Närpes (

Finland Swedish Finland Swedish or Fenno-Swedish (; ) is a Variety (linguistics), variety of the Swedish language and a closely related group of Swedish dialects spoken in Finland by the Swedish-speaking population of Finland, Swedish-speaking population, common ...

: ; ) 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 ...

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, ...

, located on the west coast of the country. Närpes is situated in Ostrobothnia, along 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 ...

. The population of Närpes is approximately , while the

sub-region A subregion is a part of a larger geographical region or continent. Cardinal directions are commonly used to define subregions. There are many criteria for creating systems of subregions; this article is focusing on the United Nations geoscheme ...

has a population of approximately . It is the most populous

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 Finland. Närpes 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 . Economically, the municipality is known for extensive

greenhouse A greenhouse is a structure that is designed to regulate the temperature and humidity of the environment inside. There are different types of greenhouses, but they all have large areas covered with transparent materials that let sunlight pass an ...

farming of

tomato The tomato (, ), ''Solanum lycopersicum'', is a plant whose fruit is an edible Berry (botany), berry that is eaten as a vegetable. The tomato is a member of the nightshade family that includes tobacco, potato, and chili peppers. It originate ...

es and manufacture of trailers for trucks. Närpes is a

bilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...

municipality with Finnish and Swedish as its official languages. The population consists of Finnish speakers, Swedish speakers, and speakers of other languages, which is well above the national average. Närpes has been a bilingual municipality since 2016. Before that, Närpes was the last unilingual Swedish-speaking municipality in mainland Finland. Most residents speak a variant of Ostrobothnian Swedish which is known to be difficult to understand for other Swedish-speakers. The most significant main roads in Närpes are Highway 8 between

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 ...

and

Vaasa Vaasa (; , ), formerly (1855-1917) known as Nikolaistad (; ),Highway 67 between

Kaskinen Kaskinen (; ) is a town and island in Finland, located on the west coast of the country. Kaskinen is situated in Ostrobothnia, along the Gulf of Bothnia. The population of Kaskinen approximately , while the sub-region has a population of approxim ...

and

Seinäjoki Seinäjoki (; "Wall River"; , formerly ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of South Ostrobothnia. Seinäjoki is located in the western interior of the country and along the Seinäjoki (river), River Seinäjoki. The population of Sein ...

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 Eriksson (April or May 1316 – 1 December 1374) was King of Sweden from 1319 to 1364, King of Norway as Magnus VII from 1319 to 1355, and ruler of Scania from 1332 to 1360. By adversaries he has been called ''Magnus Smek'' (). Medi ...

declared "all who live in Nerpis

socken Socken ( or ) is the name used for a part of a counties of Sweden, county in Sweden. In Denmark, similar areas are known as , in Norway or and in Finland or . A is a rural area formed around a church, typically in the Middle Ages. A socken ...

, Mustasaari socken and

Pedersöre Pedersöre (, before 1989 ) is a municipality in Finland, located on the west coast of the country. Pedersöre is situated in Ostrobothnia, along the Gulf of Bothnia. The population of Pedersöre is approximately , while the sub-region has a pop ...

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

Demographics

Population

The town of Närpes has inhabitants, making it the most populous municipality in Finland. The

subdivision Subdivision may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Subdivision (metre), in music * ''Subdivision'' (film), 2009 * "Subdivision", an episode of ''Prison Break'' (season 2) * ''Subdivisions'' (EP), by Sinch, 2005 * "Subdivisions" (song), by Rush ...

has a population of .

Languages

The town of Närpes is officially

, with both Finnish and Swedish as official languages. , the majority of the population, persons () spoke Swedish as their first language. The number of Finnish speakers was persons () of the population. Foreign languages were spoken by of the population. The most common foreign languages are

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overseas Vietnamese, Vietnamese people living outside Vietna ...

(10.2%), Bosnian (3.6%) and Ukrainian (1.8%). Närpes has the largest relative share of Vietnamese in Finland of any municipality.

Immigration

, there were 2,197 persons with a foreign background living in Närpes, or 23% of the population. The number of residents who were born abroad was 2,121, or 22% of the population. The number of persons with foreign citizenship living in Närpes was 1,677. Most foreign-born citizens came from

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, 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 count ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

and the former

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

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 List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Grenland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Langesund ...

, Norway *

Tønder Tønder (; ) is a town in the Region of Southern Denmark. With a population of 7,477 (as of 1 January 2025), it is the main town and the administrative seat of the Tønder Municipality. History The first mention of Tønder might have been in th ...

, Denmark *

Västervik Municipality Västervik Municipality () is a municipalities of Sweden, municipality in Kalmar County, south-eastern Sweden, with its seat in the city status in Sweden, city of Västervik. The present municipality was created in 1971, when the former ''City of ...

, Sweden

Climate

Närpes has a

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Dfc'').

Notes

References

External links

*
Town of Närpes
– Official website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Narpes Municipalities of Ostrobothnia (administrative region) Cities and towns in Finland Populated coastal places in Finland Populated places established in 1867 1867 establishments in Finland