Satakunta

Region of Finland

For the constituency, see Satakunta (constituency). For the historical province, see Satakunta (historical province).

Region in Finland

Satakunta

Region

Region of Satakunta
Satakunnan maakunta (Finnish)
Landskapet Satakunta (Swedish)

Flag

Coat of arms

Satakunta on a map of Finland

Coordinates: 61°20′N 22°00′E﻿ / ﻿61.333°N 22.000°E﻿ / 61.333; 22.000
Country| Finland
Historical province| Satakunta
Capital| Pori
Other towns| Harjavalta, Huittinen, Kankaanpää, Kokemäki, Rauma and Ulvila
Area

• Total

| 8,412.47 km2 (3,248.07 sq mi)
Population

(2019)

• Total

| 216,752
• Density| 26/km2 (67/sq mi)
GDP

[1]

• Total| €8.077 billion (2015)
• Per capita| €36,144 (2015)
ISO 3166 code| FI-17
NUTS| 196
Regional animal| Eurasian beaver
Regional bird| Eurasian blue tit
Regional fish| European river lamprey
Regional flower| Common Sea-buckthorn
Regional lake| Pyhäjärvi
Regional mineral| Sandstone
Website| satakunta.fi

Satakunta (in both Finnish and Swedish,[2] Finnish pronunciation: [ˈs̠ɑt̪ɑˌkun̪t̪ɑ]; historically Satacundia)[3] is a region (maakunta / landskap) of Finland, part of the former Western Finland Province. It borders the regions of Southwest Finland, Pirkanmaa, South Ostrobothnia and Ostrobothnia.[4] The capital city of the region is Pori. The name of the region literally means hundred. The historical province of the same name was a larger area within Finland, covering modern Satakunta as well as much of Pirkanmaa.

## Heraldry

[edit]

The arms are crowned by a ducal coronet, though in Finnish tradition this resembles a Swedish count's coronet. Blazon: "Per fess Azure and Or, a bear rampant Sable, armed and langued Gules, crowned Or, holding in both paws a sword Argent, sword handle Or; surmounted by two mullets of seven Argent".[5]

## History

[edit]

Map of the historical province of Satakunta

According to one theory, Satakunta was a political and military entity already in the Late Iron Age of Finland (550 - 1150 AD). During the 13th century, the Swedish rule was consolidated. At the same time, the coastal strip received some Swedish inhabitants, who however were assimilated in the mainstream Finnish population.[citation needed] The remnant of the influx can be seen in some of the toponyms in coastal Satakunta (e.g. Noormarkku < Swedish: Norrmark). Genetically connections to Scandinavia seem to be relatively strong. Haplogroup I1 (Y-DNA), which is typically Scandinavian, is very common in Satakunta.[citation needed] The common ancestor with the closest (rare) Scandinavian branches lived at least 2300 years ago.[6]

During the Middle Ages, the major cities of the province were Ulvila, established in the 14th century and Rauma, established 1442.[citation needed] Due to the rising of land, the former was left inland and lost its access to the sea. Consequently, the city of Pori was founded to the coast by Johan, Grand Duke of Finland in 1558.[citation needed] Administratively, the province lost its function in 1649 when it was combined with Southwest Finland to form Turku and Pori County. In the 19th century, the eastern parts of the province were transferred to the Tavastia County. At the present, the eastern part of the old province has formed the region of Pirkanmaa and the western part forms the region of Satakunta.[citation needed]

Satakunta, with the rest of Finland, was separated from Sweden when Finland was ceded to Russia in 1809. During the era of Autonomy (1809–1917), the province experienced slow industrialization, Pori becoming the most important industrial city of the region. The forest and textile industries dominated the business life. In addition, the merchants of Rauma and Pori had impressively large fleets of sailpowered merchantmen, which made up a large fraction of the total merchant navy of the Russian empire.[citation needed] The large-scale use of sail ships continued until the 1930s, even while the steampower started to dominate the international seatraffic. The building of the Tampere–Pori and Kokemäki–Rauma railroads connected the province into Finnish inland and diminished the importance of unnavigable Kokemäenjoki river as a means of transport.[citation needed] After this, the ports of Rauma and Pori have remained among the most important export ports for the Finnish industry.[citation needed]

The development of agriculture towards market-based economy was started during the 18th century, when crop rotation and large-scale drainage projects were initiated.[citation needed] At the same time, clearing of forests for agricultural use continued, leading into the formation of a large crofter class (Finnish: torppari), living on small-holdings rented from larger farms. During the 19th century the social divisions among the rural population deepened. Consequently, in Finnish Civil War of 1918, Satakunta formed an important part of Red Finland.[citation needed]

Since independence, the development of Satakunta has followed the general Finnish pattern. The rural areas have suffered from the drain of young population towards population centers, which until the early 1990s benefited the industrial cities of Rauma, Harjavalta and Pori with their surroundings.[7] The metal and forest industries expanded steadily, necessitating the building of the nuclear plant at Olkiluoto. The increase of industrial production was not fully without problems, however. Especially the area around Harjavalta copper–nickel smelting plant suffered heavily from acid rain and Kokemäenjoki became heavily polluted. These problems have been controlled to large extent since the 1980s.[8][9]

Since the 1990s, the traditional industries of the region have more or less stagnated and the relative importance of her cities has dwindled. One of the perceived reasons for this development has been the fact that Satakunta lacks a university of its own.[10]

## Municipalities

[edit]

Satakunta Kakko bread

Main article: Municipalities of Satakunta

The region of Satakunta consists of 16 municipalities, 7 of which have city status (marked in bold).

### Municipalities on the map

[edit]

Pori

Rauma

Ulvila

Eura

Kankaan-
pää

Huittinen

Kokemäki

Harjavalta

Eurajoki

Nakkila

Säkylä

Merikarvia

Karvia

Pomarkku

Jämijärvi

Siikainen

Pyhä-
järvi

Bothnian
Sea

South Ostrobothnia

Ostro-
bothnia

Pirkan-
maa

Southwest
Finland

Municipalities

Over 30 000 inhabitants

Over 10 000 inhabitants

Over 3 000 inhabitants

< 3 000 inhabitants

class=notpageimage|

Cities and municipalities of Satakunta.

### Sub-regions

[edit]

Northern Satakunta sub-region:

* Jämijärvi
* Kankaanpää
* Karvia
* Siikainen (Siikais)

Rauma sub-region:

* Eura
* Eurajoki (Euraåminne)
* Rauma (Raumo)
* Säkylä

Pori sub-region:

* Harjavalta
* Huittinen (Vittis)
* Kokemäki (Kumo)
* Merikarvia (Sastmola)
* Nakkila
* Pomarkku (Påmark)
* Pori (Björneborg)
* Ulvila (Ulvsby)

### Municipalities listed

[edit]

the municipalities as of 2021 (14 Säkylä, 15 Siikainen) Coat of
arms  | Municipality  | Population  | Land area
(km2)  | Density
(/km2)  | Finnish
speakers  | Swedish
speakers  | Other
speakers

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

| Eura | 11,093 | 579 | 19  | 95 % | 0.2 % | 5 %
| Eurajoki | 9,000 | 515 | 17  | 97 % | 0.3 % | 4 %
| Harjavalta | 6,605 | 123 | 53  | 95 % | 0.2 % | 5 %
| Huittinen | 9,618 | 533 | 18  | 93 % | 0.2 % | 6 %
| Jämijärvi | 1,659 | 215 | 8  | 97 % | 0 % | 3 %
| Kankaanpää | 12,571 | 1,021 | 12  | 92 % | 0.1 % | 7 %
| Karvia | 2,162 | 502 | 4  | 95 % | 0 % | 5 %
| Kokemäki | 6,662 | 480 | 14  | 96 % | 0.3 % | 4 %
| Merikarvia | 2,882 | 446 | 6  | 96 % | 0.5 % | 4 %
| Nakkila | 4,905 | 183 | 27 | 98 % | 0.6 % | 2 %
| Pomarkku | 1,921 | 301 | 6 | 99 % | 0 % | 2 %
| Pori | 83,157 | 1,156 | 72  | 94 % | 0.6 % | 6 %
| Rauma | 38,909 | 496 | 78  | 90 % | 0.3 % | 9 %
| Siikainen | 1,248 | 463 | 3  | 100 % | 0 % | 2 %
| Säkylä | 6,237 | 407 | 15  | 95 % | 0.3 % | 5 %
| Ulvila | 12,345 | 401 | 31  | 97 % | 0.3 % | 3 %
| Total | 210,974 | 7,823 | 27  | 94 %  | 0.4 %  | 6 %

## Politics

[edit]

Results of the 2023 Finnish parliamentary election in Satakunta:[11]

* Finns Party 26.6%
* Social Democratic Party 24.6%
* National Coalition Party 17.0%
* Centre Party 13.9%
* Left Alliance 8.3%
* Christian Democrats 3.2%
* Green League 2.7%
* Movement Now 1.8%
* Freedom Alliance 1.2%
* Swedish People's Party 0.3%
* Other parties 0.3%

## Geography

[edit]

This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

A young stand of pine forest in Northern Satakunta. The Eura River in Panelia, Eura.

The exact borders of Satakunta towards Southwest Finland, Ostrobothnia and Southern Tavastia are rather well-defined. However, this is not the case with the Northern Tavastia, i.e. in the modern day region of Pirkanmaa. This is because northern parts of Pirkanmaa were only sparsely inhabited wilderness and the borders of the provinces were never well defined before the introduction of county system in 1634. In that year, the border between Turku and Pori County which included Satakunta, and Uusimaa and Tavastia county was rather arbitrarily drawn in Tammerkoski. To further complicate matters, Tampere with her surroundings was transferred to Tavastia Province in the 19th century. As a result, the region around Ikaalinen and Parkano is variously described as being part of Satakunta, Tavastia, Sata-Häme or Pirkanmaa.

Village of Sorkka in Rauma with typical coastal plain countryside of Satakunta

Satakunta is characterized by a strong contrast of coast and inland areas. The southernmost part of the coast is flanked by the archipelago of Rauma but towards north, the number of coastal islands decreases markedly. The seabed is flat and due to this, the still-continuing post-glacial rising is perceivable even during a single person's lifetime. The dominating feature of the northern coast of Satakunta is the delta of Kokemäenjoki northwest of the town of Pori.

The valley of river Kokemäenjoki and the area south of it form one of the most important agricultural regions of Finland. The main crops are rye, barley, potato and sugar beet. On the other hand, north of Kokemäenjoki valley, forests dominate the landscape and population density is much lower than in southern Satakunta. Towards inland, the flat agricultural plain gives way to a more hilly landscape blotted by lakes. In this area, the population centers are located along the most important waterways, as a result of the original inhabitation period.

## Economy

[edit]

In 2019, the biggest tax payers in Satakunta were Boliden Harjavalta, Raumaster, Forchem, Länsi-Suomen Osuuspankki, Oras, Alfa Laval Aalborg and LähiTapiola Lännen.[12]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Regions and Cities > Regional Statistics > Regional Economy > Regional GDP per Capita, OECD.Stats. Accessed on 16 November 2018.
2. ^ "Luokitus: Maakunnat 2021 | Tilastokeskus".
3. ^ Jacob Ziegler: Schondia: id est regionum et populorum SeptlntÍionalium perutilis áescriptio. Strasbourg, 1532.
4. ^ "Satakunta 101 | Finland". www.finland101.com. Retrieved 2025-02-12.
5. ^ "Europeana Heraldica". extranet.narc.fi (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 2020-06-21. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
6. ^ "I-L287 YTree".
7. ^ Rapo, Markus. "Statistics Finland - Population Structure 2021". stat.fi. Retrieved 2025-02-12.
8. ^ Lounais-Suomen metsäohjelma. P. 34. Retrieved 11-19-2007. (in Finnish)
9. ^ Kokemäenjoen päästötasot romahtaneet. Waternet 1/2007. The magazine is a PR-publication of Finnish chemicals manufacturer, but the fact that the pollution levels of Kokemäenjoki have indeed gone down is correct. Retrieved 11-19-2007. (in Finnish)
10. ^ Satakunnan alueellinen tavoiteohjelma. Satakuntaliiton julkaisu A:219. Retrieved 11-19-2007. (in Finnish)
11. ^ "Satakunnan vaalipiiri, ehdokasasettajakohtaiset tulokset".
12. ^ "Rauman seudulla paljon suuria yhteisöveron maksajia: Raumaster, Forchem, Osuuspankki, Oras ja niin edelleen". LS24 (in Finnish). 2019-11-04. Retrieved 2021-05-27.

## External links

[edit]

Media related to Satakunta at Wikimedia Commons  Satakunta travel guide from Wikivoyage

* Regional Council of Satakunta website

* v
* t
* e

Regions of Finland

Regions|

* Åland
* Central Finland
* Central Ostrobothnia
* Kainuu
* Kanta-Häme
* Kymenlaakso
* Lapland
* North Karelia
* North Ostrobothnia
* North Savo
* Ostrobothnia
* Päijät-Häme
* Pirkanmaa
* Satakunta
* South Karelia
* South Ostrobothnia
* South Savo
* Southwest Finland
* Uusimaa

Former regions|

* Eastern Uusimaa (Itä-Uusimaa)

* v
* t
* e

Historical provinces of Finland

Finland Proper |

* Finland Proper (except Loimaa and Somero municipalities)

Karelia |

* North Karelia (except Heinävesi municipality)
* South Karelia

* eastern Kymenlaakso
* easternmost North Savo
* southwestern South Savo

Lapland |

* Lapland, northern (Enontekiö, Inari, Kittilä, Pelkosenniemi, Savukoski, Sodankylä and Utsjoki municipalities)

Ostrobothnia |

* Central Ostrobothnia
* Coastal Ostrobothnia
* Kainuu
* Lapland, southern (Kemi, Kemijärvi, Keminmaa, Kolari, Muonio, Pello, Posio, Ranua, Rovaniemi, Salla, Simo, Tervola, Tornio and Ylitornio municipalities)
* North Ostrobothnia
* South Ostrobothnia (except Soini and Ähtäri municipalities)

Satakunta |

* Satakunta
* predominantly Pirkanmaa

* Keuruu and Multia of Central Finland
* Loimaa of Finland Proper
* Soini and Ähtäri of South Ostrobothnia

Savo |

* predominantly North Savo
* predominantly South Savo

Tavastia |

* Central Finland (except Keuruu and Multia municipalities)
* Kanta-Häme
* Päijät-Häme

* Somero of Finland Proper
* northwestern Kymenlaakso
* westernmost North Savo
* southern and easternmost Pirkanmaa
* southwesternmost South Savo

Uusimaa |

* Uusimaa

* southwestern Kymenlaakso

Åland |

* Åland

Authority control databases

International|

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Geographic|

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