Askola Explained

Askola
Official Name:Finnish: Askolan kunta
Swedish: Askola kommun
Settlement Type:Municipality
Coordinates:60.5283°N 61°W
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name: Finland
Subdivision Type1:Region
Subdivision Name1:Uusimaa
Subdivision Type2:Sub-region
Subdivision Name2:Porvoo sub-region
Leader Title:Municipal manager
Leader Name:Annu Räsänen[1]
Established Title:Charter
Established Date:1896
Blank3 Name:Climate
Blank3 Info:Dfb
Timezone:EET
Utc Offset:+02:00
Timezone Dst:EEST
Utc Offset Dst:+03:00
Website:www.askola.fi

Askola (in Finnish pronounced as /ˈɑskolɑ/) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Uusimaa region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of NaNAskola}} of which NaNAskola}} is water. The population density is NaNAskola. Monninkylä is the largest village of the municipality in terms of population (1,326 inhabitants).[2] Neighbouring municipalities are Myrskylä, Mäntsälä, Pornainen, Porvoo and Pukkila.

The municipality is unilingually Finnish. Askola is one of three municipalities in the Uusimaa region that do not have a Swedish name; the others are Nurmijärvi and Mäntsälä.

History

The Askola parish was part of Porvoo until 1639, when it became a chapel parish, and finally became independent in 1896. The Askola church was completed in 1799.[3]

The coat of arms of the municipality seeks influence from the history of the parish; the millstone is reminiscent of the Askolas's many mills and famous breads, while the roses of the coat of arms refer to Finnish author Johannes Linnankoski, who was born and influenced in Askola, whose most famous work was The Song of the Blood-Red Flower.

Geography

The most significant waters in Askola includes the River Porvoo flowing from the center of Askola between Orimattila and Porvoo, and eleven lakes in the eastern part of the municipality.[4]

There are no Natura 2000 sites in Askola, but instead five rock areas have been classified as nationally valuable. In one of them, Kirnukallio, are the well-known Askola's glacial potholes.[5] [6] The nationally valuable landscape area of the River Porvoo Valley also extends to the Askola side. Prestbacka Manor and Pappilanharju's natural reserve are also protected as cultural landscapes.[7]

Villages

In 1967, Askola had 12 legally recognized villages (henkikirjakylät):[8]

Demographics

In 2020, 18.7% of the population of Askola was under the age of 15, 61.0% were aged 15 to 64, and 20.2% were over the age of 65. The average age was 42.3, under the national average of 43.4 but above the regional average of 41.0. Speakers of Finnish made up 93.7% of the population and speakers of Swedish made up 3.4%, while the share of speakers of foreign languages was 2.9%. Foreign nationals made up 1.8% of the total population.[9]

The chart below, describing the development of the total population of Askola from 1975-2020, encompasses the municipality's area as of 2021.

Urban areas

In 2019, out of the total population of 4,943, 2,636 people lived in urban areas and 2,251 in sparsely populated areas, while the coordinates of 56 people were unknown. This made Askola's degree of urbanization 53.9%.[10] The urban population in the municipality was divided between two urban areas as follows:[2]

Urban area Population
1 Monninkylä 1,324
2 1,312

Services

Askola has four primary schools, and two secondary schools, as well as one vocational school.[11] [12] Both secondary schools also receive students from the neighboring municipality of Pukkila, which does not have its own post-primary school education.[13]

The Askola's library operates in six locations: the church village, Monninkylä and four schools of the municipality.[14]

Public health care is provided at the Askola Health Center.[15]

There are only two Sale grocery stores in the municipality: one in the church village and the other in Monninkylä.[16] [17] Locals have also wished the municipality a third grocery store from a competing chain, such as Kesko or Lidl.[18]

Politics

Results of the 2011 Finnish parliamentary election in Askola:

Economy

In 2018, 8.1% of the workforce of Askola worked in primary production (agriculture, forestry and fishing), 36.2% in secondary production (e.g. manufacturing, construction and infrastructure), and 53.1% in services. In 2019, the unemployment rate was 6.7%, and the share of pensioners in the population was 23.0%.[19]

The ten largest employers in Askola in 2019 were as follows:[20]

People born in Askola

External links

Notes and References

  1. https://kuntalehti.fi/tyopaikat/tyopaikkauutiset/askola-valitsi-annu-rasasen/
  2. Web site: Population in urban settlements and sparsely populated areas by age, sex and municipality, 2019. live. 1 May 2021. StatFin. Statistics Finland. https://web.archive.org/web/20191126094635/http://pxnet2.stat.fi:80/PXWeb/pxweb/en/StatFin/StatFin__vrm__vaerak/statfin_vaerak_pxt_11s6.px/ . 2019-11-26 .
  3. http://www.askolanseurakunta.fi/kirkko/ Askolan kirkko
  4. http://porvoo.4h.fi/4h-askolassa/askolan-kirkonkyla/askolan-luonto-ja-historia/ Askolan luonto ja historia
  5. http://hiidenkirnut.fi/the-potholes-of-askola/ The Potholes of Askola
  6. Maailman ja Suomen Suuratlas, p 294. WSOY, Instituto Geografico Agostini, Novara, Igda; 1985. ISBN 951-0-12598-9. (in Finnish)
  7. https://www.askola.fi/etusivu/rakentaminen-ymparisto/luonnonsuojelu/ Luonnonsuojelu
  8. Book: Erävuori, Jukka . Papunen . Pentti . Mäkinen . Vesa . Suomenmaa: maantieteellis-yhteiskunnallinen tieto- ja hakuteos. 1: Ahlainen–Hausjärvi. WSOY. 1967. Helsinki. Askola.
  9. Web site: Key figures on population by region, 1990-2020. live. 1 May 2021. StatFin. Statistics Finland. https://web.archive.org/web/20190406192005/http://pxnet2.stat.fi:80/PXWeb/pxweb/en/StatFin/StatFin__vrm__vaerak/statfin_vaerak_pxt_11ra.px/ . 2019-04-06 .
  10. Web site: Degree of urbanisation by area, 2019. live. 1 May 2021. StatFin. Statistics Finland. https://web.archive.org/web/20191126094642/http://pxnet2.stat.fi:80/PXWeb/pxweb/en/StatFin/StatFin__vrm__vaerak/statfin_vaerak_pxt_11s7.px/ . 2019-11-26 .
  11. http://www.askola.fi/etusivu/opetus-paivahoito/peruskoulu/ Perusopetus
  12. http://www.askola.fi/etusivu/opetus-paivahoito/lukio-ja-ammatillinen-koulutus/ Lukio ja ammatillinen koulutus
  13. https://pukkila.fi/palvelut/opetus/ Opetus
  14. https://www.askola.fi/etusivu/vapaa-aika-nuoriso/kirjasto-kulttuuri/ Kirjastot
  15. https://www.suomi.fi/palvelut/palvelupiste/ajanvaraus-askolan-kunta/a91a09aa-5b8e-49e0-9101-d613d8b6527c Askolan kunta: Lääkärin tai hoitajan vastaanotto - Ajanvaraus
  16. https://www.foodie.fi/store/848ce64a47fd3130c85f8a8c5e79409b Sale Askola
  17. https://www.foodie.fi/store/f18709b1abae5b7adf940acaed1197e4 Sale Monninkylä
  18. https://www.itavayla.fi/teksti/tarvitseeko-askola-kolmannen-ruokakaupan-6.2.54507.c12d92d394 Tarvitseeko Askola kolmannen ruokakaupan?
  19. Web site: Municipal key figures 1987-2020 (with the 2021 regional division). live. 1 May 2021. StatFin. Statistics Finland. https://web.archive.org/web/20210426165318/https://pxnet2.stat.fi/PXWeb/pxweb/en/Kuntien_avainluvut/Kuntien_avainluvut__2021/kuntien_avainluvut_2021_aikasarja.px . 2021-04-26 . (2018 and 2019)
  20. Web site: Kunnittainen toimipaikkatilasto. live. 1 May 2021. Statistics Finland. fi. https://web.archive.org/web/20161114133314/http://www.stat.fi/tup/yritystietopalvelu/kunnittainen-toimipaikkatilasto . 2016-11-14 .