Pargas (former municipality)
Former town in Southwest Finland, Finland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pargas (Finland Swedish: [ˈpɑrːɡɑs]; Finnish: Parainen, pronounced [ˈpɑrɑi̯nen]) is a former town and municipality in south-western Finland. On 1 January 2009, it was consolidated with Houtskär, Iniö, Korpo and Nagu to form the new municipality of Väståboland (since renamed to Pargas).
Pargas
Pargas – Parainen | |
|---|---|
Former town | |
| Pargas stad Paraisten kaupunki | |
| |
 Coat of arms | |
 Location of Pargas in Finland | |
| Coordinates: 60°18′N 022°18′E | |
| Country | Finland |
| Region | Southwest Finland |
| Sub-region | Åboland |
| Charter | 1948 |
| Town privileges | 1977 |
| Consolidated | 2009 |
| Government | |
| • City manager | Folke Öhman |
| Area | |
• Total | 476.73 km2 (184.07 sq mi) |
| • Land | 273.18 km2 (105.48 sq mi) |
| • Water | 203.55 km2 (78.59 sq mi) |
| Population (2008-12-31)[2] | |
• Total | 12,266 |
| • Density | 44.901/km2 (116.29/sq mi) |
| Population by native language | |
| • Finnish | 45% (official) |
| • Swedish | 54% (official) |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
It is known as the "capital" of the archipelago of Turku and had been called a town since 1977. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Southwest Finland region. The town had a population of 12,266 (as of 31 December 2008)[2] and covered a land area of 273.18 square kilometres (105.48 sq mi).[1] The population density was 44.9 inhabitants per square kilometre (116/sq mi).
The municipality was bilingual, with the majority (54%) being Swedish and the minority (45%) Finnish speakers.
The city has many little suburbs around it, including Kirjala and Lielax.
