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Karhula | |
|---|---|
Former municipality | |
| Karhulan kauppala Karhula köping | |
 The centre of Karhula. | |
 Coat of arms | |
 Location of Karhula inFinland | |
| Coordinates:60°30′56″N26°56′08″E / 60.5154611°N 26.9354215°E /60.5154611; 26.9354215 | |
| Country | Finland |
| Province | Kymi Province |
| Region | Kymenlaakso |
| Established | 1951 |
| Merged intoKotka | 1977 |
| Seat | Helilä |
| Area | |
| • Land | 44.3 km2 (17.1 sq mi) |
| Population (1976-12-31) | |
• Total | 22,686 |
Karhula is a former market town (kauppala) and aformer municipality of Finland in the formerKymi Province, now in theKymenlaakso region. It was consolidated with the town ofKotka in 1977. Its seat was inHelilä, however the municipality was named after the industrial area of Karhula (also known as Karhulanniemi).
Thebears on the formercoat of arms refer to the name of the municipality (Karhula literally means "place of bear"), while the hammers in their hands refer to the industrial history of Karhula. The coat of arms was designed byAhti Hammar [fi], and it was approved for use on 10 November 1955.[1]
The municipality bordered Kotka,Kymi andVehkalahti.
Karhula was originally the name of a seat farm in the village ofHelilä in the parish ofPyhtää and the chapel community ofKymi. As the population in the area increased, the village that had formed around the farm began to be calledKarhula. As a village name, Karhula is first mentioned in 1624.[2] Kymi became a separate parish from Pyhtää in 1642.[3]
In 1951, Kymi's main village Helilä, along with the industrial areas of Karhulanniemi,Sunila andKorkeakoski, were separated to form the municipality of Karhula. Kymi's municipal administration was still located in Helilä. Ecclesiastically Karhula was still subordinate to Kymi, never acquiring its own parish.[3]
In 1977, Karhula and Kymi were consolidated with Kotka.
Glass production in Karhula started in 1888. Much of the glassware produced in the factory was exported toSaint Petersburg. In the 1930s, the factory producedAlvar Aalto's designer glassware includingAalto vases. After the sale of beer became freer in the 1960s, bottles became the factory's primary type of glassware. The American companyOwens-Illinois acquired the factory in 1995. The factory was closed in 2009, leaving 106 people unemployed.[4][5]
The Korkeakoski wood grindery was established in 1887 and expanded in 1920. Finland's first fiberboard factory was established in Korkeakoski in 1930.[6]
The Kotkan Motor Center is a motorsport complex approximately 9 kilometres north of the town, adjacent toKymi Airfield.[7] It features a motocross circuit and a car race track. It also has a motorcycle track, which once hostedmotorcycle speedway. As a speedway track it hosted theFinnish Individual Speedway Championship final as part of the qualifying for theSpeedway World Championship in 1988[8][9][10] and a qualifying round of theSpeedway World Team Cup in 1990.[11]
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