Karis

Karis [ kɑ ː rɪs ], finn Karis [ kɑrjɑ ː ], is a formerly independent city in southern Finland. Today Karis administratively belongs to the city Raseborg, which originated in early 2009 by the merger of the towns Ekenäs and Karis and the community Pohja.

Geography and population

Karis is in the countryside Uusimaa 70 kilometers west of the capital, Helsinki, not far from the coast. Karis is the terminus of the S -Bahn Helsinki. Many residents commute to work in the capital. The high-speed trains from Helsinki to Turku stop at the station of Karis. In addition, Karis is on the King's Road, the old way of the Swedish kings from Turku to Viborg. Today, the Royal Route is a tourist route.

The city Karis had an area of ​​214.76 km ² (of which 17.94 km ² inland waters). Apart from the actual place ( taajama ) Karis belonged to the administrative city limits and parts of the surrounding rural areas. The population of the city was last 9,155, of which 61 % Finland Sweden. Karis was officially bilingual with Swedish as majority and Finnish as a minority language.

History

The first mention of Karis dates from the year 1326. During the Middle Ages Karis was thanks to the castles Raseborg, Grabbacka and Junkarsborg one of the most important places in Uusimaa. The Raseborg castle is now in the field of Ekenäs, the ruins of the other two castles can be visited in Karis. Grabbacka was built in the end of the 15th century and in 1672 was destroyed by fire. The Junkarsborg castle was built of wood and probably dates from the first half of the 14th century, but was given up to the year 1400. The St. Catherine's Church of Karis was ordained in 1470. Middle of the 16th century founded the Swedish king Gustav I Vasa in Svartån ( Mustio ) on the territory of the municipality Karis the first ironworks in Finland. It is still in operation today. In Svartån also a wooden church (1761 ) and a manor house in Rococo style (1793) was born. The community Karis was founded in 1870. The main town of Karis broke up in 1930 as an independent market town ( köping / kauppala ) from the surrounding rural community Karis. In 1969, the rural community was re- incorporated in the market towns, 1977 Karis was given the status of a city. 2009 ended the municipal independence of Karis with the incorporation to Raseborg.