Harjavalta

Harjavalta is a town and municipality in Finland. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Satakunta region. The town has a population of 6,931 (31 July 2020)[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 56.14 inhabitants per square kilometre (145.4/sq mi).

Harjavalta
Town
Harjavallan kaupunki
Harjavalta stad
Coat of arms
Location of Harjavalta in Finland
Coordinates: 61°19′0″N 22°08′1″E
Country Finland
RegionSatakunta
Sub-regionPori sub-region
Charter1869
Market town1968
Town privileges1977
Government
 • Town managerHannu Kuusela
Area
 (2018-01-01)[1]
 • Total127.74 km2 (49.32 sq mi)
 • Land123.46 km2 (47.67 sq mi)
 • Water4.28 km2 (1.65 sq mi)
Area rank288th largest in Finland
Elevation
38 m (125 ft)
Population
 (2020-07-31)[2]
 • Total6,931
 • Rank136th largest in Finland
 • Density56.14/km2 (145.4/sq mi)
Population by native language
 • Finnish98.5% (official)
 • Swedish0.3%
 • Others1.3%
Population by age
 • 0 to 1414.9%
 • 15 to 6462.9%
 • 65 or older22.2%
Time zoneUTC+02:00 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Municipal tax rate[5]18.75%
ClimateDfc
Websitewww.harjavalta.fi

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.

Hiittenharju is a ridge in Harjavalta, known for its archaeology and cultural history. The banks of the ancient Litorina Sea lies on the fringes of the Hiittenharju ridge. In the Hiittenharju area Bronze Age graves, called barrows, have been discovered, and there is also a historical route called Huovintie running through Hiittenharju.

The river Kokemäenjoki river runs through the town.

The municipality is unilingually Finnish.

History

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 the Turku Cathedral are Harianwalta, Hariawalta, Hariaualdastha, Harianwaltha ja Harianwaltaby. 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.[6] Different adoptions of the same name are Harald, Hérault and Harold, but Harjavalta is closest to the reconstructed original.

Politics
Town hall of Harjavalta

Results of the 2011 Finnish parliamentary election in Harjavalta:

Town twinning
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Finland

Harjavalta is twinned with:

References
  1. "Area of Finnish Municipalities 1.1.2018" (PDF). National Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  2. "Suomen virallinen tilasto (SVT): Väestön ennakkotilasto [verkkojulkaisu]. Heinäkuu 2020" (in Finnish). Statistics Finland. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  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.
  6. Tacitus, The Annals 2.11

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