Närpes (; fi, Närpiö ) is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

and

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 Western Finland and is part of the Ostrobothnia

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 town has a population of () and 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 . Economically, the municipality is known for extensive greenhouse farming of

tomato The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...

es and manufacture of trailers for trucks. Närpes has been a bilingual municipality since 2016. Before that, Närpes was the last unilingually Swedish-speaking municipality in continental Finland. Most locals speak a divergent variety of Ostrobothnian Swedish. The bands who sing in that dialect include 1G3B and Nektor. The most significant main roads in Närpes are Highway 8 between

Turku Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...

and

Vaasa Vaasa (; sv, Vasa, , Sweden ), in the years 1855–1917 as Nikolainkaupunki ( sv, Nikolajstad; literally meaning "city of Nicholas),

, and Highway 67 between

Kaskinen Kaskinen (; sv, Kaskö) is a town, municipality and island of Finland. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Ostrobothnia region. The population of Kaskinen is () and the municipality covers an area of (excluding ...

and Seinäjoki.

History

Närpes has a history that can be dated back to 1331, when Klas Bengtsson in "Nærpes" pawned goods to bishop Bengt in

. In 1348 king

Magnus IV of Sweden Magnus IV (April or May 1316 – 1 December 1374; Swedish ''Magnus Eriksson'') was King of Sweden from 1319 to 1364, King of Norway as Magnus VII (including Iceland and Greenland) from 1319 to 1355, and ruler of Scania from 1332 to 1360. By ...

declared "all who live in Nerpis

socken Socken is the name used for a part of a county in Sweden. In Denmark similar areas are known as ''sogn'', in Norway ''sokn'' or ''sogn'' and in Finland ''pitäjä'' ''(socken)''. A socken is a country-side area that was formed around a church, ...

Mustasaari Korsholm (; fi, Mustasaari) is a municipality of Finland. The town of Vaasa was founded in Korsholm parish in 1606 and today the municipality completely surrounds the city. It is a coastal, mostly rural municipality, consisting of a rural landscap ...

socken and

Pedersöre Pedersöre ( fi, Pedersören kunta, before 1989 ) is a municipality of Finland. Its seat is in Bennäs. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers a ...

socken" the right to buy and sell "all eatables". Thus creating the first official marketplaces in Ostrobothnia.

Demographics

Närpes has attracted many immigrants, and has also welcomed refugees. Largest immigrant groups: # Vietnam (403) # Bosnia and Herzegovina (388) # Sweden (254) # Yugoslavia (254) # Thailand (58) # Russia (54) # Ukraine (51) # Estonia (42) # Croatia (32) # Lithuania (30) # United States (28) # Ecuador (25)

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Närpes is twinned with: *

Akranes Akranes () is a port town and municipality on the west coast of Iceland, around north of the capital Reykjavík. The area where Akranes is located was settled in the 9th century; however, it did not receive a municipal charter until 1942. His ...

, Iceland *

Bamble Bamble is a municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Grenland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Langesund. General information Name The Old Norse form of the na ...

, Norway *

Tønder Tønder (; german: Tondern ) is a town in the Region of Southern Denmark. With a population of 7,505 (as of 1 January 2022), it is the main town and the administrative seat of the Tønder Municipality. History The first mention of Tønder might ...

, Denmark * Västervik Municipality, Sweden

References

External links