Halikko () is a former municipality of

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 existed until December 31, 2008. On January 1, 2009, the municipality was merged with the larger neighboring Salo. Before the merge Halikko had become a rapidly urbanizing rural area. It was located 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 ...

Western Finland Western Finland ( fi, Länsi-Suomen lääni, sv, Västra Finlands län) was a province of Finland from 1997 to 2009. It bordered the provinces of Oulu, Eastern Finland and Southern Finland. It also bordered the Gulf of Bothnia towards Åland. ...

and was part of the Southwest Finland

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 municipality had a population of 9,491 (2004-12-31) and covered an area of 357.31 km² (excluding sea) of which 0.52 km² was inland water. 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 26.60 inhabitants per km². The municipality was unilingually Finnish. Halikonjokilaakso

History

There is evidence that areas in Halikko has been settled in the

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with ...

. One of the prehistoric villages, Rikala, became an important trade and meeting place on the Finnish coast during the

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly ...

. The

vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

sailed to Rikala to trade with the finns. Several Iron Age treasures has been found in Halikko, e.g. the

Treasure of Halikko Treasure of Halikko ( fi, Halikon aarre) is the most valuable treasure found in Finland and one of the most notable treasures in the Nordic countries. It was found in 1887 from Halikko and it is dated to the 11–12th century. The treasure inclu ...

. In the first centuries of the Swedish rule in Finland, the land was given to the ruling class. Manors of Åminne, Vuorentaka and Wiurila were founded and they became powerful owners in Halikko. The oldest documented record of Halikko is from 1313. The stone church of Halikko was built in 1440. The mucipality of Halikko was formed in 1865 due to the municipal reform. The count of Wiurila became the first municipal manager. In 1932 Halikko had to give land to its growing neighbour Salo. In 1967 the municipality of Angelniemi was merged with Halikko. On January 1, 2009, Halikko ceased to exist as it was attached to the City of Salo. The territory of the former Halikko thus changed status from rural to urban.

Name

The name ''Halikko'' is mentioned for the first time in 1313. One theory is that the name derives from the Germanic name ''Halicho'' or ''Halik''. Saulo Kepsu has suggested that the toponym is Finnic in origin, being derived a possible pre-Christian personal name ''*Halikka'' or ''*Halikkoi'', which would be derived from the verb ''haluta'' (to want).

Notable people

* Count Arvid Bernhard Horn af Ekebyholm (1664 in Vuorentaka Manor – 1742) a Swedish general, diplomat and politician.

External links

Former official site

References

Former municipalities of Finland Salo, Finland Populated places disestablished in 2009 2009 disestablishments in Finland {{WesternFinland-geo-stub

History

Name

Notable people

See also

External links

References