Pyhtää

Municipality in Kymenlaakso, Finland From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pyhtää (Swedish: Pyttis) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Kymenlaakso region, 27 kilometres (17 mi) west of the city of Kotka.

Country Finland
Foundedca. 1380
Quick facts Country, Region ...
Pyhtää
PyhtääPyttis
Municipality
Pyhtään kunta
Pyttis kommun
The medieval St. Henry's church
The medieval St. Henry's church
Coat of arms of Pyhtää
Location of Pyhtää in Finland
Location of Pyhtää in Finland
Coordinates: 60°30′N 026°33′E
Country Finland
RegionKymenlaakso
Sub-regionKotka-Hamina
Foundedca. 1380
Government
  Municipality managerOlli Ikonen
Area
 (2018-01-01)[1]
  Total
780.96 km2 (301.53 sq mi)
  Land324.63 km2 (125.34 sq mi)
  Water456.24 km2 (176.16 sq mi)
  Rank228th largest in Finland
Population
 (2025-06-30)[2]
  Total
5,031
  Rank165th largest in Finland
  Density15.5/km2 (40/sq mi)
Population by native language
  Finnish88.5% (official)
  Swedish6.6% (official)
  Others4.9%
Population by age
  0 to 1416.2%
  15 to 6456.9%
  65 or older26.9%
Time zoneUTC+02:00 (EET)
  Summer (DST)UTC+03:00 (EEST)
ClimateDfb
Websitewww.pyhtaa.fi
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Overview

The municipality has a population of 5,031 (30 June 2025)[2] and covers an area of 780.96 square kilometres (301.53 sq mi) of which 456.24 km2 (176.16 sq mi) is water.[1] The population density is 15.5 inhabitants per square kilometre (40/sq mi).

The medieval church of Pyhtää. Lithography by Johan Knutson, mid 19th century.

The medieval church (as opposed to the municipality) is situated in the village of Itäkirkonkylä ("East Church Village"). During the Reformation, the rather beautiful and moving pictures on the walls were whitewashed over. Some years ago, they were rediscovered and the whitewash removed. The village lies just to the East of the westernmost tributary of the Kymi River and was at one time on the border between Russia and Sweden established by the Treaty of Åbo in 1743. Indeed, on the Western side of the river is a municipality called Ruotsinpyhtää ("Swedish Pyhtää") known as Strömfors in Swedish.

Pyhtää is a bilingual municipality with Finnish and Swedish as its official languages. The population consists of 88% Finnish speakers, 7% Swedish speakers, and 5% speakers of other languages.

In the 1980s, salmon soup, salted herrings and clot soup (klimppisoppa) were named as Pyhtää's traditional parish dishes.[4]

Villages

Twinnings

References

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