Merikarvia

Template:Infobox Finnish Municipality Merikarvia (Swedish: Sastmola) is a municipality of Finland.

It is located in the Satakunta region. The neighboring municipalities are Isojoki, Kristinestad, Pomarkku, Pori and Siikainen.

The municipality has a population of Template:Infobox Finnish Municipality/population count () and it covers an area of , of which is water. The population density is .

The municipality is unilingually Finnish. The coastline was formerly Swedish-speaking. Merikarvia is known by 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 and Iron Ages within the municipality. Most of the cairns are located in Tuorila village located east of the municipal center.

The birth of the earliest villages in Merikarvia - Kasala, Riispyy, Ala- and Yli-Kylä, and Köörtilä - is dated to between the 13th and 14th centuries. As a separate municipality, Merikarvia has existed since 1865.

The first church in Merikarvia was built in 1776 and was named after the queen consort of Sweden 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, sawmills and shipyards were common businesses until the end of the 19th century.

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

Sights

• Lankoski rapids
• The church of Merikarvia
• Oura Archipelago

External links

Media related to Merikarvia at Wikimedia Commons

• Municipality of Merikarvia – Official website