Pyhämaa is a village and a
former municipality of
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, ...
in the former
Turku and Pori Province
Turku and Pori Province (, , ) was a Provinces of Finland, province of independent Finland from 1917 to 1997. The province was however founded as a county in 1634 when today's Finland was an integrated part of Sweden. It is named after the citie ...
, now in the
Finland Proper region. It was consolidated with the town of
Uusikaupunki in 1974.
Geography
The territory of Pyhämaa mainly consists of islands as well as former islands that have fused with the mainland due to
post-glacial rebound
Post-glacial rebound (also called isostatic rebound or crustal rebound) is the rise of land masses after the removal of the huge weight of ice sheets during the last glacial period, which had caused isostatic depression. Post-glacial rebound an ...
. It is located in the
Bothnian Sea
The Bothnian Sea (; ) links the Bothnian Bay (also called the Bay of Bothnia) with the Baltic Sea, Baltic proper. Kvarken is situated between the two. Together, the Bothnian Sea and Bay make up a larger geographical entity, the Gulf of Bothnia, ...
.
The municipality bordered Uusikaupunki,
Kalanti and
Pyhäranta, before 1969 also
Uudenkaupungin maalaiskunta.
Villages
*Edväinen (locally ''Erväne, Ärväine'')
*Heinänen
*Kammela
*Ketteli
*Kuivarauma (Kuiviraumo)
*Kukainen
*Kursila
*Pitkäluoto
*Pyhämaa
Name
''Pyhämaa'' literally means "holy land". According to folk stories, the island was known as ''Pahamaa'' (evil land) as it was said to be inhabited by evil spirits, pirates and criminals until
Isaacus Rothovius, bishop of Turku, ordered the establishment of a church in the 17th century.
According to Veikko Paasio, this story is a later invention and the island has never been called ''Pahamaa''. He notes that many toponyms with the word ''pyhä'' have referred to remote locations, with the island of Pyhämaa being far away from the early population centers of
Untamala (
Laitila) and
Kalanti. The word ''pyhämaa'' has also referred to a sacrificial grove.
Still, the use of the word ''paha'' in Finnish toponyms is not unheard of, as
Pyhäjärvi Ul has also been known as ''Pahajärvi''.
Declension
In standard Finnish, only the word ''maa'' in the name is subject to declension (e.g. the genitive is ''Pyhämaan''), but locally the word ''pyhä'' is also affected (e.g. the inessive is ''Pyhäsmaas'', standard ''Pyhässämaassa'').
History

The first permanent settlers came to Pyhämaa in the 11th century.
Pyhämaa was initially a part of the
Laitila parish. It was first mentioned in 1540 as ''Pyhema''. Pyhämaa became a separate parish in 1639. The chapel community of Rohdainen was established in 1688, becoming the center of the parish in 1782. Pyhämaa was also called ''Pyhämaan Luoto'' at that time, while the main parish was called ''Pyhämaan Rohdainen''. The areas of Kammela, Edväinen and Kukainen were transferred from
Kalanti to Pyhämaan Luoto in 1863. Pyhämaa became separate again in 1908, while Rohdainen was renamed
Pyhäranta, a name that was likely invented by the skipper Kustaa Aaltonen from the village of Hirslahti. ''Rohdainen'' is still the name of Pyhäranta's main village. Another part of Kalanti was transferred to Pyhämaa in 1942, including Raulio and Torlahti on the mainland.
The main island of Pyhämaa was connected to the mainland in 1891 after a bridge was built over the Katarauma strait.
In 1974, Pyhämaa was consolidated with
Uusikaupunki as
Neste Oy was planning to establish a refinery there. However, the refinery was never established.
Churches
Early churches
The oldest confirmed church was likely built by
Franciscan
The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...
monks from
Rauma fleeing the Reformation.
Old church
The old church, called ''uhrikirkko'', was built in the 17th century. The inner walls have wall paintings, made by Christian Wilbrandt in 1667. After the new church was finished in 1804, the old church was used as a storage. The church was renovated in 1935 and has been in use again.
New church
The new church was built next to the old one in 1804 as the old church had fallen into disrepair. The modern shape of the church is the result of a renovation done in 1908, in which the top of the bell tower was changed.
Services
School
Pyhämaa has a school for grades 1–6 (''ala-aste''), also including a preschool (''esikoulu''). In the school year 2022-2023, the school had 27 students.
Activities
Pamprinniemi in the northwestern part of Pyhämaa is maintained as a protected nature area by the parish of Pyhämaa. It contains a 4,5 km long nature path.
References
{{FinlandProper
Uusikaupunki
Former municipalities of Finland