Kokemäki (; ) is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

and

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

in the Satakunta Region of

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

is . Finland is constitutionally bi-lingual with a Swedish speaking minority. The

is unilingual with the vast majority of the population speaking Finnish. Many, mostly younger, residents are able to understand or speak some English. The American battery company Æsir Technologies Inc. has announced that it will establish a nickel hydroxide plant producing material for nickel-zinc batteries in the village of Peipohja of Kokemäki. The Kokemäki coat of arms depicts the bishop's

mitre The mitre (Commonwealth English) or miter (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, see spelling differences; both pronounced ; ) is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of ...

Geography

The long Kokemäki River (''Kokemäenjoki'') flows from Lake Liekovesi, in the Pirkanmaa region, through Kokemäki and in to the

Gulf of Bothnia The Gulf of Bothnia (; ; ) is divided into the Bothnian Bay and the Bothnian Sea, and it is the northernmost arm of the Baltic Sea, between Finland's west coast ( East Bothnia) and the northern part of Sweden's east coast ( West Bothnia an ...

Pori Pori (; ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Satakunta. It is located on the west coast of the country, on the Gulf of Bothnia. The population of Pori is approximately , while the Pori sub-region, sub-region has a population of a ...

. The Kolsi hydro-electric power plant is located at Kokemäki. Kokemäki River has long been an important waterway, well known for its salmon, whitefish and

lamprey Lampreys (sometimes inaccurately called lamprey eels) are a group of Agnatha, jawless fish comprising the order (biology), order Petromyzontiformes , sole order in the Class (biology), class Petromyzontida. The adult lamprey is characterize ...

Climate

History

It is believed that the Iron Age town of Teljä was located next to the Kokemäenjoki river at Kokemäki. The oldest stone carving yet found in Finland, dated at 8,000 to 9,000 years old, was discovered in nearby Huittinen in 1903. The 10 cm elk's head is in a permanent exhibition at the National Museum of Finland in the capital,

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

. Archeological finds from in and around Kokemäki have been dated to the Middle Ages. Kokemäki is thought to have been founded in the 12th century, maybe even earlier. The Kokemäki parish was established in 1324. While part of the

Kingdom of Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic country by both area ...

, the administrative area ( slottslän) of Kumogård (Kokemäenkartano) was created in 1331. Kokemäki served as the administrative centre of the historical province of Satakunta until 1634. The Medieval Kokemäki Castle was demolished in 1367. The medieval trading route of Huovintie goes from

Turku Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Aura River (Finland), River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while t ...

, by Kokemäki and the river of Kokemäenjoki. Along the Huovintie were guild houses where travellers could stay overnight. This was located near the Kokemäki church. The legend states that in 1156 Bishop Henry of

Uppsala Uppsala ( ; ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the capital of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019. Loc ...

visited Satakunta on a preaching tour as a part of Eric IX of Sweden's

first crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the Middle Ages. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Muslim conquest ...

to Finland. St. Henry's Chapel is a neogothic style brick chapel one kilometre east of the town centre of Kokemäki. The chapel was built in 1857 on the site of a medieval wooden

granary A granary, also known as a grain house and historically as a granarium in Latin, is a post-harvest storage building primarily for grains or seeds. Granaries are typically built above the ground to prevent spoilage and protect the stored grains o ...

which was used by Bishop Henry. It is possible that the original building dates back to between the 12th and 15th century, making it the oldest remaining wooden building in Finland. Kokemäki was granted a town charter in 1869. During the Revolution of 1918 some one-hundred-fifty-three individuals were killed in the municipality of Kokemäki. The municipality of Kauvatsa was merged with Kokemäki in 1969. Kokemäki was granted city status in 1977.

Transport

The transport system of Finland is well-developed with an extensive road system.

Road

Highway 2 passes to the south, running from Helsinki to Pori on the

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages *Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originatin ...

coast; Highway 11 runs from Pori to

Nokia Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications industry, telecommunications, technology company, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation, originally established as a pulp mill in 1 ...

only briefly in the northern part of the municipality; and Highway 12 runs from Rauma to

Tampere Tampere is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Pirkanmaa. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Tampere is approximately , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately . It is the most populous mu ...

and Nokia, passing through nearby Huittinen. Helsinki is or two and a half hours away by car. There are two electric vehicle (EV) charging points in Kokemäki, with another 55 within a radius. The private coach companies OnniBus and ExpressBus operate services to all major towns and regions in Finland.

Rail

Finnish trains have a reputation for being spacious, comfortable and clean. The state-owned rail company VR operates a service between

and

, stopping at Kokemäki. The train station is to the west of the town centre at Peipohja.

Air

The nearest airport is Pori Airport, which is or 40 minutes away by Highway 2. Piikajärvi Airfield is located ca. 8 kilometres south west of Kokemäki. Tampere-Pirkkala Airport is or an hour and ten minutes away by Highway 12. Helsinki-Vantaa Airport is two hours and twenty minutes away by Highway 2.

Tourist attractions

* St. Henry's Chapel * Tulkkila - Museum Bridge * Vestry of Saint Maria's Church * Puurijärvi-Isosuo National Park * Museum of Agriculture or "''Maatalousmuseo''" * Open-air Museum * Kokemäenjoki river * Kriivari Reindeer Farm * Sapila Suspension Bridge * Church of Gustav lll

Education

The Finnish education system is based on

comprehensive school A comprehensive school is a secondary school for pupils aged 11–16 or 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is restricted on the basis ...

ing and is publicly funded. Kokemäki has six schools offering

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

and

secondary education Secondary education is the education level following primary education and preceding tertiary education. Level 2 or ''lower secondary education'' (less commonly ''junior secondary education'') is considered the second and final phase of basic e ...

. These are; Tuomaala, Tulkkila, Riste, Peipohja, Lahteenmaki and Korkeaoja

High School A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

. There is free pre-school education for all children aged 6. The Peipohjan day-care nursery caters for children aged 9 months to 5 years. There is a special needs Forsby School for children aged 0–9.

Vocational training Vocational education is education that prepares people for a Skilled worker, skilled craft. Vocational education can also be seen as that type of education given to an individual to prepare that individual to be gainfully employed or self em ...

is provided by Satakunta Training Consortium, known as SATAEDU and Huittinen Business and Vocational College.

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

Kokemäki is twinned with: * Falköping, Sweden * Lier, Norway * Mariagerfjord, Denmark *

Põltsamaa Põltsamaa is a town in Põltsamaa Parish, Jõgeva County, in central Estonia. The town stands on the Põltsamaa River, and it features a Põltsamaa Castle, 13th-century castle. History During the German occupation in World War II, a subcamp of ...

, Estonia

References

External links

Town of Kokemäki
– Official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Kokemaki Cities and towns in Finland Populated places established in 1869 1869 establishments in the Russian Empire