Kokemäki (; sv, Kumo) is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an o ...

and

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 ...

in the Satakunta Region 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 ...

. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is 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 ...

is . Finland is constitutionally bi-lingual with a Swedish speaking minority. The

is unilingual with the vast majority of the population speaking Finnish. Many, mostly younger, residents are able to understand or speak some English. The American

battery Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

company Æsir Technologies Inc. has announced that it will establish a

nickel hydroxide Nickel(II) hydroxide is the inorganic compound with the formula Ni(OH)2. It is an apple-green solid that dissolves with decomposition in ammonia and amines and is attacked by acids. It is electroactive, being converted to the Ni(III) oxy-hydroxi ...

plant producing material for nickel-zinc batteries in the village of Peipohja of Kokemäki. The Kokemäki coat of arms depicts the bishop's

mitre The mitre (Commonwealth English) (; Greek: μίτρα, "headband" or "turban") or miter (American English; see spelling differences), is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of bishops and certain abbots in ...

Geography

The long Kokemäki River (''Kokemäenjoki'') flows from Lake Liekovesi, in the Pirkanmaa region, through Kokemäki and in to the

Gulf of Bothnia The Gulf of Bothnia (; fi, Pohjanlahti; sv, Bottniska viken) is divided into the Bothnian Bay and Bothnian Sea, and it is the northernmost arm of the Baltic Sea, between Finland's west coast ( East Bothnia) and the Sweden's east coast ( We ...

Pori ) , website www.pori.fi Pori (; sv, Björneborg ) is a city and municipality on the west coast of Finland. The city is located some from the Gulf of Bothnia, on the estuary of the Kokemäki River, west of Tampere, north of Turku and north- ...

. The Kolsi hydro-electric power plant is located at Kokemäki. Kokemäki River has long been an important waterway, well known for its salmon, whitefish and

lamprey Lampreys (sometimes inaccurately called lamprey eels) are an ancient extant lineage of jawless fish of the order Petromyzontiformes , placed in the superclass Cyclostomata. The adult lamprey may be characterized by a toothed, funnel-like s ...

History

It is believed that the Iron Age town of

Teljä Teljä (also Telja or Tälje) was a late Iron Age and early Middle Ages settlement in Finland at the historical province of Satakunta. According to tradition it was located by the river Kokemäenjoki in the present municipality of Kokemäki. It i ...

was located next to the Kokemäenjoki river at Kokemäki. The oldest stone carving yet found in Finland, dated at 8,000 to 9,000 years old, was discovered in nearby Huittinen in 1903. The 10 cm elk's head is in a permanent exhibition at the National Museum of Finland in the capital,

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

. Archeological finds from in and around Kokemäki have been dated to the Middle Ages. Kokemäki is thought to have been founded in the 12th century, maybe even earlier. The Kokemäki parish was established in 1324. While part of the

Swedish Empire The Swedish Empire was a European great power that exercised territorial control over much of the Baltic region during the 17th and early 18th centuries ( sv, Stormaktstiden, "the Era of Great Power"). The beginning of the empire is usually ta ...

, the administrative area ( slottslän) of Kokemäenkartanon was created in 1331. Kokemäki served as the administrative centre of the historical province of Satakunta until 1634. The Medieval Kokemäki Castle was demolished in 1367. The medieval trading route of Huovintie goes from

Turku Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...

, by Kokemäki and the river of Kokemäenjoki. Along the Huovintie were guild houses where travellers could stay overnight. This was located near the Kokemäki church. The legend states that in 1156

Bishop Henry Saint Henry ( fi, Henrik; sv, Henrik; la, Henricus; died 20 January 1156.) was a medieval English clergyman. He came to Sweden with Cardinal Nicholas Breakspeare in 1153 and was most likely designated to be the new Archbishop of Uppsala, but t ...

Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019. Located north of the ca ...

visited Satakunta on a preaching tour as a part of Eric IX of Sweden's

first crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic ...

to Finland. St. Henry's Chapel is a neogothic style brick chapel one kilometre east of the town centre of Kokemäki. The chapel was built in 1857 on the site of a medieval wooden

granary A granary is a storehouse or room in a barn for threshed grain or animal feed. Ancient or primitive granaries are most often made of pottery. Granaries are often built above the ground to keep the stored food away from mice and other animals ...

which was used by Bishop Henry. It is possible that the original building dates back to between the 12th and 15th century, making it the oldest remaining wooden building in Finland. Kokemäki was granted a town charter in 1869. During the Revolution of 1918 some one-hundred-fifty-three individuals were killed in the municipality of Kokemäki. The municipality of

Kauvatsa Kauvatsa is a former municipality in the Satakunta province, Finland. It was annexed with the municipality of Kokemäki Kokemäki (; sv, Kumo) is a town and municipality in the Satakunta Region of Finland. The town has a population of () a ...

was merged with Kokemäki in 1969. Kokemäki was granted city status in 1977.

Transport

The transport system of Finland is well-developed with an extensive road system.

Road

Highway 2 passes to the south, running from Helsinki to Pori on the

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages *Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originatin ...

coast; Highway 11 runs from Pori to

Nokia Nokia Corporation (natively Nokia Oyj, referred to as Nokia) is a Finnish multinational telecommunications, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation, established in 1865. Nokia's main headquarters are in Espoo, Finland, i ...

only briefly in the northern part of the municipality; and Highway 12 runs from Rauma to

Tampere Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population ...

and Nokia, passing through nearby Huittinen. Helsinki is or two and a half hours away by car. There are two electric vehicle (EV) charging points in Kokemäki, with another 55 within a radius. The private

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

companies

OnniBus OnniBus.com is a Finnish express coach operator. It commenced operating in 2011. History In 2011, OnniBus was founded by Pekka Möttö, Lauri Helke, Petteri Rantala and Pertti Möttö. In May 2014, Brian Souter's Highland Global Transport ...

and ExpressBus operate services to all major towns and regions in Finland.

Rail

Finnish trains have a reputation for being spacious, comfortable and clean. The state-owned rail company VR operates a service between

and

, stopping at Kokemäki. The train station is to the west of the town centre at Peipohja.

Air

The nearest airport is

Pori Airport Pori Airport ( fi, Porin lentoasema) is an airport in Pori, Finland. The airport is located south of the Pori town centre. It has two check-in desks, and a cafeteria service. During 2011 Pori Airport served 54,056 passengers, an increase of 25. ...

, which is or 40 minutes away by Highway 2. Tampere-Pirkkala Airport is or an hour and ten minutes away by Highway 12. Helsinki-Vantaa Airport is two hours and twenty minutes away by Highway 2.

Tourist attractions

* St. Henry's Chapel * Tulkkila - Museum Bridge * Vestry of Saint Maria's Church * Puurijärvi-Isosuo National Park * Museum of Agriculture or "''Maatalousmuseo''" * Open-air Museum * Kokemäenjoki river * Kriivari Reindeer Farm * Sapila Suspension Bridge * Church of Gustav lll

Education

The Finnish education system is based on

comprehensive school A comprehensive school typically describes a secondary school for pupils aged approximately 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is re ...

ing and is publicly funded. Kokemäki has six schools offering

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works ...

and

secondary education Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scale. Level 2 or lower secondary education (less commonly junior secondary education) is considered the second and final ph ...

. These are; Tuomaala, Tulkkila, Riste, Peipohja, Lahteenmaki and Korkeaoja

High School A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

. There is free pre-school education for all children aged 6. The Peipohjan day-care nursery caters for children aged 9 months to 5 years. There is a

special needs In clinical diagnostic and functional development, special needs (or additional needs) refers to individuals who require assistance for disabilities that may be medical, mental, or psychological. Guidelines for clinical diagnosis are given in b ...

Forsby School for children aged 0–9.

Vocational training Vocational education is education that prepares people to work as a technician or to take up employment in a skilled craft or trade as a tradesperson or artisan. Vocational Education can also be seen as that type of education given to an in ...

is provided by Satakunta Training Consortium, known as SATAEDU and Huittinen Business and Vocational College.

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

Kokemäki is twinned with: *

Falköping Falköping is a locality and the seat of Falköping Municipality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 16,350 inhabitants in 2010. History The town of Falköping was first spoken of in the Icelandic ''Rimbegla'' (around 1100 A.D.), and ...

, Sweden * Lier, Norway * Mariagerfjord, Denmark *

Põltsamaa Põltsamaa (german: Oberpahlen) is a town in Põltsamaa Parish, Jõgeva County, Estonia. The town is situated on the Põltsamaa River, and features a 13th-century castle. Gallery Põltsamaa Jõgi.jpg, Põltsamaa River Põltsamaa (german: ...

, Estonia

References

External links

Town of Kokemäki
– Official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Kokemaki Cities and towns in Finland Populated places established in 1869 1869 establishments in the Russian Empire