Vehkalahti () is a former municipality surrounding the town of

Hamina Hamina (; sv, Fredrikshamn, , Sweden ) is a town and a municipality of Finland. It is located approximately east of the country's capital Helsinki, in the Kymenlaakso region, and formerly the province of Southern Finland. The municipality's pop ...

in south-eastern

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 ...

. At the beginning of 2003 Hamina and Vehkalahti combined to form a new town of Hamina.

History

These southern parts of

Karelia Karelia ( Karelian and fi, Karjala, ; rus, Каре́лия, links=y, r=Karélija, p=kɐˈrʲelʲɪjə, historically ''Korjela''; sv, Karelen), the land of the Karelian people, is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance fo ...

are known to be the oldest parts of modern Finland with settlements. First markings of Vehkalahti as a continuous settlement or village are dated in 1336, when it has become a major place for east/west trading. The plans to build a town grew slowly as the place become crowded. In 1653 the area surrounding the village church officially became a town, which was called Vehkalahden Uusikaupunki (, ).

Surroundings

While the area in the immediate vicinity of the church building became a town, the surrounding land remained countryside. Formerly the area of Vehkalahti was much larger, almost the entire

Kymenlaakso Kymenlaakso ( sv, Kymmenedalen; " Kymi/Kymmene Valley") is a region in Finland. It borders the regions of Uusimaa, Päijät-Häme, South Savo and South Karelia and Russia (Leningrad Oblast). Its name means literally ''The Valley of River Kym ...

, but later many areas became new municipalities.Kouvolan kaupunki
/ref> Largest population centers are Husula, Salmenkylä, Uusi-Summa, Poitsila and Neuvottoma, there are also many rural villages like Metsäkylä, Reitkalli, Kannusjärvi and Pyhältö.

Peculiar Nobility

In literature, Vehkalahti is particularly renowned for its peculiar medieval petty nobility, ''knaappiaateli'' (families

Husgafvel ''Huusgavel'', ''Huusgafvel'', or ''Husgafvel'', is listed as number 2102 on the List of Swedish noble families. The family originates from Veckelax Vehkalahti Vehkalahti () is a former municipality surrounding the town of Hamina in south-easte ...

, Pilhjerta and Brandstaka), which also acted as a link between Vehkalahti and the Vyborg Castle. Built by Swedes, about east of Vehkalahti, it became place of great military importance for European east/west foreign communication. Today it is located on Russian territory.

Vehkalahti church

The Vehkalahti church (now known as St. Mary's church, or Marian kirkko in Finnish) was built in the 14th century at the place where the town of Hamina is now.

References

Bibliography

* * Hamina Former municipalities of Finland Populated places established in the 1330s Populated places disestablished in 2003 {{SouthernFinland-geo-stub