Uusikaupunki

Uusikaupunki (Finnish: [ˈuːsiˌkɑu̯puŋki] ⓘ; Swedish: Nystad, Finland Swedish: [nyːstɑːd]) is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the Southwest Finland region, 71 kilometres (44 mi) northwest of Turku and 97 kilometres (60 mi) south of Pori. The municipality has a population of 14,934 (26 October 2023)[3] and covers an area of 551.65 square kilometres (212.99 sq mi) of which 49.04 km2 (18.93 sq mi) is inland water. The population density is 29.71 inhabitants per square kilometre (76.9/sq mi).

Uusikaupunki
Nystad(New Town)
Town
Uudenkaupungin kaupunki
Nystads stad
Coat of arms of Uusikaupunki
Coat of arms
Location of Uusikaupunki in Finland
Location of Uusikaupunki in Finland
Coordinates: 60°48′N 021°25′E
Country Finland
RegionSouthwest Finland
Sub-regionVakka-Suomi sub-region
CharterApril 19, 1617[1]
Government
 • Town managerAtso Vainio
Area
 (2018-01-01)[2]
 • Town1,932.42 km2 (746.11 sq mi)
 • Land502.61 km2 (194.06 sq mi)
 • Water1,430.07 km2 (552.15 sq mi)
 • Metro
502.49 km2 (194.01 sq mi)
 • Rank173rd largest in Finland
Population
 (2023-10-26)[3]
 • Town14,934
 • Rank76th largest in Finland
 • Density29.71/km2 (76.9/sq mi)
Population by native language
[4]
 • Finnish92.1% (official)
 • Swedish0.4%
 • Others7.5%
Population by age
[5]
 • 0 to 1413.3%
 • 15 to 6457.4%
 • 65 or older29.3%
Time zoneUTC+02:00 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+03:00 (EEST)
ClimateDfb
Websiteuusikaupunki.fi

The municipality is unilingually Finnish. Both its Finnish and Swedish names translate literally to "new town". The original name of the main village that was incorporated into Uusikaupunki was Kalainen[6] (roughly translated from Finnish as "rich in fish"). The surrounding region, and especially the neighboring town of Kalanti, which merged with Uusikaupunki in 1993, was already a lively marketplace for wooden objects and salt in the early Middle Ages. Uusikaupunki was founded to legalize this trade.[7]

Geography

Uusikaupunki is located in the Vakka-Suomi sub-region on the shores of the Gulf of Bothnia.[8] The Sirppu River (Sirppujoki) flows through the town and flows into the reservoir of Uusikaupunki in the northern part of the town. The freshwater pool was built in 1965 when the bays of Velhovesi and Ruotsinvesi were dammed from the sea. The area of the basin is about 40 km², and the town and part of Vakka-Suomi get their domestic water from it. The acidity of the freshwater basin has caused some fish deaths as well as an overgrowth of aquatic plants.[9]

In 2011, the Bothnian Sea National Park was established in the outer archipelago of Uusikaupunki. The area, named Finland's largest marine national park, begins in the south of the Kustavi archipelago and ends in the north in the Merikarvia archipelago.[10]

Cityscape
Old wooden blocks of Uusikaupunki

The center of Uusikaupunki is built according to the so-called "grid plan layout"[11] and is one of the best-preserved Empire-style wooden house blocks in the country.[12] Today, there are a total of 40 blocks left. Because of this, the area is characterized by wide streets and large blocks with the narrow alleys.[13] In a town plan drawn up in 1649, there were 27 blocks in the town center that required residential buildings to be built. The town was built of densely red-soil houses, and the estates were not pleasantly considered deserted. The town also expanded around the base of the bay, where a suburban settlement was built. Green areas were not established in the town until the 1850s, when a new town plan was planned for the town.[12]

According to the Finnish Heritage Agency, the town's most significant public buildings are the Seikow's school building and the Uusikaupunki's library building. Seikow's Neo-Renaissance building was one of the oldest school buildings in Finland.[14] The town library is thought to be one of the oldest functioning library buildings in the country; it was founded in 1861.[15] The first glass factory of Finland, which was located in Uusikaupunki, was destroyed in a fire in 1685.[16] In the center of Uusikaupunki is the Bonk Centre museum, which houses a collection of products from the fictional Bonk Business Company.[17] In addition, the town has a cultural history museum.[18] A notable building in the town center is also Wallila, designed by F. A. Sjöström and located on a hill near the sea. It is now used as venue for Crusell Week music festival, which is named after composer-clarinetist Bernhard Crusell, who was born in Uusikaupunki.[19][20]

History

The town of Uusikaupunki was founded as a town with the rights of commerce on April 19, 1617 by decree by Gustav II Adolf.[1] In 1721, the Peace of Nystad was signed in Uusikaupunki, ending the Great Northern War between Sweden and Russia, but as the Crimean War broke out in 1853, Uusikaupunki was attacked by French Navy and British Navy in 1855 during the Åland War. Up to the 19th century, Uusikaupunki was an important port for commerce and fishing, and up to the latter half of the 20th century, the Port of Uusikaupunki retained an important ship-building industry.[21]

Economy

Uusikaupunki is the home of Valmet Automotive, a contract automobile mechanical production company, producing cars and vehicles for brands such as Mercedes-Benz. It was founded in 1968 as Saab-Valmet for manufacturing Saab cars. As of June 2017, Valmet is assembling Mercedes-Benz A-Class and Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class cars. Furthermore, it produces the first commercially available solar-electric vehicle - the Lightyear 0 - as of November 2022.[22] Today, Valmet is one of the largest and most significant employers in Uusikaupunki.[23]

Politics

The results of the 2011 Finnish parliamentary election in Uusikaupunki were:

Points of interest
The windmills of Myllymäki

Uusikaupunki is home to the Bonk museum.[24]

Other attractions include:

  • Restaurant Pursiseuran Paviljonki[25]
  • Myllymäki Park

Culture

Music

Karjurock, the annual rock music festival has been held in Uusikaupunki since 2007.[26][27]

Sports

The town was co-host of the 1982 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship for Women.

Notable people
Bernhard Crusell (1775–1838)

International relations
Main article: List of twin towns and sister cities in Finland

Twin towns – sister cities

Uusikaupunki is twinned with:

See also

References
  1. Yleistä Uudenkaupungin historiasta (in Finnish)
  2. "Area of Finnish Municipalities 1.1.2018" (PDF). National Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  3. "Preliminary population statistics 2023, September". StatFin. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  4. "Demographic Structure by area as of 31 December 2022". Statistics Finland's PX-Web databases. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  5. "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.
  6. "1033–1034 (Pieni Tietosanakirja / IV. San Remo – Öölanti)". Runeberg.org. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  7. "Uusikaupunki – Uudenkaupungin historian lyhyt oppimäärä". 7 October 2013. Archived from the original on 7 October 2013. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  8. "Perustietoja ja murretta" (in Finnish). Town of Uusikaupunki. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  9. "Makeanvedenallas" (in Finnish). Town of Uusikaupunki. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  10. "Selkämerelle perustettu Suomen suurin mereinen kansallispuisto". www.metsa.fi (in Finnish). Metsähallitus. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  11. Uudenkaupungin historian lyhyt oppimäärä (in Finnish)
  12. Uusikaupunki – tulipalojen muovaama empirepuukaupunki (in Finnish)
  13. Uudenkaupungin puutalokorttelit - Finnish Heritage Agency (in Finnish)
  14. Ugin Seikowin koululle tukea Museovirastolta - Turun Sanomat (in Finnish)
  15. Uudenkaupungin kirjasto (in Finnish)
  16. Uudenkaupungin lasitehtaalla lyhyt mutta värikäs historia - Uudenkaupungin Sanomat (in Finnish)
  17. Bonk Museum
  18. Kalannin kotiseutumuseo (in Finnish)
  19. Info | Crusell Music Festival (in Finnish)
  20. Valitse Uusikaupunki 2021 (in Finnish)
  21. Merenkulkijoita uudestakaupungista - Varsinais-Suomi 1917 (in Finnish)
  22. Valmet Automotive completed the first Lightyear 0 pre-production solar electric vehicle
  23. IL: Valmet Automotive käynnistää 1 000 henkilön jättirekrytoinnin (in Finnish)
  24. "Bonk Museum". Bonkcentre.fi. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  25. "Karilla". Karilla.fi. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  26. Karjurockissa historiallisen suuri leirintäalue: "Lipunmyynti on nyt älyttömän kovassa vauhdissa!" – Raumalainen (in Finnish)
  27. Sikailua ja karjukisailua villisikatilalla – Turun Sanomat (in Finnish)
  28. "Suomen kuntien ystävyyskunnat Virossa" (in Finnish). Embassy of Finland, Tallinn. Retrieved 1 December 2017.

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