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Kouvola (Finnish pronunciation:[ˈkou̯ʋolɑ]) is acity inFinland and the administrative capital ofKymenlaakso. It is located in the southeastern interior of the country. The population of Kouvola is approximately 78,000. It is the 12th most populousmunicipality in Finland, and the 17th most populousurban area in the country.
Kouvola is located along theKymijoki River in theregion ofKymenlaakso, 62 kilometres (39 mi) kilometers east ofLahti, 87 kilometres (54 mi) west ofLappeenranta and 134 kilometres (83 mi) northeast of the capital,Helsinki. WithKotka, Kouvola is one of the capital centers and is the largest city in the Kymenlaakso region.
Kouvola, which had population growth as late as the 1980s, has suffered a loss of migration since the 1990s. Over time, the loss has only deepened, so that at the end of the 2010s Kouvola was Finland's worst migration loss area. Natural demographics have also trended downward; in 2017, more than 450 more people died in the city than new ones were born.[9][10][11] Currently, the population of Kouvola is decreasing annually by about 800 inhabitants.[12] The reasons for the emigration are thought to be largely due to job losses in the region.[10][11]
The village of Kouvola has been inhabited since the Middle Ages, and it has belonged alternately to the churches ofHollola,Iitti andValkeala. However, the actual development did not start until the 1870s when theRiihimäki–Saint Petersburg line was built and Kouvola became a railway junction.[8] Kouvola railroad built Kymin mill founder Axel Wilhelm Wahren railway administration by on application, on the basis of the track engineers decided to recommend the creation of a fifth-end position in a half mile east of the variable alert Otava with acceptance on sandy soil on fabric. In the next decade, theSavonia railway was built from Kouvola to the north and theKotka line to the south, resulting in Kouvola becoming one of the busiest railway junctions in Finland. Over time, Kouvola developed into an importantpulp-producing,paper-milling and printing centre and even had a leadingindustrial engineering sector.[8]
In 1918, conflict between the Red and White factions raged heavily during theFinnish Civil War. More than 200 people were killed in the area during the fighting.
As a result of the railway, Kouvola was heavily built. In 1922 it was separated from the municipality of Valkeala and gained commercial rights immediately the following year. The city of Kouvola was established in 1960. Kouvola was annexed toViipuri Province in 1922–1945 but in 1940 and 1944, most of Viipuri County was ceded to theSoviet Union, and the remaining areas were formed intoKymi Province in 1945. Kouvola had also become an administrative center; As the capital of Kymen County, it operated from 1955 until the 1997 county reform.
In January 2009, the six municipalities of Kouvola,Kuusankoski,Elimäki,Anjalankoski,Valkeala andJaala were consolidated, forming the new municipality of Kouvola. Kouvola has also assumed the sloganKymijoen kaupunki (the town ofKymijoki) previously used by Anjalankoski.[13]
Kouvola is the hometown of theSudet sports club, which became Finnish champions inbandy six consecutive times, and they have afootball team which is playing at the fourth highest level,Kolmonen, despite Sudet being one of the oldest football clubs in Finland.KooKoo is the most successfulice hockey team inKymenlaakso. It plays in the Finnish top league,SM-liiga.Kouvolan Pallonlyöjät (KPL) is a baseball team based in Kouvola and known forPesäpallo. KPL was won five Finnish championships and it plays in the Finnish top league,Superpesis.Kouvot is abasketball team based in Kouvola. the team plays in the highest levelKorisliiga and has won four Finnish championships.
MyPa is one of the most successful football clubs in Finland and the 1990s was the golden era. MyPa is played 23 seasons in the Finnish top football leagueVeikkausliiga. MyPa are based in the industrial village ofMyllykoski, part of the city of Kouvola. The club became inactive in professional football after having ceased operations in 2015 due to financial difficulties. In 2017, MyPa returned and started again from the fourth highest tier but has quickly risen to the second highest level,Ykkönen, where it is now playing.Kouvola also has aPalomäki Ski Jump Center, very close to the city, where young people and other sports enthusiasts can go to jump on aski jump.
Kouvola hashumid continental climate (Dfb).The city has four distinct seasons, the amount of precipitation is relatively uniform throughout the year. The driest season is spring. Summers are generally relatively warm as the city is considered to be one of the hottest cities in Finland as it has had the most days with "helle" (temperatures above 25 °C or 77 °F) since 2000. Winters are cold and long, colder than cities located in the coastal areas of Finland because of its location further inland, meaning the marine effect doesn't affect the city as much than those nearer the sea and specially those nearer the southwestern coasts of the Finnish side ofGulf of Finland. This also means that the summers are warmer due to it being further inland as the sea effect is making the summer temperatures slightly cooler in coastal areas. The average annual temperature is 5.4 °C (41.7 °F). The highest ever recorded temperature in the station was 34.5 °C (94.1 °F), on July 28, 2010. The lowest ever recorded was −37.3 °C (−35.1 °F). The city has a significant rainfall throughout the year and even in the driest month the precipitation stays over 30 millimetres (1.2 in) a month. The average duration of sunshine per year is 1,658 hours. Kouvola Utti airport weather station has on average somewhat lower average temperatures than in the city.
Climate data for Kouvola Utti airport, normals 1991–2020, extremes 1960–present
The city of Kouvola has 78,399 inhabitants, making it the 12th most populous municipality in Finland. In Kouvola, 5.4% of the population has a foreign background, which is below to the national average.[15]
Population size of Kouvola (and merged municipalities) 1990–2020[16]
Kouvola is a monolingualFinnish-speaking municipality. There are 279Swedish speakers in Kouvola, or0.4% of the population.[15] AsEnglish andSwedish are compulsory school subjects, functional bilingualism or trilingualism acquired through language studies is not uncommon.
At least 40 different languages are spoken in Kouvola. The most commonly spoken foreign languages areRussian (1.9%),Estonian (0.5%),Arabic (0.3%) andUkrainian (0.2%).[15]
As of 2023[update], there were 4,221 persons with a migrant background living in Kouvola, or 5.4% of the population.[note 1] The number of residents who were born abroad was 4,112, or 5.2% of the population. The number of persons with foreign citizenship living in Kouvola was 2,609.[15] Most foreign-born citizens came from the formerSoviet Union,Estonia,Russia andSweden.[16]
The relative share of immigrants in Kouvola's population is below to the national average. However, the city's new residents are increasingly of foreign origin. This will increase the proportion of foreign residents in the coming years.
In 2023, theEvangelical Lutheran Church was the largest religious group with 69.2% of the population of Kouvola. Other religious groups accounted for 2.0% of the population. 28.8% of the population had no religious affiliation.[18]
Map of territorial changes of Kouvola and Kuusankoski. Most of the area of old Kouvola was separated from Valkeala, except for the western parts of the city, which were separated from Kuusankoski.
