Houtskär Houtskär –Houtskari | |
|---|---|
Former municipality | |
| Houtskärs kommun Houtskarin kunta | |
 Boathouses in Hyppeis | |
 Coat of arms | |
 Location of Houtskär inFinland | |
| Coordinates:60°13′20″N021°22′20″E / 60.22222°N 21.37222°E /60.22222; 21.37222 | |
| Country | Finland |
| Region | Southwest Finland |
| Sub-region | Åboland |
| Consolidated | 2009 |
| Area | |
• Total | 566.81 km2 (218.85 sq mi) |
| • Land | 119.93 km2 (46.31 sq mi) |
| • Water | 446.88 km2 (172.54 sq mi) |
| Population (2008-12-31)[2] | |
• Total | 621 |
| • Density | 5.18/km2 (13.4/sq mi) |
| Population by native language | |
| • Finnish | 14% (official) |
| • Swedish | 86% (official) |
| Population by age (2007) | |
| • 0 to 14 | 14.8% |
| • 15 to 64 | 60.3% |
| • 65 or older | 24.8% |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
Houtskär (Finland Swedish:[ˈhuːtɕæːr]ⓘ;Finnish:Houtskari[ˈhou̯tskɑri]) is an island group andformer municipality ofFinland. On 1 January 2009, it was consolidated withIniö,Korpo,Nagu andPargas to form the municipality of Pargas (briefly named Väståboland).
It is located in theArchipelago Sea in theprovince ofWestern Finland and is part of theSouthwest Finlandregion. The municipality had a population of 621 (as of 31 December 2008)[2] and covered a land area of 119.93 square kilometres (46.31 sq mi).[1] Thepopulation density was 5.18 inhabitants per square kilometre (13.4/sq mi).
The municipality wasbilingual with the majority (86%) beingSwedish and minorityFinnish speakers.
There are one store in Houtskär, a bank and post office, and the church of Santa Maria in Näsby center. At various times throughout the year dances, accompanied by live music, are held which are an old tradition kept alive by both older and younger participants who dance in a variety of styles.
Houtskär consists of a group of bigger islands and many smaller islands in the surrounding sea area. Communications to the mainland is by the ”Archipelago road” through Pargas, Nagu and Korpo, with three ferries considered part of the road network, the trip with the last one from Korpo to Houtskär lasting half an hour. The main islands are connected by bridges orcable ferries, the outer inhabited islands usually have daily connections with ship-like ferries.
The name of Houtskär is of Finnish origin. Thehout- element does not come from any Swedish word, instead coming from the Finnish wordhauta which in this context may refer to a deep part of the sea or a burial site. The original Finnish name can be reconstructed as*Hautasaari or*Hautasalo, wheresaari/salo was then translated into Swedish asskär.Houtskari is a later Finnish transcription of the Swedish name.
Houtskär was first mentioned in 1554. A chapel was built in the village of Näsby in the early 17th century, while a church was built there in the 18th century. At the time, Houtskär was a part of theKorpo (Korppoo) parish. In 1865, Houtskär became a separate municipality.[3]
In 2009, Houtskär became a part of the new Väståboland municipality, which was renamed to Pargas in 2012.
Media related toHoutskär at Wikimedia Commons
