Asikkala

Asikkala (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈɑsikːɑlɑ]) is a municipality of Finland. Its seat is in Vääksy, at the shores of the Lake Päijänne. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Päijänne Tavastia region. Asikkala's neighboring municipalities are Hämeenlinna, Heinola, Hollola, Lahti, Padasjoki and Sysmä.

Asikkala
Municipality
Asikkalan kunta
Asikkala kommun
Vääksy Canal
Vääksy Canal
Coat of arms of Asikkala
Coat of arms
Location of Asikkala in Finland
Location of Asikkala in Finland
Coordinates: 61°10′20″N 025°32′50″E
Country Finland
RegionPäijänne Tavastia
Sub-regionLahti sub-region
Charter1848
SeatVääksy
Government
 • Municipal managerRinna Ikola-Norrbacka
Area
 (2018-01-01)[1]
 • Total755.55 km2 (291.72 sq mi)
 • Land563.41 km2 (217.53 sq mi)
 • Water192.13 km2 (74.18 sq mi)
 • Rank151st largest in Finland
Population
 (2023-10-26)[2]
 • Total7,991
 • Rank120th largest in Finland
 • Density14.18/km2 (36.7/sq mi)
Population by native language
[3]
 • Finnish97.2% (official)
 • Swedish0.1%
 • Others2.6%
Population by age
[4]
 • 0 to 1413.3%
 • 15 to 6452.7%
 • 65 or older34%
Time zoneUTC+02:00 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Websitewww.asikkala.fi

The municipality has a population of 7,991 (26 October 2023)[5] and covers an area of 755.55 square kilometres (291.72 sq mi) of which 192.13 km2 (74.18 sq mi) is water.[1] The population density is 14.18 inhabitants per square kilometre (36.7/sq mi).

The municipality is unilingually Finnish, by law since 1996.

History

The oldest prehistoric objects discovered in Asikkala, primarily tools, are presumed to date back to approximately 3000 BCE. The island of Kotasaari in the village of Kalkkinen has been a significant source of finds as well; the settlement on the island dates back to the Stone Age. In the Middle Age, the hunters populating the area of Asikkala made excursions towards the north on the Päijänne. The oldest villages in the municipality are presumed to be Kalkkinen as well as Anianpelto, the former of which also housed the largest estate in the area, known as Iisakkila or Kalkkinen.[6]

Asikkala is mentioned in writing for the first time in a document concerning a border dispute with Sysmä in 1443. It is mentioned in 1445 as an administrative parish, whose subordinates in taxation included the villages of Viitaila, Asikkala and Urajärvi, and later Ruuhijärvi in modern-day Nastola. In the early 1600s, Asikkala became an independent chapel parish from the mother parish of Hollola.[6]

Geography

Villages
The Urajärvi Manor Museum

In 1967, Asikkala had 24 legally recognized villages (henkikirjakylät):[7]

  • Anianpelto
  • Asikkala
  • Hillilä
  • Iso-Äiniö
  • Joenniemi
  • Kalkkinen
  • Keltaniemi
  • Kopsuo
  • Kurhila
  • Muikkula
  • Myllykselä
  • Paakkola
  • Pulkkila
  • Pätiälä
  • Reivilä
  • Riihilahti
  • Salo
  • Särkijärvi
  • Urajärvi
  • Vehkoo
  • Vesivehmaa
  • Viitaila
  • Vähimaa
  • Vähä-Äiniö

Climate

Asikkala has a subarctic climate (Dfc) bordering on a humid continental climate (Dfb) with cold winters and mild to warm summers. The climate is slightly milder than the nearby city of Lahti due to influence from Lake Päijänne.

Climate data for Asikkala Pulkkilanharju (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1967- present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 8.0
(46.4)		 8.1
(46.6)		 14.6
(58.3)		 22.2
(72.0)		 27.6
(81.7)		 30.5
(86.9)		 31.8
(89.2)		 30.1
(86.2)		 25.2
(77.4)		 18.6
(65.5)		 13.2
(55.8)		 10.3
(50.5)		 31.8
(89.2)
Average high °C (°F) −3.0
(26.6)		 −3.5
(25.7)		 1.0
(33.8)		 7.1
(44.8)		 14.1
(57.4)		 18.6
(65.5)		 21.2
(70.2)		 19.7
(67.5)		 14.2
(57.6)		 7.9
(46.2)		 2.7
(36.9)		 −0.6
(30.9)		 8.3
(46.9)
Daily mean °C (°F) −5.5
(22.1)		 −6.2
(20.8)		 −2.5
(27.5)		 2.8
(37.0)		 9.5
(49.1)		 14.6
(58.3)		 17.6
(63.7)		 16.1
(61.0)		 11.4
(52.5)		 5.6
(42.1)		 1.0
(33.8)		 −2.6
(27.3)		 5.2
(41.4)
Average low °C (°F) −8.7
(16.3)		 −9.9
(14.2)		 −6.5
(20.3)		 −0.9
(30.4)		 5.3
(41.5)		 11.0
(51.8)		 14.1
(57.4)		 13.2
(55.8)		 8.8
(47.8)		 3.8
(38.8)		 −0.8
(30.6)		 −4.9
(23.2)		 2.0
(35.6)
Record low °C (°F) −37.2
(−35.0)		 −36.8
(−34.2)		 −29.1
(−20.4)		 −18.3
(−0.9)		 −5.7
(21.7)		 −0.6
(30.9)		 4.9
(40.8)		 2.3
(36.1)		 −2.6
(27.3)		 −10.6
(12.9)		 −18.6
(−1.5)		 −34.5
(−30.1)		 −37.2
(−35.0)
Source 1: FMI climatological normals for Finland 1991-2020[8]
Source 2: Record highs and lows 1967- present[9]

Demographics

In 2020, 13.3% of the population of Asikkala was under the age of 15, 52.7% were aged 15 to 64, and 34.0% were over the age of 64. The average age was 49.9, above the national average of 43.4 and regional average of 46.1. Speakers of Finnish made up 97.4% of the population and speakers of Swedish made up 0.2%, while the share of speakers of foreign languages was 2.4%. Foreign nationals made up 1.8% of the total population.[10]

The chart below, describing the development of the total population of Asikkala from 1975-2020, encompasses the municipality's area as of 2021.

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1975 7,798—    
1980 8,251+1.14%
1985 8,564+0.75%
1990 8,822+0.60%
1995 8,782−0.09%
YearPop.±% p.a.
2000 8,644−0.32%
2005 8,560−0.20%
2010 8,552−0.02%
2015 8,287−0.63%
2020 8,059−0.56%
Source: Statistics Finland[11]

Urban areas

In 2019, out of the total population of 8,083, 5,188 people lived in urban areas and 2,814 in sparsely populated areas, while the coordinates of 81 people were unknown. This made Asikkala's degree of urbanization 64.8%.[12] The urban population in the municipality was divided between two urban areas as follows:[13]

#Urban areaPopulation
1Vääksy4,810
2Lahti central locality378[lower-alpha 1]

Notable people

Politics

Results of the 2011 Finnish parliamentary election in Asikkala:

Economy

In 2018, 9.6% of the workforce of Asikkala worked in primary production (agriculture, forestry and fishing), 28.7% in secondary production (e.g. manufacturing, construction and infrastructure), and 58.6% in services. In 2019, the unemployment rate was 9.2%, and the share of pensioners in the population was 37.4%.[14]

The ten largest employers in Asikkala in 2019 were as follows:[15]

  1. Municipality of Asikkala, 303 employees
  2. Päijät-Häme Health Care Municipal Consortium, 187 employees
  3. JELD-WEN Suomi Oy, 95 employees
  4. Rapala VMC Oyj, 77 employees
  5. Salpaus Further Education, 37 employees
  6. Regional Council of Päijät-Häme, 34 employees
  7. Viipurilainen Kotileipomo Oy, 32 employees
  8. Urajärven Metalli Oy, 30 employees
  9. Parish of Asikkala, 22 employees
  10. Osuuskauppa Hämeenmaa, 22 employees

Culture

Food

In the 1980s, Asikkala's traditional parish dishes were salmon soup, rieskas made barley, and potato egg butter, as well as berry milk and sahti.[16]

See also

Notes
  1. The Lahti central locality has a total population of 119,469, and in addition to Asikkala, reaches the municipalities of Lahti (103,990 residents) and Hollola (15,101 residents).[13]

References
  1. "Area of Finnish Municipalities 1.1.2018" (PDF). National Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  2. "Preliminary population statistics 2023, September". StatFin. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  3. "Demographic Structure by area as of 31 December 2022". Statistics Finland's PX-Web databases. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  4. "Population according to age (1-year) and sex by area and the regional division of each statistical reference year, 2003–2020". StatFin. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  5. "Population by municipality as of 31 October 2010". Population Information System (in Finnish and Swedish). Population Register Center of Finland. Archived from the original on 2010-12-27. Retrieved 16 December 2010.
  6. Huovinen, Pentti; Rikkinen, Kalevi; Sihvo, Hannes (1984). Finlandia: Otavan iso maammekirja, osa 3: Häme ja Pirkanmaa (in Finnish). Helsinki: Otava. pp. 50–53. ISBN 951-1-07914-X.
  7. Fogelberg, Paul; Rautava, Erkki; Papunen, Pentti; Mäkinen, Vesa (1967). "Asikkala". Suomenmaa: maantieteellis-yhteiskunnallinen tieto- ja hakuteos. 1: Ahlainen–Hausjärvi. Helsinki: WSOY.
  8. "FMI normals 1991-2020". fmi.fi. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  9. "FMI open data". FMI. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  10. "Key figures on population by region, 1990-2020". StatFin. Statistics Finland. Archived from the original on 2019-04-06. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  11. "Population according to age (1-year) and sex by area, 1972-2020". StatFin. Statistics Finland. Archived from the original on 2019-05-25. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  12. "Degree of urbanisation by area, 2019". StatFin. Statistics Finland. Archived from the original on 2019-11-26. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  13. "Population in urban settlements and sparsely populated areas by age, sex and municipality, 2019". StatFin. Statistics Finland. Archived from the original on 2019-11-26. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  14. "Municipal key figures 1987-2020 (with the 2021 regional division)". StatFin. Statistics Finland. Archived from the original on 2021-04-26. Retrieved 29 April 2021. (2018 and 2019)
  15. "Kunnittainen toimipaikkatilasto" (in Finnish). Statistics Finland. Archived from the original on 2016-11-14. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  16. Jaakko Kolmonen (1988). Kotomaamme ruoka-aitta: Suomen, Karjalan ja Petsamon pitäjäruoat (in Finnish). Helsinki: Patakolmonen. p. 82. ISBN 951-96047-3-1.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.