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Kauniainen (; sv, Grankulla) is a small
town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than city, cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares ...
and a
municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality ...
of inhabitants () in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area,
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 Bo ...
. It is surrounded and enclaved by the City of
Espoo Espoo (, ; sv, Esbo) is a city and municipality in the region of Uusimaa in the Republic of Finland. It is located on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland, bordering the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, Kirkkonummi, Vihti and Nurmijärvi ...
, in the Capital Region of
Greater Helsinki Greater Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin seutu, Suur-Helsinki, Swedish: ''Helsingforsregionen'', ''Storhelsingfors'') is the metropolitan area surrounding Helsinki, the capital city of Finland. It includes the smaller Capital Region (''Pääkaupunkiseutu ...
. Kauniainen was founded by a corporation in 1906, AB Grankulla, that parcelled land and created a suburb for
villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became s ...
s; Kauniainen received the status of a market town in 1920, the Finnish name in 1949 and the title of ''kaupunki'' ("city, town") in 1972. The municipal taxation rate in Kauniainen is the lowest in Finland (%), which has made the city attractive to high-income families. This in turn makes the average income generally high, making it possible to keep the taxation rate low without compromising the service to the inhabitants. Approximately of the population have Finnish as their mother tongue while are
Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
speakers. The dominant party in the city council has traditionally been the Swedish People's Party.


Etymology

The Swedish name Grankulla is composed by the Swedish words "gran" (
spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ( taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the sub ...
) and "kulle" (
hill A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit. Terminology The distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely subjective, but a hill is universally considered to be not as ...
) and has been in use in this form since the beginning of the 1900s. Earlier the place was known under its dialectal form ''Gränkull''. The name Gränkull is found on modern maps as the name of the hill where the water tower in Kauniainen is located. The Finnish name of the town, Kauniainen, is derived from the name of a homestead that was located in Kauniainen called ''Kauniais''. It was named after an estate near
Tampere Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclo ...
. The Finnish name was taken into use in the 1930s and was made the official name of the town alongside the Swedish name in 1949.


Heraldry

The explanation for the coat of arms is "a golden, red squirrel sitting on a blue plate, holding a black
spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ( taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the sub ...
cone in its forefeet, with three golden
rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can b ...
s side by side above it." The squirrel holding the spruce cone of the coat of arms indirectly refers to the Swedish name of Kauniainen (''Grankulla''). The roses on the subject depict the
villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became s ...
settlements in the locality. The coat of arms was designed by Ahto Numminen and approved by the Kauniainen Chamber of Commerce at its meetings on June 5, 1951, and January 10, 1952. The
Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministr ...
confirmed the use of the coat of arms on March 11 of the same year.


History

Around 10,000 years ago, after the
Ice Age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gre ...
, only a few islets were visible in the Yoldia Sea, heights that today form the highest peaks of the area that is today known as Kauniainen. As the land slowly rose Kauniainen became a part of the inner archipelago around 4,000 years ago and there is evidence of human activity in the area in form of pieces of ceramics from this time period. However, the first permanent settlements in the area were established in the 19th century. Today Kauniainen is situated several kilometres from the sea.Jaana af Hällström (2006): ''Grankulla 1906–2006 Kauniainen – Den sista i sitt slag''. Gummerus, Jyväskylä In the beginning of the 20th century Kauniainen only consisted of a few crofters' holdings at the outskirts of larger farms in Espoo. The name of the place, Grankulla, was known as the more dialectal ''Gränkull''. The main road between
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 ...
and
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''; ...
had passed through the northern parts of Kauniainen for centuries, but the new railway between the same cities that opened in 1903 was crucial for the development of the area. The history of modern Kauniainen began in 1906 when a company, AB Grankulla, bought the land and sold it to people who wanted to have a villa outside the unhealthy city life in Helsinki. Several other similar communities were established at the same time around Helsinki: Kulosaari, Haaga, Leppävaara and Puistola. The share holders, among them the "father" of the municipality
Janne Thurman Janne is a common given name in the Nordic countries. In Denmark, Norway and Estonia it is considered a feminine name, while in Sweden and Finland it is considered masculine. In Sweden and Finland it is often used as a nickname for people with rel ...
, could be satisfied with their investment; they got the invested money back in one year. The era of the villas had, however, begun a few years earlier, when Elia Heikel and Emil Lindstedt bought the area around lake Gallträsk and built the first villas. No properties sold were smaller than 3,000 square metres. Because the municipality of Espoo, to which the area of Kauniainen belonged, did not show much interest in the new community, the company was responsible for developing it; roads were built, a school founded, electricity arranged and the company lobbied for a
railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...
(opened in 1908) and a police office. In 1915 Kauniainen received a limited autonomy from Espoo and the role of the company declined. The first exact population figure is from 1917 when the community had 1,647 inhabitants. In 1920 Kauniainen became a market town and gained complete municipal sovereignty.550-vuotias Espoo on kasvanut aikuiseksi
– '' Helsingin Sanomat'' (in Finnish)
Kauniainen also differed from its rural surroundings in Espoo with a town plan, road network, villas and electricity. It was decided to keep Kauniainen a green, idyllic, rural community and industrial buildings were banned. Most of the villas were built in neoclassical style or in the late 1920s functionalism. The work with a new town plan was started in the late 1920s, but the proposal was disputed; the inhabitants (and property owners) thought the roads were too wide. The architect also died in the middle of the process, which led to that a compromise could be reached as late as in 1937. The population grew only by 10% from 1917 to 1939, while the population right outside the market town's borders grew significantly. Kauniainen has been officially bilingual since 1936 and the Finnish name ''Kauniainen'' was made official beside the Swedish name Grankulla in 1949 by the market town's council. Already in the 1930s the name Kauniainen was used by the railways and the post service. The era of the villas ended with the Second World War and was replaced by reconstruction and economically challenging times. The independence of Kauniainen as a municipality was threatened by the municipal obligations and the small number of inhabitants. In the 1950s the market town tried to incorporate a few surrounding areas from Espoo, but the application was rejected in 1953. Instead the area of Kasavuori, which the market town had bought, was incorporated in 1957.
Otto-Iivari Meurman Otto-Iivari Meurman (4 June 1890, in Ilmajoki – 19 August 1994, in Helsinki) was a Finnish architect. He did city plans for Kauniainen and Tapiola. Garden city Tapiola was based on town planning of Meurman. Meurman resigned the Tapiola pr ...
was given the task of making a new town plan. He suggested that the villa milieu would be kept, but that the number of inhabitants would be significantly raised, from 2,500 to 10,000, and that the unmodern villas would be replaced by new ones. Also apartment buildings should be built. A new commercial centre was planned next to the railway station with Vällingby in Stockholm as a model. The plans for Kasavuori were approved in 1959 and for the rest of the market town in 1961 and 1963. The commercial centre was inaugurated in 1966. The town plan has later been criticised because the unique villa environment was disrupted and many of the beautiful villas were demolished. A
skiing centre Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee ( ...
was planned in Kasavuori of the same type as Holmenkollen in
Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
, but the plans were never realised. Today this area is protected. The number of inhabitants grew rapidly; in 1967 by as much as 25%. In 1972 Kauniainen gained the status of a city (fi. ''kaupunki'') and the year after Finnish became the majority language of the inhabitants and Swedish the minority. The town had at the time 6,400 inhabitants. The commercial centre has been considered ugly and outdated for more than 20 years and a new development plan for the town centre was approved in May 2006. The project begun in December 2006 when the first building was demolished. The population surpassed 10,000 inhabitants in 2020. At the end of 2020 there were 10,177 people living in the town.


Transport


Roads

Kauniainen has good road connections in most directions. The east-to-west Helsinki–Turku motorway ( national road 1) passes Kauniainen to the south and the old Helsinki–Turku main road ( regional road 110) passes the northern parts of the town. The construction of the motorway in the 1960s played a big role when new inhabitants moved to Kauniainen, when they could drive quickly along the motorway into Helsinki's city centre. The north-to-south
Kehä II Ring II (pronounced "ring two", fi, Kehä II, sv, Ring II; also known as ''Kilonväylä''
(Ring Road 2) passes the eastern corner of Kauniainen.


Public transportation

Kauniainen is served by two
commuter rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are co ...
stations, Kauniainen and Koivuhovi, on the Rantarata line, which was opened in 1903. The railway has been important for the development of Kauniainen as a suburb of Helsinki. Trains leave appromaximately every 15 minutes and the ride to
Helsinki Central railway station Helsinki Central Station ( fi, Helsingin päärautatieasema, sv, Helsingfors centralstation) (HEC) is the main station for commuter rail and long-distance trains departing from Helsinki, Finland. The station is used by approximately 400,000 peop ...
takes about 20 minutes. There are two regional bus lines which connect to Helsinki. There are also local bus lines which connect to various districts of
Espoo Espoo (, ; sv, Esbo) is a city and municipality in the region of Uusimaa in the Republic of Finland. It is located on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland, bordering the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, Kirkkonummi, Vihti and Nurmijärvi ...
.


Services

Kauniainen offers a very large range of services to its inhabitants, considering the size of the town. There are six schools in Kauniainen, spread out on three levels and two languages – Finnish and Swedish. Kauniainen has: * swimming baths *indoor
ice rink An ice rink (or ice skating rink) is a frozen body of water and/or an artificial sheet of ice created using hardened chemicals where people can ice skate or play winter sports. Ice rinks are also used for exhibitions, contests and ice shows. The ...
* downhill skiing slope (only ''one'' slope, the oldest in Finland opened in 1934, elevation difference 54 meters) *small athletics stadium *indoor sports arena ( handball, tennis, etc.) *
music school A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger in ...
(for children) *
art school An art school is an educational institution with a primary focus on the visual arts, including fine art – especially illustration, painting, photography, sculpture, and graphic design. Art schools can offer elementary, secondary, post-sec ...
(for children) *public library *
adult education Adult education, distinct from child education, is a practice in which adults engage in systematic and sustained self-educating activities in order to gain new forms of knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values.Merriam, Sharan B. & Brockett, Ralp ...
school *
health station Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...
* Kauniaisten Jäähalli (ice hockey arena)


Districts

There are three districts in Kauniainen called I, II and III. No districts are named because of the small size of the town. The only area that is viewed as a named district is Kasavuori ( sv, Kasaberget) in the western part of the town.


Politics

The following parties have seats in the city council of Kauniainen following the 2021 municipal election: * National Coalition and the Christian Democrats formed an electoral alliance.


Parliamentary elections

Results of the 2011 Finnish parliamentary election in Kauniainen: * National Coalition Party 39.5% * Swedish People's Party 35.2% *
Green League The Green League (VIHR, fi, Vihreä liitto , sv, Gröna förbundet), shortened to the Greens ( fi, Vihreät, sv, De Gröna), is a green political party in Finland. Ideologically, the Green League is positioned on the centre-left of the polit ...
6.2% * True Finns 5.9% * Social Democratic Party 5.7% * Centre Party 2.7% * Christian Democrats 2.4% * Left Alliance 1.4%


Sports

Kauniainen has a large range of sports facilities and the town council has been active in sponsoring sports. There are activities in most sports with Grankulla IFK (GrIFK) as the biggest association. GrIFK was founded in 1925 and is today active in
ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two o ...
, football,
team handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the ...
,
floorball Floorball is a type of floor hockey with five players and a goalkeeper in each team. Men and women play indoors with sticks and a plastic ball with holes. Matches are played in three twenty-minute periods. The sport of bandy also played a role ...
and
alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether ...
.


Notable people

*
Isac Elliot Isac Elliot Lundén (born 26 December 2000) is a Finnish-Swedish pop singer, songwriter, dancer and actor. He is best known for his song "New Way Home" and his debut album ''Wake Up World'' in 2013, both of which gained success in Finland and Nor ...
, singer * Marcus Grönholm, World Rally Championship racer * Niclas Grönholm, racing driver and son of Marcus Grönholm * Pia Julin, sports shooter * Yrjö Kukkapuro, architect *
Petter Meyer Petter Meyer (born 21 February 1985) is a Finnish footballer currently representing GrIFK of the Kakkonen. Meyer was an integral part of the Grankulla IFK team that was promoted to the Finnish First Division in 2007. In 2008, he scored twelve g ...
, footballer *
Alexandra Olsson Alexandra Olsson (born 5 April 1998) is a Finnish handball player for HIFK Handboll HIFK Handboll is the handball section of HIFK HIFK, the Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna, Helsingfors (IFK, Helsingfors) rf (officially abbreviated IFK Helsing ...
, handball player * Jarmo Saari, guitarist, composer and record producer * Toni Söderholm, ice hockey player *
Pasi Sormunen Pasi Martti Sormunen (born March 8, 1970 in Kauniainen, Finland) is a retired professional ice hockey player who played in the SM-liiga. Playing career He played for HIFK, Jokerit, and Espoo Blues. He also won a bronze medal at the 1994 Winter ...
, ice hockey player *
Emelie Sederholm Emelie Sederholm (born 1994), also known by her stage name Venior, is a Finnish singer-songwriter from Kauniainen, Finland. She is based in Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by popula ...
, singer-songwriter currently based in Stockholm


See also

*
Enonkoski Enonkoski () is a municipality of Finland. It is encircled by the city of Savonlinna in the Southern Savonia region. It is the smallest municipality in Southern Savonia in terms of population. History Enonkoski was founded in 1882. Before that i ...
, a municipality surrounded by Savonlinna in South Savonia, Finland


References


External links


City of Kauniainen
– Official website
Map of Kauniainen
{{authority control Greater Helsinki Cities and towns in Finland Municipalities of Uusimaa Populated places established in 1920