Pernå (, Sweden ; fi, Pernaja) 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 ...

. Pernå is 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 ...

of Southern Finland and was part of the Eastern Uusimaa

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 3,961 (31 December 2009) and covered 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 ...

was . The municipality was bilingual, with the majority being Swedish and minority Finnish speakers. Sarvlaks

Pernå is the oldest municipality in the Eastern Uusimaa region. The current municipalities of Lapinjärvi, Liljendal and

Loviisa Loviisa (; sv, Lovisa ; formerly Degerby) is a municipality and town of inhabitants () on the southern coast of Finland. It is located from Helsinki and from Porvoo. About 43 per cent of the population is Swedish-speaking. The municipality c ...

were originally part of it. Mikael Agricola, the founder of written Finnish was born in Pernå in the early 16th century. He is also considered to be the "Reformator of Finland" in the transfer from Catholicism to Lutheranism. Situated conveniently by the coast, and engulfing also a small river, the lands of Pernå were attractive at a time when waterways rather than proper roads provided the means of transport. There are a number of manor houses in the Pernå area - most notably Sarvlaks manor, which dates back to the 1450s - at a time when Finland was a part of Sweden. The origin of the name "Pernå" is uncertain; some think it links with the

Uralic The Uralic languages (; sometimes called Uralian languages ) form a language family of 38 languages spoken by approximately 25million people, predominantly in Northern Eurasia. The Uralic languages with the most native speakers are Hungarian lan ...

word "Pern" meaning lime- or lindentree. "Å" is Swedish for a small river, i.e. the name then being Lindenriver if translated. On January 1, 2010, Pernå was amalgamated with

, Ruotsinpyhtää and Liljendal to form a new municipality of Loviisa.

People born in Pernå

* Mikael Agricola (1510 – 1557) * Axel Rudolf Danielson ( 21 March 1888 Pernå - 17 October 1938 ) was a Finnish 27th Jaeger Battalion Major and pharmacist. His parents were * Karl Gustaf Danielson ( 2 December 1856 Pernå - 7 August 1924 ), a gardener and Naval Officer, and Emilia Sofia Johansson (10 August 1864 - 10 January 1939). His wife, Anna Maria Arlander, was a Senior nurse. * Oscar Johansson (1882 – 1947) *

Ernst von Born Baron Ernst Viktor Lorenz von Born (24 August 1885, Pernå - 7 July 1956) was a Finnish lawyer, farmer and politician. He served as Minister of the Interior from March 1931 to December 1932 and from December 1939 to May 1941, Minister without Por ...

(1885 – 1956) * Ola Rosendahl (1939 – 2008)

References

External links

Municipality of Pernå
– Official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Perna Populated places disestablished in 2010 Former municipalities of Finland Loviisa