Velkua () is 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 Bot ...

. It was, together with

Merimasku Merimasku () is a former municipality of Finland. It was, together with Rymättylä and Velkua, consolidated with the town of Naantali on January 1, 2009. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Southwest Finland r ...

and Rymättylä, consolidated with the town of

Naantali Naantali (; sv, Nådendal) is a town in southwestern Finland, and, as a resort town during the summer, an important tourist centre of the country. The municipality has a population of (), and is located in the region of Southwest Finland, west ...

on January 1, 2009. It is part of the

Southwest Finland Southwest Finland, calqued as Finland Proper ( fi, Varsinais-Suomi ; sv, Egentliga Finland), is a region in the southwest of Finland. It borders the regions of Satakunta, Pirkanmaa, Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme), Uusimaa, and Åland. The reg ...

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 municipality had a population of 245 (2005-12-31) and covered an area of 30.07 km² (excluding sea) of which 0.13 km² is inland 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 ...

was 8,1 inhabitants per km². The municipality was 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 ...

History

The village of Palva, located on the homonymous island, was mentioned already in 1469. Its name may refer to a place where meat and fish were cured by hunters or to a site of worship. Palva was the original center of the area, becoming a separate chapel community in 1793, when it was a part of the

Taivassalo Taivassalo (; sv, Tövsala) is a municipality of Finland, about from the city of Turku. It is located in the Southwest Finland region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . ...

parish. In the 19th century, the name ''Velkua'' began appearing for the chapel community after the largest island in it: ''Velkua'' or ''Velkuanmaa''. A densely populated village on the island of Velkua, ''Velkuankaupunki'', was established in the 19th century. The municipality was established in the 1860s and ''Velkua'' had become the predominant name. Velkua became a separate parish in 1917. Velkua was consolidated with Naantali in 2009.

References

External links

*http://www.velkua.fi/ – Official website Former municipalities of Finland Naantali Finnish islands in the Baltic Populated places disestablished in 2009 2009 disestablishments in Finland {{WesternFinland-geo-stub