Harjavalta

Harjavalta
Town
Harjavallan kaupunki

Coat of arms

Location of Harjavalta in Finland
Coordinates: 61°19′0″N 22°08′1″E / 61.31667°N 22.13361°E / 61.31667; 22.13361Coordinates: 61°19′0″N 22°08′1″E / 61.31667°N 22.13361°E / 61.31667; 22.13361
Country Finland
Region Satakunta
Sub-region Pori sub-region
Charter 1869
Market town 1968
Town privileges 1977
Government
 • Town manager Jaana Karrimaa
Area (2011-01-01)[1]
 • Total 127.74 km2 (49.32 sq mi)
 • Land 123.46 km2 (47.67 sq mi)
 • Water 4.28 km2 (1.65 sq mi)
Area rank 324th largest in Finland
Elevation 38 m (125 ft)
Population (2016-03-31)[2]
 • Total 7,268
 • Rank 139th largest in Finland
 • Density 58.87/km2 (152.5/sq mi)
Population by native language[3]
 • Finnish 98.5% (official)
 • Swedish 0.3%
 • Others 1.3%
Population by age[4]
 • 0 to 14 14.9%
 • 15 to 64 62.9%
 • 65 or older 22.2%
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
 • Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)
Municipal tax rate[5] 18.75%
Climate Dfc
Website www.harjavalta.fi

Harjavalta is a town and municipality of Finland.

It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Satakunta region. The town has a population of 7,268 (31 March 2016)[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] The population density is 58.87 inhabitants per square kilometre (152.5/sq mi).

Today people in the town are employed in the copper and nickel smelting industries. Today's most used metal recovery method, the flash smelting method, was developed at Harjavalta and implemented in 1949. Originally part of Outokumpu, a Finnish company, the copper business is now owned by Boliden and the nickel business by Norilsk Nickel.

Earliest signs of habitation have been dated to 1200 BC. Written records mentioning the then village begin in the AD 15th century. Origins of the name Harjavalta go back to Chariovald, a German warrior chief quoted by the Roman historian Tacitus. The Germanic word harja-walduz denotes warrior chief and was adopted into Scandinavian languages in various forms. It is believed that either a person named Harjavaldus or a warrior band settled or lived in the area.

Hiittenharju is a valuable area for its archaeology and cultural history. You can visit the banks of the ancient Litorina Sea on the fringes of the ridge Hiittenharju and the graves of the Bronze Age, called barrows. In Hiittenharju there is also a historical route called Huovintie running through Harjavalta.

The river Kokemäenjoki river runs through the town.

The municipality is unilingually Finnish.

Politics

Town hall of Harjavalta

Results of the Finnish parliamentary election, 2011 in Harjavalta:

Town twinning

Harjavalta is twinned with:

References

  1. 1 2 "Area by municipality as of 1 January 2011" (PDF) (in Finnish and Swedish). Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 9 March 2011.
  2. 1 2 "Ennakkoväkiluku sukupuolen mukaan alueittain, maaliskuu.2016" (in Finnish). Statistics Finland. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
  3. ↑ "Population according to language and the number of foreigners and land area km2 by area as of 31 December 2008". Statistics Finland's PX-Web databases. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
  4. ↑ "Population according to age and gender by area as of 31 December 2008". Statistics Finland's PX-Web databases. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 28 April 2009.
  5. ↑ "List of municipal and parish tax rates in 2011". Tax Administration of Finland. 29 November 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.

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