Korsholm
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| Korsholm Korsholm – Mustasaari |
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| — Municipality — | |||
| Korsholms kommun – Mustasaaren kunta | |||
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| Coordinates: 63°06′45″N 021°40′40″E / 63.1125°N 21.67778°ECoordinates: 63°06′45″N 021°40′40″E / 63.1125°N 21.67778°E | |||
| Country | Finland | ||
| Region | Ostrobothnia | ||
| Sub-region | Vaasa sub-region | ||
| Charter | 1348 | ||
| Government | |||
| - Municipal manager | Rurik Ahlberg | ||
| Area (2009-01-01)[1] | |||
| - Total | 3,178.64 km2 (1,227.3 sq mi) | ||
| - Land | 848.13 km2 (327.5 sq mi) | ||
| - Water | 2,330.51 km2 (899.8 sq mi) | ||
| Area rank | 18th largest in Finland | ||
| Population (2009-06-30)[2] | |||
| - Total | 18,260 | ||
| - Density | 21.53/km2 (55.8/sq mi) | ||
| Population rank | 61st largest in Finland | ||
| Population by native language [3] | |||
| - Swedish | 70.2% (official) | ||
| - Finnish | 28.7% (official) | ||
| - Others | 1% | ||
| Population by age [4] | |||
| - 0 to 14 | 19.4% | ||
| - 15 to 64 | 63.9% | ||
| - 65 or older | 16.7% | ||
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) | ||
| Municipal tax rate[5] | 19.25% | ||
| Website | www.korsholm.fi | ||
Korsholm (Finnish: Mustasaari) is a municipality of Finland. The town of Vaasa was founded in Korsholm parish in 1606 and today the municipality completely surrounds the city. It is a coastal, mostly rural municipality, consisting of a rural landscape and a large, fractured archipelago.
It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of 18,260 (30 June 2009)[2] and covers an area of 3,178.64 square kilometres (1,227.28 sq mi) of which 2,330.51 km2 (899.81 sq mi) is water.[1] The population density is 21.53 inhabitants per square kilometre (55.8 /sq mi). The municipality consists of the central areas, the southern plain, and the extensive archipelago. Parts of the archipelago belong to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Kvarken. One of Korsholm's more notable landmarks is that it holds Finland's longest bridge, the Replot Bridge. The bridge connects the island of Replot to the mainland. Finland's second oldest stone bridge that is still in use, can also be found in Korsholm, in the village of Toby (Finnish: Tuovila).
The municipality is bilingual, with a majority (70%) being Swedish and a minority (29%) Finnish speakers.[3] The Finnish speakers are concentrated near the enclosed city Vaasa, particularly in Smedsby (Finnish: Sepänkylä), and in the villages of Toby and Kvevlax in the southern plain, while the rest of the municipality is Swedish-speaking.
Korsholm has a history that can be dated back to 1348. In that year Korsholm was mentioned for the first time in writing in a royal letter concerning freedom of commerce. Therefore the municipality celebrated its 650th anniversary in 1998. In the mid 1300s Saint Mary's Church was built in Korsholm island. The municipality got its Swedish name in the year 1927 from the Korsholm Castle (Chrysseborg) from which the whole of Ostrobothnia was governed for hundreds of years. The ruins of Saint Mary's Church and Korsholm Castle are now in the old town of Vaasa (Finnish: Vanha Vaasa; Swedish: Gamla Vasa). The Swedish name Korsholm has the literal meaning "Cross Island", while the Finnish name Mustasaari is different, meaning "Black Island". The area is no longer an island because of rising of the land, the names being relics of the medieval geography.
Today's Korsholm municipality consists of five smaller municipalities that were merged in 1973: Korsholm in the center, Replot and Björköby in the far archipelago, Solf (Finnish: Sulva) in the southern plain and Kvevlax in the eastern plain. To reflect the new, larger municipality the motif in the Korsholm coat of arms is five intertwined golden threads on a red background.
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Area by municipality as of 1 January 2009" (in Finnish and Swedish) (PDF). Land Survey of Finland. http://www.maanmittauslaitos.fi/Pintaalat_kunnittain_1.1.2009.pdf. Retrieved 20 February 2009.
- ^ a b "Population by municipality as of 30 June 2009" (in Finnish and Swedish). Population Information System. Population Register Center of Finland. http://www.vrk.fi/vrk/files.nsf/files/AE1290D892E86719C22575EB002B065C/$file/090630.html. Retrieved 26 July 2009.
- ^ a b "Population according to language and the number of foreigners and land area km2 by area as of 31 December 2008". Statistics Finland's PX-Web databases. Statistics Finland. http://pxweb2.stat.fi/Dialog/varval.asp?ma=060_vaerak_tau_107_fi&ti=V%E4est%F6+kielen+mukaan+sek%E4+ulkomaan+kansalaisten+m%E4%E4r%E4+ja+maa%2Dpinta%2Dala+alueittain++1980+%2D+2008&path=../Database/StatFin/vrm/vaerak/&lang=3&multilang=fi. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
- ^ "Population according to age and gender by area as of 31 December 2008". Statistics Finland's PX-Web databases. Statistics Finland. http://pxweb2.stat.fi/Dialog/varval.asp?ma=050_vaerak_tau_104_fi&ti=V%E4est%F6+i%E4n+%281%2Dv%2E%29+ja+sukupuolen+mukaan+alueittain+1980+%2D+2008&path=../Database/StatFin/vrm/vaerak/&lang=3&multilang=fi. Retrieved 28 April 2009.
- ^ "List of municipal and parish tax rates in 2009". Tax Administration of Finland. 1 December 2008. http://www.vero.fi/nc/doc/download.asp?id=6425;167571. Retrieved 8 March 2009.
[edit] External links
Media related to Korsholm at Wikimedia Commons- Korsholm official website
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