Karhula is a former market town ('' kauppala'') and a former municipality of

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

in the former

Kymi Province The Kymi Province ( fi, Kymen lääni, sv, Kymmene län) was a province of Finland from 1945 to 1997. The Kymi Province was the remainder of the territory from the Viipuri Province after the main part was left to Russia at the Moscow Armisti ...

, now in the

Kymenlaakso Kymenlaakso ( sv, Kymmenedalen; " Kymi/Kymmene Valley") is a region in Finland. It borders the regions of Uusimaa, Päijät-Häme, South Savo and South Karelia and Russia (Leningrad Oblast). Its name means literally ''The Valley of River Kymi'' ...

region. It was consolidated with the town of

Kotka Kotka (; ; la, Aquilopolis) is a city in the southern part of the Kymenlaakso province on the Gulf of Finland. Kotka is a major port and industrial city and also a diverse school and cultural city, which was formerly part of the old Kymi parish. ...

in 1977. Its seat was in Helilä, however the municipality was named after the industrial area of Karhula (Karhulanniemi).

Geography

The municipality bordered Kotka,

Kymi Kymi may refer to: *Kymi, Greece, a town in Euboea, Greece *Kymi, Finland, a former municipality in Finland *Kymi (constituency), a constituency in the Finnish Parliament *Kymi (region), or ''Kymenlaakso'', the region of Finland *Kymi B.C., a basket ...

and

Vehkalahti Vehkalahti () is a List of former municipalities of Finland, former municipality surrounding the town of Hamina in south-eastern Finland. At the beginning of 2003 Hamina and Vehkalahti combined to form a new town of Hamina. History These souther ...

History

''Karhula'' was originally the name of a seat farm in the village of Helilä in the parish of

Pyhtää Pyhtää ( sv, Pyttis) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Kymenlaakso region, west of the city of Kotka. Overview The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Th ...

and the chapel community of

. As the population in the area increased, the village that had formed around the farm began to be called ''Karhula''. As a village name, Karhula is first mentioned in 1624.. Kymi became a separate parish from Pyhtää in 1642. In 1951, Kymi's main village Helilä, along with the industrial areas of Karhulanniemi, Sunila and

Korkeakoski Korkeakoski () is a village and administrative center of the Juupajoki municipality in Pirkanmaa, Finland. It has a population of 822. It is located along Finnish national road 58, Highway 58 between Orivesi and Kärsämäki, and the Tampere–Haap ...

, were separated to form the municipality of Karhula. Kymi's municipal administration was still located in Helilä. Ecclesiastically Karhula was still subordinate to Kymi, never acquiring its own parish. In 1977, Karhula and Kymi were consolidated with Kotka.

Industrial history

Glass production in Karhula started in 1888. Much of the glassware produced in the factory was exported to

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. In the 1930s, the factory produced

Alvar Aalto Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto (; 3 February 1898 – 11 May 1976) was a Finnish architect and designer. His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles and glassware, as well as sculptures and paintings. He never regarded himself as an artist, see ...

's designer glassware including Aalto vases. After the sale of beer became freer in the 1960s, bottles became the factory's primary type of glassware. The American company

Owens-Illinois O-I Glass, Inc. is an American company that specializes in container glass products. It is one of the world's leading manufacturers of packaging products, holding the position of largest manufacturer of glass containers in North America, South A ...

acquired the factory in 1995. The factory was closed in 2009, leaving 106 people unemployed. The Korkeakoski wood grindery was established in 1887 and expanded in 1920. Finland's first fiberboard factory was established in Korkeakoski in 1930.

References

Kotka Former municipalities of Finland {{SouthernFinland-geo-stub