Ekenäs
Ekenäs ( Swedish ), Finnish, Tammisaari [ ˈtɑmːisɑːri ] is a formerly independent city in southern Finland . Today, Ekenäs is the largest town and administrative center of the city of Raseborg , which was created in early 2009 through the merger of the cities of Ekenäs and Karis and the municipality of Pohja (Finnish: Pojo ).
Geography and population
Ekenäs is located in the west of the Uusimaa (Nyland) landscape on the coast of the Gulf of Finland 90 km west of the capital Helsinki (Helsingfors). The city center is located on a headland between two narrow sea bays. The climate in Ekenäs is very mild thanks to the influence of the Baltic Sea and the location protected by the offshore archipelago . This is why the oaks , which are rare in Finland and from which the city owes its name, thrive in Ekenäs ( Ekenäs = "oak peninsula" / Tammisaari = "oak island"). In front of the city is an archipelago with around 1,300 islands. Parts of the archipelago form the Ekenäs Archipelago National Park . Due to its location and the archipelago, Ekenäs is now a popular sailing area and has a guest harbor , which is often used by sailors on their way to and from Helsinki.
In addition to the actual city, Ekenäs administratively included a larger area in the rural area. Excluding the marine areas, the administrative urban area of Ekenäs had an area of 742.67 km² (of which 15.94 km² inland water). The city's population was last 14,754; 82.2% of the population are Finland-Swedes . The town of Ekenäs was officially bilingual with Swedish as the majority and Finnish as the minority language.
history
In the Middle Ages, the Ekenäs area, like all of western Uusimaa, belonged to the fiefdom of Raseborg Castle . In 1528 Ekenäs became the administrative center of the castle fiefdom, and in 1546 the place received city rights from King Gustav Wasa . Ekenäs Church was built in the 17th century and got its current shape after the town fire in 1821.
During the period of Russian rule from 1809, Ekenäs developed into a popular seaside resort for the Russian nobility. Was very popular u. a. the bathing bay Källviken (Swedish for: Quellenbucht), with its freshwater spring and bathing bridge. The spring later became known as the Dagmar spring, named after the Russian Tsarina Maria Fyodorovna (Princess Dagmar of Denmark ) who lived with her husband Tsar Alexander III. was often a guest in Ekenäs and Källviken with her yacht in summer. Around 1500 people lived in Ekenäs. During the Anglo-Russian War ( Crimean War ), the city was the scene of the naval battle of Vitsand in 1854, in which a large number of Russian sailing ships, which had sought the protection of coastal batteries, were sunk in the bay by British frigates under Admiral Charles Napier . After the connection to the railway line from Hanko (Hangö) to Hyvinkää (Hyvinge) ( railway line Karjaa – Hanko ) in 1873, the city grew and benefited with its deep-water port from the expansion of the neighboring metal goods industrial centers of Fiskars and Billnäs . In addition, Ekenäs has traditionally been closely associated with seafaring and is still home to numerous seafarers today.
During the Second World War, the garrison town of Ekenäs and the neighboring Hangö became the scene of fierce fighting between German-Finnish and Soviet units, in the course of which parts of the town and the important railway bridges were destroyed. After the war it was occupied by Soviet troops. Parts of the city's archipelago were occupied until the early 1950s and were a restricted military area.
In 1977 the rural community Ekenäs and the community Snappertuna were incorporated into Ekenäs, in 1993 the community Tenala followed , to which a large part of the former community Bromarv also belonged. In early 2009, Ekenäs merged with Karis and Pohja to form the newly founded town of Raseborg.
Attractions
In the listed old town quarter of Barckens udde in Ekenäs there are numerous wooden houses from the 19th century and the former fish market. Not far from the main shopping street Kungsgatan (pedestrian zone) are the ruins of an early medieval fortification on Slottsbacken (Swedish: Castle Hill), which was never completed and at the same time offers a view over the harbor. Other architectural sights in Ekenäs are the ruins of Raseborg Castle at the gates of the city, which is used for theater performances in summer. Other sights: The town church of Ekenäs, which was built in the 16th century and redesigned by the architect Charles Bassi in 1839–1842. Other historically significant churches can be found in Snappertuna (1688) and Tenala (15th century). The old cemetery in Ekenäs with its historical graves from the Tsarist times is also worth visiting.
In summer excursions to the archipelago and the national park are offered with the historic steamship "M / S Sunnan II", built in 1906. Departure is daily from Norra Hamnen (north port).
To the south of the northern harbor is the Strand Alleen with a large park, at the end of which is the leisure harbor and a pier (Knipan) with a restaurant, which was built in the 1820s and is one of the city's landmarks next to the church.
Sons and daughters of the city at that time
- Jonatan Reuter (1859–1947), engineer, teacher and writer
- Ole Torvalds (1916–1995), writer and journalist
- Hans Hasse Wind (1919–1995), fighter pilot in World War II
- Rolf Westman (1927–2017), classical philologist and historian of philosophy
- Nanna Vainio (* 1991), badminton player
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ As of 2008, source: Maanmittauslaitos (Finnish land surveying office) (PDF; 247 kB)
- ↑ As of December 31, 2008. Source: Väestörekisterikeskus (Finnish population register). ( Memento of the original from September 20, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
Coordinates: 59 ° 58 ' N , 23 ° 26' E