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Harjavalta | |
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Town | |
| Harjavallan kaupunki Harjavalta stad | |
.jpg) Harjavalta Church | |
 Coat of arms | |
 Location of Harjavalta in Finland | |
| Coordinates:61°19′0″N22°08′1″E / 61.31667°N 22.13361°E /61.31667; 22.13361 | |
| Country |  Finland |
| Region | Satakunta |
| Sub-region | Pori |
| Charter | 1869 |
| Market town | 1968 |
| Town privileges | 1977 |
| Government | |
| • Town manager | Hannu Kuusela |
| Area (2018-01-01)[1] | |
• Total | 127.74 km2 (49.32 sq mi) |
| • Land | 123.48 km2 (47.68 sq mi) |
| • Water | 4.28 km2 (1.65 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 288th largest in Finland |
| Elevation | 38 m (125 ft) |
| Population (2025-06-30)[2] | |
• Total | 6,605 |
| • Rank | 139th largest in Finland |
| • Density | 53.49/km2 (138.5/sq mi) |
| Population by native language | |
| • Finnish | 94.4% (official) |
| • Swedish | 0.2% |
| • Others | 5.4% |
| Population by age | |
| • 0 to 14 | 13.6% |
| • 15 to 64 | 54.2% |
| • 65 or older | 32.2% |
| Time zone | UTC+02:00 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+03:00 (EEST) |
| Climate | Dfc |
| Website | www |
Harjavalta (Finnish pronunciation:[ˈhɑrjɑˌʋɑltɑ]) is atown andmunicipality inFinland. It's located in theSatakuntaregion, 29 kilometres (18 mi) southeast ofPori. The town has a population of 6,605 (30 June 2025)[2] and covers an area of 127.74 square kilometres (49.32 sq mi) of which 4.28 km2 (1.65 sq mi) is water.[1] Thepopulation density is 53.49 inhabitants per square kilometre (138.5/sq mi).
Harjavalta is a centre forcopper andnickelsmelting industries. Today's most used metal recovery method, theflash smelting method, was developed at Harjavalta and implemented in 1949. Originally part ofOutokumpu, a Finnish company, the local copper business is now owned byBoliden and the nickel business byNorilsk Nickel.
Hiittenharju is a ridge in Harjavalta, known for its archaeology and cultural history. The banks of the ancientLitorina Sea lies on the fringes of the Hiittenharju ridge. In the Hiittenharju areaBronze Age graves, calledbarrows, have been discovered, and there is also a historical route called Huovintie running through Hiittenharju. The riverKokemäenjoki river runs through the town.
The neighboring municipalities areEura,Kokemäki,Nakkila andUlvila. The municipality is unilinguallyFinnish.
Earliest signs of habitation on the area have been dated to 1200 BC. Various different writings of the name in documents of the 15th century at theTurku Cathedral areHarianwalta,Hariawalta,Hariaualdastha,Harianwaltha andHarianwaltaby. The name is supposed to originate from the speculative Proto Germanic name*Harjawaldaz, composed of the speculative words*harjaz ("army") and*waldaz ("authority"). It is believed that either a person named Harjawaldaz or a warrior band settled or lived in the area. The earliest known written occurrence of the name is from Tacitus on the first century,Chariovalda.[5] Different adoptions of the same name areHarald,Hérault andHarold, but Harjavalta is closest to the reconstructed original.
In 1670, the villages of Harjavalta formed their ownchapel parish, but the official status of an independent congregation began to be sought about 200 years later. Harjavalta's application for its ownpastor was granted in 1868, and the decision was implemented in 1878. The new independentparish had about 1,600 members.[6] Thegreat famine years in the 1860s doubled mortality in Finland, but on the scale of Finland as a whole, Harjavalta did little to avoid this ordeal. The act of 1865 on the municipal government led to the formation of themunicipal council and the municipal government also in Harjavalta in 1869. This is considered to be the year of birth of the municipality of Harjavalta.[6] The firststore in Harjavalta was founded in a church village in 1874. A second store soon opened in the village of Merstola. The most important sales products weresalt,coffee andsugar, but the selections also includedfabrics,wheat flour,licorice andtobacco.[7] The firstschool building was acquired in 1885, when the municipality bought the Kreetalafarm, the main building of which became Harjavalta's firstfolk school.[8]
The state-owned rail company VR operates a service between Tampere and Pori, stopping at Harjavalta.[9]Harjavalta is served byOnniBus.com route Helsinki—Pori.[citation needed]
Media related toHarjavalta at Wikimedia Commons
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