Pohja
Former municipality in Uusimaa, Finland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pohja (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈpohjɑ]; Swedish: Pojo (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈpu:ju])) is a town and a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated with Ekenäs and Karis to form the new town of Raseborg in 2009.
Pohja
Pohja – Pojo | |
|---|---|
Former municipality | |
| Pohja Pojo | |
Pohja Church | |
 Coat of arms | |
 Location of Pohja in Finland | |
| Coordinates: 60°06′N 023°31.5′E | |
| Country | Finland |
| Region | Uusimaa |
| Sub-region | Ekenäs sub-region |
| Consolidated | 2009 |
| Area | |
• Total | 266.13 km2 (102.75 sq mi) |
| • Land | 224.66 km2 (86.74 sq mi) |
| • Water | 41.47 km2 (16.01 sq mi) |
| Population (2008-12-31)[2] | |
• Total | 4,936 |
| • Density | 21.97/km2 (56.90/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Climate | Dfb |
It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Uusimaa region. The municipality had a population of 4,936 (as of 31 December 2008)[2] and covered a land area of 224.66 square kilometres (86.74 sq mi).[1] The population density was 21.97 inhabitants per square kilometre (56.9/sq mi).
The former municipality was bilingual, with majority being Finnish (60%) and minority Swedish (40%) speakers. Pohja is one of the birthplaces of the Finnish metal industry. Fiskars Corporation was founded near Pohja in 1649 and remains the largest employer in municipality area to date.
Name
Internationally, the Swedish name Pojo is used,[3] reflecting the linguistic situation in the bilingual city of Raseborg, where Swedish is the majority language and Finnish the minority language. The former municipality was likewise bilingual, but with Finnish as the majority and Swedish as the minority language. Following the municipal merger, the order of the two languages on official traffic signs in the area was therefore reversed.
The locality is first documented in written sources under its Swedish name: Poyæ (1335), Poijo (1351), Poija (1359), and Pojo (1427). The Finnish name appears later, first recorded as Pohjan pitäjä (“the parish of Pohja”) in 1848.[4]
The centre of the historical parish is located at the innermost end (“bottom”) of the bay known in Finnish as Pohjanpitäjänlahti (also Pohjanlahti). The place name refers to this geographical position; in this context Finnish pohja means “bottom” or “innermost part of a bay”,[4][5] comparable to the German term Bodden. The name was apparently given by early settlers from Häme, for whom the bay constituted an important waterway toward the Baltic Sea. Swedish-speaking settlers adopted the name in the form Pojo, which subsequently became the established form in Swedish usage. Before it was used as the name of the parish, it likely referred to the central settlement. The modern Finnish form Pohja represents a back-formation based on the Swedish name.[4]
Villages
Villages located within the former Pohja municipality and which now belong to the city of Raseborg are: Antkärr, Antskog (fi. Ansku), Baggby, Billnäs (fi. Pinjainen), Björsby, Bockboda, Bollstad,[6] Borgby,[7] Brunkom, Brödtorp, Böle,[8] Dalkarby, Degernäs, Ekerö, Elimo, Fiskars, Forsby,[9] Gammelby,[10] Gennäs, Grabbskog, Grännäs,[11] Gumnäs, Gästerby, Hindraböle, Hällskulla, Järnvik, Kila,[12] Klinkbacka, Kockböle (en del av Persböle), Koppskog, Kvarnby,[13] Kyrkbacka,[14] Lillfors, Munckbacka, Mörby, Nygård, Näsby, Pentby, Persböle, Ramskulla, Sidsbacka, Sjösäng, Skarpkulla, Skogböle (fi. Kuovila), Skogäng, Skrittskog, Skuru, Slicko, Sonabacka, Spakanäs, Starrböle, Stålbacka, Sunnanvik, Svedjeby, Sällvik, Torby, Trädbollstad, Åminne[15] and Åminnefors.[16]
The River of Fiskars flowed through the former municipality and Flacksjö is a lake. Please note, however, that Pohja Manor is located in the city of Salo.
Notable residents
- Charles Linn – one of the founders of Birmingham, Alabama
- Peter Lindroos – opera singer
- Hedvig Sohlberg — educator, lecturer, reformer, politician
