Pernå

Pernå
PernåPernaja
Former municipality
Pernå kommun
Pernajan kunta

Coat of arms

Location of Pernå in Finland
Coordinates: 60°27′N 026°02′E / 60.450°N 26.033°E / 60.450; 26.033Coordinates: 60°27′N 026°02′E / 60.450°N 26.033°E / 60.450; 26.033
Country Finland
Region Eastern Uusimaa
Sub-region Loviisa sub-region
Consolidated 2010
Government
  Municipal manager Ralf Sjödahl
Area[1]
  Total 1,107.07 km2 (427.44 sq mi)
  Land 419.47 km2 (161.96 sq mi)
  Water 687.6 km2 (265.5 sq mi)
Population (2009-12-31)[2]
  Total 3,961
  Density 9.44/km2 (24.4/sq mi)
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
  Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)
Climate Dfb
Website www.pernaja.fi

Pernå (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈperno]; Finnish: Pernaja) is a former municipality of Finland.

Pernå is located in the province of Southern Finland and was part of the Eastern Uusimaa region. The municipality had a population of 3,961 (31 December 2009)[2] and covered an area of 1,107.07 square kilometres (427.44 sq mi) of which 687.6 km2 (265.5 sq mi) is water.[1] The population density was 9.44 inhabitants per square kilometre (24.4/sq mi).

The municipality was bilingual, with the majority being Swedish and minority Finnish speakers.

Sarvlaks manor house, 1672-1683, Lorentz Creutz

Pernå is the oldest municipality in the Eastern Uusimaa region. The current municipalities of Lapinjärvi, Liljendal and Loviisa were originally part of it. Mikael Agricola, the founder of written Finnish was born in Pernå in the early 16th century. He is also considered to be the "Reformator of Finland" in the transfer from Catholicism to Lutheranism.

Situated conveniently by the coast, and engulfing also a small river, the lands of Pernå were attractive at a time when waterways rather than proper roads provided the means of transport. There are a number of manor houses in the Pernå area - most notably Savlaks manor, which dates back to the 1450s - at a time when Finland was a part of Sweden.[3]

The origin of the name "Pernå" is uncertain; some think it links with the Uralic word "Pern" meaning lime- or lindentree. "Å" is Swedish for a small river, i.e. the name then being Lindenriver if translated.

On January 1, 2010, Pernå was amalgamated with Loviisa, Ruotsinpyhtää and Liljendal to form a new municipality of Loviisa.[4]

People born in Pernå

References

  1. 1 2 "Area by municipality as of 1 January 2009" (PDF) (in Finnish and Swedish). Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 20 February 2009.
  2. 1 2 "Population by municipality as of 31 December 2009". Population Information System (in Finnish and Swedish). Population Register Center of Finland. Retrieved 13 January 2010.
  3. Jenna Andersson, Stor - Sarvlaks park och trädgård En historisk utredning, nulägesbeskrivning och riktlinjer för framtiden, Novia, Ekenäs 2012.
  4. Piipponen, Sirkka-Liisa (2008-06-12). "Loviisa, Pernaja, Ruotsinpyhtää ja Liljendal". Kunnat.net (in Finnish). Helsinki: The Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities. Retrieved 25 January 2009.

External links

Media related to Pernå at Wikimedia Commons

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, April 25, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.