Merikarvia (; sv, Sastmola) is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

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 ...

. It is located in the

Satakunta Satakunta (in both Finnish and Swedish, ) is a region ( / ) of Finland, part of the former Western Finland Province. It borders the regions of Southwest Finland, Pirkanmaa, South Ostrobothnia and Ostrobothnia. The capital city of the region ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

. The neighboring municipalities are

Isojoki Isojoki ( sv, Storå; lit. "Big River") is a municipality of Finland. It is part of the South Ostrobothnia region. The city of Pori is located south of Isojoki. The population of Isojoki is () and the municipality covers an area of of which is ...

Kristinestad Kristinestad (, Sweden ; fi, Kristiinankaupunki ; la, Christinea) is a town and a municipality in Finland. It is located in the western part of Finland on the shore of the Bothnian Sea. The population of Kristinestad is () and the municipality ...

Pomarkku Pomarkku ( sv, Påmark) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Satakunta region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality is unilingually Finnish. ...

, Pori and

Siikainen Siikainen ( sv, Siikais) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the former province of Western Finland and is part of the Satakunta region. The municipality has a population of (), which make it the smallest municipality in Satakunta in t ...

. The municipality has a population of () and it covers an area of , of which is water. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

is . The municipality is unilingually

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

. The coastline was formerly Swedish-speaking. Merikarvia is known by the Oura Archipelago, which is part of the

Bothnian Sea National Park Bothnian Sea National Park ( fi, Selkämeren kansallispuisto, sv, Bottenhavets nationalpark) is a national park in Finland. It was established in early 2011. Around 98% of the surface of the National Park consists of water. References Extern ...

History

The area has been inhabited since as early as 1800 BC. There are grave sites from the Bronze and

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...

s 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 Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

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 Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

s and shipyards were common businesses until the end of the 19th century.

Politics

Results of the

2011 Finnish parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Finland on 17 April 2011 after the termination of the previous parliamentary term. Advance voting, which included voting by Finnish expatriates, was held between 6 and 12 April with a turnout of 31.2%. The ...

in Merikarvia: * Centre Party 35.7% *

True Finns The Finns Party, formerly known as the True Finns ( fi, Perussuomalaiset, PS, sv, Sannfinländarna, Sannf.), is a right-wing populist political party in Finland. It was founded in 1995 following the dissolution of the Finnish Rural Party. The ...

23.7% *

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Fo ...

18.6% *

National Coalition Party sv, Samlingspartiet , leader1_title = Chairman , leader1_name = Petteri Orpo , leader2_title = Deputy chairs , leader2_name = Antti HäkkänenElina ValtonenAnna-Kaisa Ikonen , merger = Finnish Party, Young Finn ...

11.3% * Left Alliance 6.1% *

Christian Democrats __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social ...

2.6% *

Green League The Green League (VIHR, fi, Vihreä liitto , sv, Gröna förbundet), shortened to the Greens ( fi, Vihreät, sv, De Gröna), is a green political party in Finland. Ideologically, the Green League is positioned on the centre-left of the polit ...

1.7%

Sights

* Lankoski rapids * The church of Merikarvia * Oura Archipelago

References

External links

Municipality of Merikarvia
– Official website Populated coastal places in Finland Municipalities of Satakunta Populated places established in 1639 1639 establishments in Sweden {{WesternFinland-geo-stub