Kokkola

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Kokkolan kaupunki
Karleby stad
coat of arms map
Kokkola Coat of Arms Location of Kokkola in Finland
Basic data
State : FinlandFinland Finland
Landscape : Central Ostrobothnia
Administrative community : Kokkola
Geographical location 63 ° 50 ′  N , 23 ° 8 ′  E Coordinates: 63 ° 50 ′  N , 23 ° 8 ′  E
Surface: 2,730.89 km²
of which land area: 1,444.36 km²
of which inland waterways: 41.59 km²
of which sea area: 1,244.94 km²
Residents : 47,657 (Dec. 31, 2018)
Population density : 33 people / km²
Municipality number : 272
Language (s) : Finnish , Swedish
Website : www.kokkola.fi

Kokkola [ ˈkɔkːɔlɑ ] ( Swedish Karleby [ ˈkɑːrlɛˌbyː ], until 1976 Gamlakarleby ) is a city on the west coast of Finland and the capital of the Central Ostrobothnian countryside . Kokkola has 47,657 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2018), of which around 84.0% are Finnish and 12.6% Swedish-speaking . In addition to the actual city, in which a good two thirds of the population live, the Kokkola covers an extensive area of ​​almost 1,500 square kilometers in the hinterland.

Surname

The Finnish name Kokkola means "campfire site" or "place of eagles", since the Finnish root word kokko can mean both campfire and sea ​​eagle and the suffix -la denotes the place. Until January 1st, 1977 the city was known under the Swedish name Gamlakarleby , until the surrounding areas of the municipality Kaarlela ( Swedish Karleby ) were merged with the city of Kokkola, the city took over the Swedish name Karleby . The word gamla means “old”, karl means “man” or “farmer, farmer” and by means “village or small town”; so was the meaning "old farming village", in English "Old Peasantville". The Latin name was Carolina Vetus .

history

Kokkola was founded in 1620 by Gustav II Adolf of Sweden as a port city on the Gulf of Bothnia. In 1765 Anders Chydenius (1729-1803) ensured that the city received the rights to conduct foreign trade, the so-called stacking rights , without Stockholm interfering . Therefore, Chydenius, who fought for democracy , equality and respect for human rights , is also considered the most important citizen of Kokkola. During the 18th century, Kokkola was the great seafaring and tar trade . This tar trade also explains the town's coat of arms , a tar barrel with three flames rising from its ends and bung . In the 19th century, many industrial companies settled there , making Kokkola an important school and training location.

In 1977 the municipality of Kaarlela was incorporated. At the beginning of 2009, Lohtaja , Ullava and Kälviä were incorporated .

geography

Wooden houses in Kokkola city center

Kokkola is located in the western Finnish landscape of Central Ostrobothnia on the coast of the Gulf of Bothnia , the northern part of the Baltic Sea . The next largest cities are Vaasa 121 km southwest and Oulu 198 km northeast. The capital Helsinki is 483 km south, the city of Jakobstad is 36 km from Kokkola and Jyväskylä is 242 km. Neighboring cities and communities Kokkolas are Kalajoki in the northeast, Kannus and Toholampi in the east, Halsua and Kaustinen in the southeast, Kronoby in the south and Larsmo in the southwest.

In addition to the actual core city, Kokkola has had an extensive area in the hinterland since the incorporation of three neighboring communities in 2009. In total, the administrative urban area of ​​Kokkola, excluding the marine areas, has an area of ​​1,486 km². This means that Kokkola is roughly the size of London in terms of area . Most of this area is structured in a rural way.

As is typical for the Österbotten region, the landscape in the area of ​​Kokkola is flat and crossed by numerous rivers. The most important river is the Perhonjoki , which flows north of the core city in the Gulf of Bothnia. Off the coast of Kokkola is a richly indented archipelago with the island of Öja . Through the post-glacial land uplift , Kokkola is steadily gaining land. The coast is currently rising by around eight millimeters per year.

population

At the turn of the year 2017/2018 the population of Kokkola was 47,723

Kokkola marks the northern end of the Finnish-Swedish settlement area on the west coast of Finland. Of the city's residents, 84.0% speak Finnish and 12.6% speak Swedish as their mother tongue. The remaining 3.4% of the population speak Estonian , Russian or another mother tongue. Thus Kokkola is officially bilingual with Finnish as the majority and Swedish as the minority language. The approximately 6,000 Swedish-speaking residents of Kokkola are unevenly distributed across the urban area: While the core city is bilingual, the majority of the villages in the immediate vicinity speak Swedish. The rural areas further to the east, which were incorporated in 2009, are purely Finnish-speaking. Street signs and signs for daily needs are always written out in two languages. City officials, preferably officials who work in the town hall, must have a command of both Finnish and Swedish.

Educational institutions

In Kokkola there are several kindergartens, 25 Finnish-speaking and 8 Swedish-speaking schools. The city also has three secondary schools for Finnish-speaking students and one for Swedish-speaking students. Some schools also offer dual vocational training . The Chydenius Institute of Kokkola (Chydenius Yliopistokeskus Kokkola) or Kokkola University Consortium Chydenius is the largest teaching and research institution in the city; it works under the direction of the universities of Jyväskylä, Vaasa and Oulu. The focus of this facility is on adult education. It offers Finnish and foreign students the possibility of special further education in the fields of social sciences , computer science , applied chemistry , business administration , health sciences and education .

The children of the Swedish-speaking population mostly go to Karleby svenska gymnasium . In this facility there is a student exchange with the Robert-Stock-Gymnasium in Hagenow every two years . This exchange serves to deepen intercultural relationships and improve the Finns' knowledge of German, but also offers German students the opportunity to learn a little Finnish. The students get to know the respective country through a two-week internship and life with host families. In addition, Finnish children can grow up bilingual in an English kindergarten and improve their language skills in the adjacent English primary school. The Kokkola City Library has a good selection of specialist literature in Finnish, Swedish and a variety of other languages.

Economy and Infrastructure

The fertilizer industry, leather and fur processing, mechanical engineering , the plastics industry and boat building are of great economic importance in Kokkola. Around 60% of the Finnish boat building industry is concentrated in the Kokkola area. In addition, many companies in the metal and chemical industry have settled in the city, which primarily boost exports .

Freeport (until 2013 OM Group ) refined around 10% of the global cobalt production .

The largest employers are:

  • the city of Kokkola (about 2300 employees)
  • Kokkola City Hospital (Soite) (around 2500)
  • Boliden Kokkola Oy (about 500)
  • Freeport Cobalt Oy (about 420)
  • KPO, retail (around 400)
  • Halpa-Halli, retail (around 300)
  • CABB Oy (about 200)

traffic

Container ship in the all-weather terminal

The main north-south route of the Finnish railway runs through Kokkola . In addition, three main roads cross in Kokkola: the VT 8 ( Oulu - Turku ), VT 13 (Kokkola - Jyväskylä - Lappeenranta ) and VT 28 (Kokkola - Kajaani ). The port in Kokkola is one of the most important in the Gulf of Finland. It is important for local industry as well as for northern, central and eastern Finland and neighboring Russia . The length of its docks is 2270 m. Kokkola is the only port in Northern Europe with an "All Weather Terminal" (AWT), in which ships up to 122 m in length can be loaded and unloaded in a covered hall.

politics

administration

The old town hall of Kokkola

The strongest faction in Kokkola City Council, the highest decision-making body in local affairs, is the Center Party , which has 12 out of 43 MPs.

The second largest group are the Social Democrats with 8 MEPs. The Coalition Party takes on the number of its deputies asked 5, No. 3, followed by a Swedish People's Party , to the 5 seats omitted. This party represents the traditional interest representation of the Finland-Swedes. The Christian Democrats are comparatively strongly represented with 5 seats in the city council. Also represented in the city council are the Left Alliance with 3, the True Finns with 3 and the Green Bund with 2 MPs.

The city director of Kokkola since 2016 is Stina Mattila.

City council

Composition of the city council (1.6.2017-2021)
Political party Election result Seats
Center Party 27.6% 12
Social democrats 18.7% 10
Collection party 11.2% 5
Swedish People's Party 11.4% 5
Christian Democrats 18.8% 5
True Finns 7.2% 3
Left alliance 6.9% 3
Green covenant 5.9% 2

coat of arms

Description : In gold, a lying barrel with three flames; a barons crown on the shield .

Culture and sights

Kokkola has a good cultural offer. It is mainly characterized by rock , jazz and classical music . There is also a wide range of theater programs in Finnish and Swedish. The Ostrobothnic Chamber Orchestra , founded by conductor Juha Kangas, is popular in Finland as well as outside the country and is one of the most popular orchestras in Finland with 82 performances, 70 of them in Kokkola and more than 17,470 listeners in 2012, of which 13,034 in Kokkola. In autumn 2013, conductor Sakari Oramo began as artistic director of the orchestra .

Buildings

In 1805 there was a great fire in Kokkola, in which the city's first town hall burned down. The second town hall was sacked by Russian soldiers. Then it was demolished because of its poor general condition and lack of space. Finally, in 1841, the third town hall was built based on a design by Carl Ludwig Engel ; it can still be seen today on Mannerheimplatz .

The old school building from 1696, which houses a historical museum , is also worth seeing . It is the only surviving secular wooden house in Finland and one of the oldest wooden houses in Scandinavia .
Next door is a smaller house, Lassander's house , which was built in 1748. In it, the visitor can see how a trading family lived in Kokkola at the beginning of the 18th century.
In the same courtyard where the old school building and Lassander's house are, there is another house worth seeing, the K.-H.-Renlunds-Museum . The house was built in 1818 and houses changing art exhibitions.

At the Katarinaplatz (Katariinantori) in Kokkola there are also several sights to see. These include the city theater, which was built in 1927, an old water tower and a gas station from 1931, the appearance of which has not changed since it was built. It is the oldest petrol station in Finland. In addition, the sculpture The Seals by Karl G. Nylund from 1970 can be seen on the square .

In the old town of Neristan there has been a multitude of colorful wooden houses for centuries, which serve both as residential areas and as sights. The lively area offers some nice restaurants, cafes, accommodation and boutiques. The city canal Suntti flows through this historic city center and there is a water organ game every evening in summer.

Also worth seeing is the lighthouse island of Tankar, which is located about 18 km northwest of Kokkola in the archipelago . On this island, besides the lighthouse itself, there is a fishing chapel, the seal hunt museum, nature trails, the summer restaurant and many places to stay. The island is easy to reach with the m / s Jenny from Kokkola.

In Kaarlela there is a medieval stone church (Church of Kaarlela) from the early 16th century, which is used by two Evangelical Lutheran parishes. It serves both Finnish-speaking and Swedish-speaking community members.

Parks

Chydenius Park has existed since 1860 and was dedicated to the pastor and politician Anders Chydenius . A statue of him has also been on display in the park since 1903 , designed by Valter Runeberg . The park was initially known as Nya Park (German: Neuer Park), Kärlekens lund (German: Liebeshain) or Östra Parken (German: Eastern Park).

The Länsipuisto (German: Westlicher Park) is a counterpart of the Chydenius Park; it was created in 1860. It contains the Sturzwelle monument , which was designed by Karl G. Nylund in 1973 and is intended to commemorate Einar Cederberg .

Sports

The hockey club Hermes comes from Kokkola and plays in the third highest Finnish league ( Suomi-sarja ). The city also has the football clubs Kokkolan Palloveikot (KPV), who plays in the second highest Finnish league ( Ykkönen ), and Gamlakarleby Bollklubb (GBK), who plays in the third highest Finnish league ( Kakkonen ). Kokkola is also represented in volleyball with the Kokkolan Tiikerit team, which plays in the highest Finnish volleyball league for men ( Lentopallon Mestaruusliiga ).

Regular events

Every year on the last weekend in August the Kokkolan Venetsialaiset (Venetian Nights) and with it the end of the summer house period are celebrated. At this time, missiles are fired and lights adorn the beaches. The supporting program includes events such as theater, concerts and the harvest festival.

Personalities

Sons and daughters

Died in Kokkola

Town twinning

Kokkola has twinned cities with the following cities:

Web links

Commons : Kokkola  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Suomen pinta-alat kunnittain January 1, 2010 . (PDF; 194 kB) Maanmittauslaitos (Finnish land surveying office)
  2. ↑ Statistical Office Finland: Table 11ra - Key figures on population by region, 1990-2018
  3. ^ Väestörekisterikeskus (Finnish population register): Suomen asukasluku vuodenvaihteessa 2008-2009 . ( Memento from April 21, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  4. ↑ chydenius.fi (Chydenius Institute)
  5. ↑ http://www.lundinmining.com/s/FreeportCobalt.asp
  6. ^ Cobalt Development Institute / Production Statistics
  7. ↑ tulospalvelu.vaalit.fi
  8. ↑ Ystävyyskaupungit. ( Memento of the original from April 19, 2010 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. Website of the city of Kokkola @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.kokkola.fi