Kirkkonummi

Kirkkonummi
Kirkkonummi – Kyrkslätt
Municipality
Kirkkonummen kunta
Kyrkslätts kommun

Kirkkonummi church

Coat of arms

Location of Kirkkonummi in Finland
Coordinates: 60°07′N 024°26′E / 60.117°N 24.433°E / 60.117; 24.433Coordinates: 60°07′N 024°26′E / 60.117°N 24.433°E / 60.117; 24.433
Country Finland
Region Uusimaa
Sub-region Helsinki sub-region
Charter 1330
Municipal manager Tarmo Aarnio
Area (2011-01-01)[1]
 • Total 1,016.01 km2 (392.28 sq mi)
 • Land 366.10 km2 (141.35 sq mi)
 • Water 649.91 km2 (250.93 sq mi)
Area rank 109th largest in Finland
Population (2016-03-31)[2]
 • Total 38,842
 • Rank 30th largest in Finland
 • Density 106.1/km2 (275/sq mi)
Population by native language[3]
 • Finnish 77.9% (official)
 • Swedish 18.5% (official)
 • Others 3.6%
Population by age[4]
 • 0 to 14 23.3%
 • 15 to 64 67%
 • 65 or older 9.7%
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
 • Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)
Municipal tax rate[5] 19%
Website www.kirkkonummi.fi

Kirkkonummi (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈkirkːoˌnumːi], Swedish: Kyrkslätt, pronounced [tɕyrkslɛt]) is a municipality of 38,842 inhabitants (31 March 2016)[2] in southern Finland. The literal meaning of the words "Kirkkonummi" and "Kyrkslätt" in English is "church heath".

The municipality is located just outside the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, bordering the city of Espoo in the east. Other neighbouring municipalities are Vihti and Siuntio. The distance from the municipal centre to central Helsinki is some 30 kilometres (20 mi). Kirkkonummi also has excellent train and bus connections to other parts of the Greater Helsinki area, and many of its inhabitants commute daily to Helsinki.

The municipality covers an area of 1,016.01 square kilometres (392.28 sq mi) of which 649.91 km2 (250.93 sq mi) is water.[1] The population density is 106.1 inhabitants per square kilometre (275/sq mi). Over the recent years, Kirkkonummi has faced the highest population growth rate in the country, over 3% per annum.

Major population centres in Kirkkonummi include the municipal centre, Masala, Veikkola, Kantvik and the Upinniemi naval garrison area. In addition to these, there are dozens of smaller villages. Geographically, Kirkkonummi has two famous peninsulas, namely Porkkala and Upinniemi, the latter one of which houses a major Finnish naval base. Porkkala is also on one of the main bird migration routes in the Baltic Sea region. Additionally, Kirkkonummi has a large central plains area, through which a railway goes from Helsinki to Turku as well as extensive lake areas, much of which is relatively untouched wilderness.

Kirkkonummi has been populated from the Stone Age to the present day as evidenced by the very first Stone Age rock paintings found in Finland that are located by lake Vitträsk in the central lake region of Kirkkonummi. Incidentally, these paintings were found by the famous Finnish composer Jean Sibelius himself. The southern half of the municipality was leased to the Soviet Union between 1945 and 1956 for use as a naval base as part of the peace settlement that ended the hostilities between the Soviet Union and Finland during World War II. Signs of this time include concrete bunkers, other fortifications and the remains of an airbase.

Other places of interest located in Kirkkonummi include the medieval stone church in the municipal centre, the wooden church in the village of Haapajärvi as well as the Hvitträsk manor designed by Finnish architects Eliel Saarinen, Herman Gesellius and Armas Lindgren.

Politics

Results of the Finnish parliamentary election, 2011 in Kirkkonummi:

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Kirkkonummi 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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