Kirkkonummi

Template:Infobox Finnish Municipality Kirkkonummi (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈkirkːoˌnumːi]; Template:Lang-sv [ˈɕʏ̂rːkslɛt], Swedish pronunciation: [ˈtɕyrːkslet] ) is a municipality of Template:Infobox Finnish Municipality/population count inhabitants () in southern Finland, and is by far the second largest municipality in Finland after Nurmijärvi that doesn't use the town or city title by itself. The literal meaning of the words "Kirkkonummi" and "Kyrkslätt" in English is "church heath".

The municipality is located just outside the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, bordering the city of Espoo in the east. Other neighbouring municipalities are Vihti and Siuntio. The distance from the municipal centre to central Helsinki is some 30 kilometres (20 mi). Kirkkonummi also has excellent train and bus connections to other parts of the Greater Helsinki area, and many of its inhabitants commute daily to Helsinki.

The municipality covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Over the recent years, Kirkkonummi has faced the highest population growth rate in the country, over 3% per annum.

Major population centres in Kirkkonummi include the municipal centre, Masala, Veikkola, Kantvik and the Upinniemi naval garrison area. In addition to these, there are dozens of smaller villages. Geographically, Kirkkonummi has two famous peninsulas, namely Porkkala and Upinniemi, the latter one of which houses a major Finnish naval base. Porkkala is also on one of the main bird migration routes in the Baltic Sea region. Additionally, Kirkkonummi has a large central plains area, through which a railway goes from Helsinki to Turku as well as extensive lake areas, much of which is relatively untouched wilderness.

Kirkkonummi has been populated from the Stone Age to the present day as evidenced by the very first Stone Age rock paintings found in Finland that are located by lake Vitträsk in the central lake region of Kirkkonummi. Incidentally, these paintings were found by the famous Finnish composer Jean Sibelius himself. The southern half of the municipality was leased to the Soviet Union between 1945 and 1956 for use as a naval base as part of the peace settlement that ended the hostilities between the Soviet Union and Finland during World War II. Signs of this time include concrete bunkers, other fortifications and the remains of an airbase.

Other places of interest located in Kirkkonummi include the medieval stone church in the municipal centre, the wooden church in the village of Haapajärvi as well as the Hvitträsk manor designed by Finnish architects Eliel Saarinen, Herman Gesellius and Armas Lindgren.

Politics

Results of the 2011 Finnish parliamentary election in Kirkkonummi:

• National Coalition Party 30.7%
• Social Democratic Party 16.8%
• True Finns 16.3%
• Swedish People's Party 14.3%
• Green League 10.1%
• Centre Party 4.4%
• Left Alliance 3.6%
• Christian Democrats 2.3%

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Finland

Twin towns — Sister cities

Kirkkonummi is twinned with:

• Sundbyberg, Sweden
• Paldiski, Estonia

External links

Media related to Kirkkonummi at Wikimedia Commons

• Municipality of Kirkkonummi – official website