Uskela

Uskela [ uskɛlɑ ] is a former municipality in the southwestern Finnish landscape Varsinais -Suomi and now part of the town of Salo.

The parish Uskela was probably founded in the course of the Christianization of Finland in the first half of the 13th century and in 1329 first mentioned. The parish initially covered a fairly wide area. In the 15th century, Salo and Pertteli to Chapel communities of Uskela. To the former one of this time, the subsequent Muurla to Kuusjoki latter, and a part of Kiikala Somero. 1429 were added to the parish Somero nine villages from the northern part of the chapel community Pertteli. Kiikala seceded in 1639 as an independent parish of Uskela. Unusually for the medieval Finland was that the parish church of Uskela was made of wood, while the chapel communities Salo and Pertteli received in the 16th century representative stone churches.

The Church of Uskela since the founding of the parish was already on the banks of Uskelanjoki River. The last of several successive wooden churches that were built in the same place, was a cruciform church from the year 1672. On Christmas Eve 1825, the church was badly damaged by a landslide on the slope of the Uskelanjoki and had to be demolished. Only the bell stack and the cemetery of the church are still preserved. The church was not rebuilt, instead, a new parish church was built 1831-32, designed by Carl Ludwig Engel at the site of the old chapel of Salo and Uskela was combined with the chapel community Salo. Thus Salo was now the center of the parish Uskela. 1860 Muurla to a chapel community of Uskela was.

As part of the separation of the management of the rural communities of the church administration, the chapels of Uskela 1867 and 1868 to all independent political communities were. Salo, now grown into a populous place, was released in 1887 as a market town ( kauppala ) from Uskela. The colonization of Salo soon grew beyond the administrative boundaries of the borough, so that in 1932 parts of Uskela Salo were slammed. The community Uskela had recently (1963 ) an area of ​​124.3 km and almost 3,000 inhabitants. 1967 she was to Salo, who had now received its town charter, incorporated.

The river Uskelanjoki in the former municipality of Uskela

The present church of Uskela