Mäntsälän kirkonkylä () is the largest

urban area An urban area is a human settlement with a high population density and an infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas originate through urbanization, and researchers categorize them as cities, towns, conurbations or suburbs. In urbani ...

and the municipal center of

Mäntsälä Mäntsälä () is a municipality in the province of Southern Finland, and is part of the Uusimaa region. It has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality is unilingually Finni ...

Uusimaa Uusimaa (; , ; both lit. 'new land') is a region of Finland. It borders the regions of Southwest Finland, Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme), Päijänne Tavastia (Päijät-Häme), and Kymenlaakso. Finland's capital and largest city, Helsinki, alo ...

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, ...

, with about 11,000 inhabitants. It is located from Järvenpää, from

Hyvinkää Hyvinkää (; , ) is a town in Finland, located in the southern interior of the country. Hyvinkää is situated in the northern part of the Uusimaa region. The population of Hyvinkää is approximately . It is the most populous municipality in ...

, from

Porvoo Porvoo (; ; ) is a city in Finland. It is located on the south coast of the country, on the Gulf of Finland. Porvoo lies in the eastern part of the Uusimaa region. The population of Porvoo is approximately , while the Porvoo sub-region, sub-re ...

and from

Lahti Lahti (; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Päijät-Häme. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Lahti is approximately , while the Lahti sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately . It is the mo ...

. The Mäntsälänjoki River flows through the area and joins the Mustijoki River further south, which runs all the way to the

Gulf of Finland The Gulf of Finland (; ; ; ) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and Estonia to the south, to Saint Petersburg—the second largest city of Russia—to the east, where the river Neva drains into it. ...

Etymology

The village name ''Mäntsälä'' appears in early written material in the form ''Mensela'', ''Menselä'', ''Mensilä'' (1458), ''Mensse'' (1516), ''Mentzeby'' (1540). The village name has evolved from the house name, which probably includes the early host's first name Mäntsä (or Mänssä). It has been interpreted as an abbreviation of the given name Clement. According to Viljo Nissilä, a possible starting point may have been the male name Menze (or Mensse), found in the

Friesland Friesland ( ; ; official ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia (), named after the Frisians, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen (p ...

area.Sirkka Paikkala:
Mäntsälä
. ''Suomalainen paikannimikirja'', p. 281. Kotimaisten kielten keskus. (in Finnish)

Services

The municipal center houses the Mäntsälä town hall, the Mäntsälä Church completed in 1865, the Mäntsälä health center, several educational institutions, the Mäntsälä multipurpose house and the Mäntsälä railway station. Mäntsälä bus station is one of the busiest stations in rural Finland. Many Mäntsälä residents work in other locations, and bus traffic has long played a significant role in Mäntsälä. The current bus station was completed in 1962. There are three grocery stores in the municipal center: K-Citymarket, S-market and

Lidl Lidl ( ) is a trademark, used by two Germany, German international discount supermarket, discount retailer chain store, chains that operates over 12,600 stores. The ''LD Stiftung'' operates the stores in Germany and the ''Lidl Stiftung & Co. K ...

.Lidl Mäntsälä
(in Finnish)

Transport

The municipal center is located in the middle of the municipality at the intersection of major roads, Highways 4 ( E75) and Highway 25, and Main Road 55 in the direction of Porvoo. The current Highway 4 runs as a

motorway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...

past the church village, but the old road between

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 ...

and Lahti, the current regional road 140, runs directly through it and serves as the main street in the urban area. Next to the motorway is the Kerava–Lahti railway line, which was opened in 2006. The Mäntsälä railway station is located near the municipal center.Mäntsälän kirkonkylän kartta
- Mäntsälän kunta ja Karttatiimi (in Finnish)

References

Mäntsälä Villages in Uusimaa {{SouthernFinland-geo-stub

Etymology

Services

Transport

See also

References