Kouvola

Kouvola
City
Kouvolan kaupunki

Pedestrian zone Manski in Kouvola downtown

Coat of arms
Motto: "Ihmeen hieno kaupunki." (A surprisingly fine town.)

Location of Kouvola in Finland
Coordinates: 60°52′05″N 026°42′15″E / 60.86806°N 26.70417°E / 60.86806; 26.70417Coordinates: 60°52′05″N 026°42′15″E / 60.86806°N 26.70417°E / 60.86806; 26.70417
Country Finland
Region Kymenlaakso
Sub-region Kouvola sub-region
Charter 1922
City rights 1960
Government
 • City manager Lauri Lamminmäki
Area (2011-01-01)[1]
 • City 2,883.30 km2 (1,113.25 sq mi)
 • Land 2,558.24 km2 (987.74 sq mi)
 • Water 325.06 km2 (125.51 sq mi)
Area rank 21st largest in Finland
Population (2016-03-31)[2]
 • City 85,808
 • Rank 10th largest in Finland
 • Density 33.54/km2 (86.9/sq mi)
 • Metro 60,776
 • Metro density 267/km2 (690/sq mi)
Population by native language[3]
 • Finnish 97.2% (official)
 • Swedish 0.4%
 • Others 2.4%
Population by age[4]
 • 0 to 14 15.1%
 • 15 to 64 65.1%
 • 65 or older 19.8%
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
 • Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)
Postal code 45100
Municipal tax rate[5] 20%
Climate Dfc
Website www.kouvola.fi

Kouvola is a town and municipality in southeastern Finland. It is located 134 kilometres (83 mi) northeast of the capital, Helsinki.

The city has a population of 85,808 (31 March 2016)[2] and covers an area of 2,883.30 square kilometres (1,113.25 sq mi) of which 325.06 km2 (125.51 sq mi) is water.[1] The population density is 33.54 inhabitants per square kilometre (86.9/sq mi).

The town originally grew up around the junction of the north-south and east-west rail tracks. It was also a major road transport junction.

In January 2009, the six municipalities of Kouvola, Kuusankoski, Elimäki, Anjalankoski, Valkeala and Jaala were consolidated, forming the new municipality of Kouvola. Kouvola can now claim the natural beauty of Valkeala and Jaala as well as the cultural heritage of Elimäki and Anjalankoski as its own, the town itself being infamous for its Soviet-like Brutalist architecture[6] and allegedly high crime rate . Kouvola has also assumed the slogan Kymijoen kaupunki (the town of Kymijoki) previously used by Anjalankoski.[7] The name itself derives from Old Finnish kouvo, bear. The arms are Sable, an escarbuncle Or, base wavy Argent.

Near Kouvola is the Verla factory, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Newspapers Kouvolan Sanomat and Keskilaakso are published in Kouvola.

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Kouvola is twinned with:

References

  1. 1 2 "Area by municipality as of 1 January 2011" (PDF) (in Finnish and Swedish). Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 9 March 2011.
  2. 1 2 "Ennakkoväkiluku sukupuolen mukaan alueittain, maaliskuu.2016" (in Finnish). Statistics Finland. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
  3. ↑ "Population according to language and the number of foreigners and land area km2 by area as of 31 December 2008". Statistics Finland's PX-Web databases. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
  4. ↑ "Population according to age and gender by area as of 31 December 2008". Statistics Finland's PX-Web databases. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 28 April 2009.
  5. ↑ "List of municipal and parish tax rates in 2011". Tax Administration of Finland. 29 November 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  6. ↑ "Tshernobyl (Pripyat) -- Kouvola". The view of Kouvola in comparison with that of Pripyat, Ukraine. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  7. ↑ "Kouvolan kaupunki". Website of Kouvola. Retrieved 20 June 2010.

External links

Media related to Kouvola at Wikimedia Commons


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