Korsholm Korsholm –Mustasaari | |
|---|---|
Municipality | |
| Korsholms kommun Mustasaaren kunta | |
 The Replot Bridge on a grey autumn day | |
 Coat of arms | |
 Location of Korsholm in Finland | |
| Coordinates:63°06′45″N021°40′40″E / 63.11250°N 21.67778°E /63.11250; 21.67778 | |
| Country |  Finland |
| Region | Ostrobothnia |
| Sub-region | Vaasa |
| Charter | 1348 |
| Government | |
| • Municipal manager | Rurik Ahlberg |
| Area (2018-01-01)[1] | |
• Total | 3,178.59 km2 (1,227.26 sq mi) |
| • Land | 849.49 km2 (327.99 sq mi) |
| • Water | 2,330.49 km2 (899.81 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 91st largest in Finland |
| Population (2024-12-31)[2] | |
• Total | 19,744 |
| • Rank | 55th largest in Finland |
| • Density | 23.24/km2 (60.2/sq mi) |
| Population by native language | |
| • Swedish | 68.2% (official) |
| • Finnish | 28.4% |
| • Others | 3.4% |
| Population by age | |
| • 0 to 14 | 19.7% |
| • 15 to 64 | 58% |
| • 65 or older | 22.3% |
| Time zone | UTC+02:00 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+03:00 (EEST) |
| Website | en |
Korsholm (Finland Swedish:[korsˈholm];Finnish:Mustasaari) is amunicipality inFinland, located on the west coast of the country. Korsholm is situated inOstrobothnia, along theGulf of Bothnia. The population of Korsholm is approximately 20,000, while thesub-region has a population of approximately 111,000. It is the 55th most populousmunicipality in Finland.
The town ofVaasa was founded in Korsholm parish in 1606 and today the municipality completely surrounds the city. It is a coastal, mostly rural municipality, consisting of a rural landscape and a large, fractured archipelago. The administrative center isSmedsby, situated 3 km (2 mi) from Vaasa center alongFinnish national road 8.
Korsholm is abilingual municipality withFinnish andSwedish as its official languages. The population consists of28% Finnish speakers,68% Swedish speakers, and3% speakers of other languages.
It is located in theprovince ofWestern Finland and is part of theOstrobothniaregion. The municipality consists of the central areas, the southern plain, and the extensive archipelago. Parts of the archipelago belong to the UNESCO World Heritage Site ofKvarken.
One of Korsholm's more notable landmarks is that it holds Finland's longest bridge, theReplot Bridge. The bridge connects the island ofReplot to the mainland. Finland's second oldest stone bridge that is still in use, can also be found in Korsholm, in the village of Toby.
Major islands in the archipelago includeReplot,Björkö,Köklot,Panike and theValsörarna archipelago.
Along the coast, Korsholm extends to two river outlets:Kyrönjoki river flows into the Vassor bay of theGulf of Bothnia, and theLaihianjoki river flows into Vanhankaupunginlahti, the bay on whose shore the city of Vaasa is located.
(Most villages have only a Swedish name.)
The original Finnish nameMustasaari "Black Island" may have been a medieval island cleared by a wildfire or an island that looks dark when approaching from the sea.[5] Due toisostatic uplift, the area referred to is now inland. The parish is first mentioned asMustasaari parish in 1348. In Swedish, the pronunciation developed intoMussor, although the formMustasaari remained in use in the community.Mikael Agricola, the founder of written Finnish, spelled itMustsåår in 1530.Olaus Magnus spelled it asMostesar in his 1539 map,Carta Marina, where the castle appeared separately as "Korsholm". In 1606–1611, it was known asMussar, but in 1611 the city ofVaasa was founded in the parish and thus the parish was known as Vaasa. In 1772, it was known as "city of Vaasa and Mustasaari annex", and in 1807–1867 "parish of Vaasa and Mustasaari". Since then, Vaasa has been an independent parish. The municipality was namedKorsholm in Swedish in 1927, after the medievalKorsholma castle.
Korsholm has a history that can be dated back to 1348. In that year Korsholm was mentioned for the first time in writing in a royal letter concerning freedom of commerce. Therefore, the municipality celebrated its 650th anniversary in 1998. In the mid-14th century Saint Mary's Church was built in Korsholm island. The whole ofOstrobothnia was governed for hundreds of years fromKorsholma Castle (Chrysseborg). The ruins of Saint Mary's Church and Korsholm Castle are now in the old town ofVaasa (Finnish:Vanha Vaasa;Swedish:Gamla Vasa).
Today's Korsholm municipality consists of five smaller municipalities that were merged in 1973: Korsholm in the center,Replot andBjörköby in the far archipelago, Solf in the southern plain andKvevlax in the eastern plain. To reflect the new, larger municipality the motif in the Korsholmcoat of arms is five intertwined golden threads on a red background.
The municipality has a population of 19,744[2] and covers an area of 3,178.59 square kilometres (1,227.26 sq mi) of which 2,330.49 km2 (899.81 sq mi) is water.[1] Thepopulation density is 23.24 inhabitants per square kilometre (60.2/sq mi).
Korsholm is abilingual municipality withFinnish andSwedish as its official languages. The population consists of28% Finnish speakers,68% Swedish speakers, and3% speakers of other languages. The Finnish speakers are concentrated near the enclosed cityVaasa, particularly inSmedsby, and in the villages of Toby andKvevlax in the southern plain, while the rest of the municipality is Swedish-speaking.
In a 2016 statistical comparison of municipalities byYle,[6] Korsholm was rated 5/5 for viability and health and 4/5 for atmosphere (concerning e.g. education, crime and leisure), but only 2/5 for economy. Exceptionally good results were found in violent crime, which occurs at a rate of 1.9 per 1,000 inhabitants vs. the national average of 5.6, in the number of alcoholics and other addicts, at 0.6 per 1,000 inhabitants, vs. the national average of 3.3, and the proportion of youth smoking at 6.0%, vs the national average of 14.2%. Concerns were mainly economic: the employment self-sufficiency is only 57% vs. 89%, the equity ratio is poor (34.8% vs. 51.9%) and indebtedness is relatively high (70.4% vs. 48%), despite the municipal tax being the same as the national average (20.75%). Korsholm has relatively little industry and commuting toVaasa is very common. Korsholm is neither losing nor gaining inhabitants by migration.
Korsholm istwinned with:
Oskarshamn, Sweden[7] | This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(May 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Media related toKorsholm at Wikimedia Commons
Korsholm travel guide from Wikivoyage
Places adjacent to Korsholm | |
|---|---|
| Municipalities |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Former municipalities | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
