 18th and 19th century. The present Neoclassical form of the Ekenäs church was designed by Italian-born architect Charles Bassi in 1839–1842 following a fire in 1821. There are two buildings in Ekenäs designed by world famous Finnish architect

Alvar Aalto Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto (; 3 February 1898 – 11 May 1976) was a Finnish architect and designer. His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles and glassware, as well as sculptures and paintings. He never regarded himself as an artist, s ...

; the Ekenäs Savings Bank (1964) and Villa Skeppet (1969), the home of Aalto's biographer, Göran Schildt. Ekenäs is home of the oldest still functional movie theatre in Finland called ''Bio Forum''. The theatre is located in the old town centre in a small

Art nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

(Jugend) building and it was founded in 1912. At the time it was called ''Ekenäs Nya Biograf Teater''.

Notable people

Among notable residents are author Marianne Alopaeus, who wrote in Swedish. She was born in Ekenäs in 1918. One of the most renowned finnish modernist painters Helene Schjerfbeck spend her summers 1918-1920 in Ekenäs and lived in the town permanently 1925-1941. Ekenäs museum center Ekta has a permanent exhibition of her work called ''Helene Schjerfbeck's Life and Art''.

Emma Engdahl-Jägerskiöld Emma Engdahl-Jägerskiöld ( Madsén; 26 April 1852 — 13 June 1930) was a Swedish-speaking Finnish operatic soprano, and one of the country's first internationally recognised singers, noted especially for her dramatic talents as well as her ...

, one of Finland's first internationally-recognised opera singers grew up in, and always retained a close connection with, Ekenäs. Kaija Saarikettu, violinist and Professor at

Sibelius Academy The Sibelius Academy ( fi, Taideyliopiston Sibelius-Akatemia, sv, Sibelius-Akademin vid Konstuniversitetet) is part of the University of the Arts Helsinki and a university-level music school which operates in Helsinki and Kuopio, Finland. It ...

, was born in Ekenäs.

Sub-region of Uusimaa

Ekenäs was also the name of a sub-region of

, containing the following municipalities before 2009: * Ekenäs * Hanko * Ingå *

* Pohja

References

Gallery

File:Raseborg city hall.JPG, Raseborg City Hall in Ekenäs File:Tammisaaren kirkko.JPG, Charles Bassi, Ekenäs church File:Tammisaari_etelasta.jpg, Ekenäs seen from south File:2003 - Västra Nyland - Biograf i Ekenäs.jpg, Movie theatre in Ekenäs File:Alvar Aalto, Tammisaari Savings Bank.JPG, Alvar Aalto, Ekenäs Savings Bank

External links