Ulvila (; sv, Ulvsby) 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 o ...

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 ...

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 Bot ...

. It is one of the six medieval cities of Finland, as well as the third oldest city in the country. Ulvila was granted

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the re ...

as a town by King Albert of Sweden on 7 February 1365. However, its

town privileges Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the traditio ...

were taken over by

Pori ) , website www.pori.fi Pori (; sv, Björneborg ) is a city and municipality on the west coast of Finland. The city is located some from the Gulf of Bothnia, on the estuary of the Kokemäki River, west of Tampere, north of Turku and north- ...

in 1558. After 442 years, Ulvila regained town privileges in 2000. Ulvila is located in the

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 ...

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 ...

and the former province of

Western Finland Western Finland ( fi, Länsi-Suomen lääni, sv, Västra Finlands län) was a province of Finland from 1997 to 2009. It bordered the provinces of Oulu, Eastern Finland and Southern Finland. It also bordered the Gulf of Bothnia towards Åland. ...

. The town is situated just southeast of the city of Pori along Highway 2. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of , of which is water. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

is . The municipality is unilingually Finnish. The medieval St. Olaf's Church is dedicated to

St. Olaf Olaf II Haraldsson ( – 29 July 1030), later known as Saint Olaf (and traditionally as St. Olave), was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. Son of Harald Grenske, a petty king in Vestfold, Norway, he was posthumously given the title ''Rex Perpet ...

, who also is portrayed in the arms of the municipality. The

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

fieldstone church A fieldstone church (german: Feldsteinkirche) is a type of church, built using fieldstone of glacial erratics and glacial rubble. Such cathedrals and monasteries occur mostly in areas where the ice ages have deposited such rock material on the on ...

, also known as Ulvila Church, is one of the best-preserved of its kind in Finland.

Politics

Results of the Finnish municipal elections 2021 in Ulvila: *

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 For ...

29.6% *

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 ...

23.4% * Centre Party 15.3% *

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 ...

14.5% * Left Alliance 9.1% *

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 ...

4.8% *

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 ...

3.3% * Blue future 0.1%

Transport

Ulvila is served by OnniBus.com route Helsinki—Pori.

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Ulvila is twinned with: *

Ljusdal Municipality Ljusdal Municipality (''Ljusdals kommun'') is one of Sweden's 290 municipalities within Gävleborg County. Its seat is Ljusdal. The municipality was formed in 1971 by the amalgamation of the market town (''köping'') of Ljusdal (instituted in ...

, Sweden *

Suure-Jaani Suure-Jaani is a Populated places in Estonia, town in the northern part of the county of Viljandi County, Viljandimaa in Põhja-Sakala Parish, Põhja-Sakala rural municipality, 25 kilometres north of the town of Viljandi. Until 2017, Suure-Jaani ...

, Estonia

Notable people from Ulvila

Simo Frangén Simo Juhani Frangén (born 6 September 1963 in Ulvila, Finland) is a Finnish TV presenter and humourist, living in Tampere. History Frangén matriculated in 1982 and graduated as a Master of Social Sciences at the University of Tampere in 1990 ...

(born 1963) – television presenter and humorist *

Kaarlo Kangasniemi Kaarlo Olavi Kangasniemi (born 4 February 1941) is a retired Finnish weightlifter. Between 1968 and 1972 he won one Olympic, two world and two European titles in the 90 kg division, becoming the only Finnish weightlifter to win either an Ol ...

(born 1941) – weightlifter and sports personality * Kauko Kangasniemi (1942–2013) – weightlifter * Mauno Lindroos (born 1941) – weightlifter *

Patrik Raitanen Patrik Raitanen (born 13 June 2001) is a Finland, Finnish professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Defender (association football), defender for IFK Mariehamn. Raitanen was born in Ulvila, Finland. He made his debut on senior l ...

(born 2001) – footballer * Karl Reilin (1874–1962) – sports shooter *

Raili Riuttala Raili Anita Hillevi Laiho (née Riuttala, 23 October 1933 – 9 March 2024) was a Finnish competitive swimmer. She represented Finland in the women's 100 metre freestyle and women's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay at the 1952 Summer Olympics in ...

(born 1933) – freestyle swimmer * Sylvi Salonen (1920–2003) – actress *

Sofianna Sundelin Sofianna Sundelin (born 13 January 2003) is a Finnish ice hockey player and member of the Finnish national ice hockey team, currently playing in the Naisten Liiga with Team Kuortane. Playing career Sundelin began playing ice hockey with the jun ...

(born 2003) – ice hockey player *

Kalle Varonen Kalle Varonen (born April 11, 1974, in Ulvila, Finland) is a retired freestyle sprint swimmer from Finland. Varonen competed for his native country at 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. His best result was a 12th place with the men's 4×1 ...

(born 1974) – freestyle swimmer

References

External links

* Cities and towns in Finland Medieval Finnish towns Populated places established in the 1360s {{WesternFinland-geo-stub