Merikarvia (; ) is 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' ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. It is located in the

Satakunta Satakunta (in both Finnish language, Finnish and Swedish language, Swedish, ; historically ''Satacundia'') is a Regions of Finland, region ( / ) of Finland, part of the former Western Finland Province. It borders the regions of Southwest Finland ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

. The neighboring municipalities are Isojoki, Kristinestad,

Pomarkku Pomarkku () is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Satakunta region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (dis ...

Pori Pori (; ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Satakunta. It is located on the west coast of the country, on the Gulf of Bothnia. The population of Pori is approximately , while the Pori sub-region, sub-region has a population of a ...

and Siikainen. The municipality has a population of 3,169 (2024) and it covers an area of , of which is water. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), 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 geog ...

is . The municipality is unilingually Finnish. The coastline was formerly Swedish-speaking. Merikarvia is known for the Oura Archipelago, which is part of the Bothnian Sea National Park.

History

The area has been inhabited since as early as 1800 BC. There are grave sites from the

Bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

and

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

s within the municipality. Most of the

cairn A cairn is a human-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehistory, t ...

s are located in Tuorila village located east of the municipal center. The area of Merikarvia was initially held by the people of

Sastamala Sastamala () is a town in Finland, located in the Pirkanmaa region. Sastamala lies on both sides of River Kokemäenjoki in the southwest corner of Pirkanmaa. The population of Sastamala is approximately , while the South Western Pirkanmaa, sub-reg ...

( Karkku and Tyrvää) as hunting grounds, which is the origin of the Swedish name ''Sastmola''. The name was first mentioned in 1303 as ''Sastamall''. The birth of the earliest villages in Merikarvia - Kasala, Riispyy, Alakylä, Ylikylä and Köörtilä - is dated to between the 13th and 14th centuries. Merikarvia was a part of the Ulvila parish until 1639. Municipal administration was adopted in 1865. Siikainen became a chapel community under Merikarvia in 1772 and was separated from Merikarvia as a parish in 1861 and as a municipality in 1871. The first church in Merikarvia was built in 1776 and was named after the queen consort of

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

at the time, Sofia Magdalena. The church, still in use today, was finished in 1899. As a coastal municipality, Merikarvia largely lived from the sea until modern times.

Fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

s and

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are shipbuilding, built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Compared to shipyards, which are sometimes m ...

s were common businesses until the end of the 19th century.

Language and dialect

Like neighboring Ahlainen (Vittisbofjärd), Merikarvia was originally predominantly Swedish-speaking due to the Swedish settlement in the area during the Middle Ages. The Swedish language mostly disappeared from the area in the early 20th century, mainly remaining in the village of Kasala (Kasaböle) near the border with Sideby. Kasala became a majority Finnish-speaking village between the 20th and 21st centuries. A Swedish-language school was active in Kasala from 1897 until 1967. The Finnish dialect of Merikarvia is a southwestern dialect, similar to the other dialects of northern Satakunta. The dialects of Merikarvia and Ahlainen are among the few dialects of Finnish where the sound /d/ is used in native words (e.g. ''lähde''), as in standard Finnish. Most other dialects of the area use /r/ in its place.

Politics

Results of the 2011 Finnish parliamentary election in Merikarvia: * Centre Party 35.7% * True Finns 23.7% * Social Democratic Party 18.6% *

National Coalition Party The National Coalition Party (NCP; , Kok; , Saml) is a liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative List of political parties in Finland, political party in Finland. It is the current governing political party of Finland. Founded in 1918, the ...

11.3% * Left Alliance 6.1% * Christian Democrats 2.6% * Green League 1.7%

Sights

* Lankoski rapids * The church of Merikarvia * Oura Archipelago * Krookka marina

References

External links

Municipality of Merikarvia
– Official website {{authority control Populated coastal places in Finland Municipalities of Satakunta Populated places established in 1639 1639 establishments in Sweden