Velkua

Velkua (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈʋelkuɑ]) is a former municipality of Finland. It was, together with Merimasku and Rymättylä, consolidated with the town of Naantali on January 1, 2009.

Velkua
Former municipality
Velkuan kunta Velkua kommun
Coat of arms
Country	Finland
Province	Western Finland
Region	Southwest Finland
Sub-region	Turku
Merged with Naantali	January 1, 2009
Government
• City manager	Tiina Rinne-Kylänpää
Area
• Total	31.21 km2 (12.05 sq mi)
• Land	31.08 km2 (12.00 sq mi)
• Water	0.13 km2 (0.05 sq mi)
• Rank	427th
Population  (2003)
• Total	233
• Rank	431st
• Density	7.5/km2 (19/sq mi)
	−2.9 % change
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Official languages	Finnish
Urbanisation	0.0%
Unemployment rate	10.3%
Website	http://www.velkua.fi/

It is part of the Southwest Finland region. The municipality had a population of 245 (2005-12-31) and covered an area of 30.07 km² (excluding sea) of which 0.13 km² is inland water. The population density was 8,1 inhabitants per km².

The municipality was unilingually Finnish.

History

The village of Palva, located on the homonymous island, was mentioned already in 1469. Its name may refer to a place where meat and fish were cured by hunters or to a site of worship. Palva was the original center of the area, becoming a separate chapel community in 1793, when it was a part of the Taivassalo parish. In the 19th century, the name Velkua began appearing for the chapel community after the largest island in it: Velkua or Velkuanmaa. A densely populated village on the island of Velkua, Velkuankaupunki, was established in the 19th century.

The municipality was established in the 1860s and Velkua had become the predominant name. Velkua became a separate parish in 1917.

Velkua was consolidated with Naantali in 2009.

External links

Media related to Velkua at Wikimedia Commons

• http://www.velkua.fi/ – Official website (in Finnish)