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52-549: Evijärvi is a municipality of Finland . It is located in the Southern Ostrobothnia region . The municipality has a population of 2,270 (31 October 2024) and covers an area of 390.71 square kilometres (150.85 sq mi) of which 36.7 km (14.2 sq mi) is water. The population density is 6.41 inhabitants per square kilometre (16.6/sq mi). Neighbouring municipalities are Kauhava , Kronoby , Lappajärvi , Pedersöre and Veteli . The municipality

104-568: A black spruce cone in its forefeet, with three golden roses side by side above it." The squirrel holding the spruce cone of the coat of arms indirectly refers to the Swedish name of Kauniainen ( Grankulla ). The roses on the subject depict the villa settlements in the locality. The coat of arms was designed by Ahto Numminen and approved by the Kauniainen Chamber of Commerce at its meetings on June 5, 1951, and January 10, 1952. The Ministry of

156-531: A change in law, Tampere was first city to elect a mayor ( pormestari / borgmästare ) in 2007. The mayor is not, however, currently elected directly, but by the municipal council. The mayor acts as municipal manager and as a speaker of municipal council. Although municipalities do not have police or legislative powers, local ordinances concerning traffic can be set, and municipal parking inspectors can give parking tickets. Municipalities are legal persons and can appear in an administrative court . Likewise,

208-402: A municipality was threatened by the municipal obligations and the small number of inhabitants. In the 1950s the market town tried to incorporate a few surrounding areas from Espoo, but the application was rejected in 1953. Instead the area of Kasavuori , which the market town had bought, was incorporated in 1957. Otto-Iivari Meurman was given the task of making a new town plan. He suggested that

260-602: A municipality. This was finished by the Marin cabinet . Kauniainen Kauniainen ( Finnish: [ˈkɑu̯niˌɑi̯nen] ; Swedish : Grankulla ) is a town in Finland , located in the southern interior of the country. Kauniainen is situated in the southern part of the Uusimaa region, and it is enclaved by the City of Espoo . The population of Kauniainen is approximately 10,000. It

312-539: A new (and Finnish-speaking) suburb with multiple times the inhabitants than there are in Sipoo. There is currently a heated political debate in Finland about reforming the municipality system. Essentially, a multitude of small municipalities is seen as detrimental to the provision of public services, having originated during Finland's agrarian years. As a result, there have been suggestions of state-imposed mergers. A committee led by

364-415: A place of business in the municipality (3.8% of income). Some municipal functions receive direct funding both from the municipality and the state, e.g. AMK vocational colleges. Finland has an extensive welfare state , and municipalities are responsible for much of the services to that end. Tasks of the municipalities are as follows: Although municipalities are responsible for their own finances, there

416-418: A property tax, amounting to 3.6% of income, which is comparatively low: the annual fee is 0.32-0.75% of net present value for permanent residences and 0.50-1.00% for leisure properties like summer cottages as well as undeveloped plots. This is always paid by the owner, never a tenant directly, unlike the council tax . Municipalities receive a share of corporate tax revenue ( yhteisövero ) from companies having

468-462: A state agency, and used primarily for traffic-related purposes (signage, speed limits, and highway planning). There are 745 officially recognized urban areas in Finland, 49 of which have more than 10,000 inhabitants and six more than 100,000. Each municipality has a distinct coat of arms . They are posted on the municipal borders and shown in official documents representing the municipality. The coats of arms for many municipalities have been designed in

520-488: A target of population 20,000 per municipality. Commuter belts have also been proposed as a target by a government committee, such that municipalities where more than 35% of workforce commutes would be subject to a merger. The Sipilä cabinet , from 2015, had been preparing a significant reform of health and social services ( sote-uudistus ), aimed at increasing choice between municipal and private healthcare, and assigning some healthcare responsibilities into larger units than

572-429: Is collected only from medium to high income earners. However, in practice even the municipal tax is progressive due to generous deductions granted to the lowest income levels. The pre-deduction base tax varies from 16% in affluent Kauniainen to 20% or more in a number of small rural municipalities. Next to the municipal tax, municipalities receive funding from the state budget ( valtionapu , 19% of income). This funding

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624-429: Is expected as the name of the municipality refers to the entire parish, not just a single center like a church village. Villages have no administrative role, although some have voluntary village associations ( kyläyhdistys ) and other non-governmental public life. Although related, urban areas in Finland ( taajama ) are not local administrative units. A catalog is independently compiled each year by Statistics Finland ,

676-468: Is from 1917 when the community had 1,647 inhabitants. In 1920 Kauniainen became a market town and gained complete municipal sovereignty. Kauniainen also differed from its rural surroundings in Espoo with a town plan, road network, villas and electricity. It was decided to keep Kauniainen a green, idyllic, rural community and industrial buildings were banned. Most of the villas were built in neoclassical style or in

728-472: Is located. The Finnish name of the town, Kauniainen, is derived from the name of a homestead that was located in Kauniainen called Kauniais . It was named after an estate near Tampere . The Finnish name was taken into use in the 1930s and was made the official name of the town alongside the Swedish name in 1949. The explanation for the coat of arms is "a golden, red squirrel sitting on a blue plate, holding

780-522: Is means-tested to municipality wealth and serves to balance the differences in municipal tax revenue. Besides taxes, sales revenue, fees and profit of operations also form a substantial share of municipal income (21%). In 2023, taxation will be significantly changed, when new wellbeing services counties are founded. Since these are funded by the state, municipal taxes will be reduced by 12.64 percentage points from ~20 to ~7%, and state taxes will be increased correspondingly. Additionally, municipalities levy

832-503: Is much highly specific legislation and regulation that requires the services to be provided up to a standard. Thus, although municipalities have the power to voluntarily spend tax-generated income, they are required to first allocate funds to legally prescribed services. Municipalities may provide some of these services through corporations that they own or from private companies that they regulate. For example, Helsinki Regional Transport Authority (HSL) provides public transport services in

884-578: Is the 94th most populous municipality in Finland. Kaunianen is part of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area , which has approximately 1.6 million inhabitants. Kauniainen was founded by a corporation in 1906, AB Grankulla, that parcelled land and created a suburb for villas ; Kauniainen received the status of a market town in 1920, the Finnish name in 1949 and the title of kaupunki ("city, town") in 1972. The municipal taxation rate in Kauniainen

936-478: Is the lowest in Finland ( %), which has made the city attractive to high-income families. This in turn makes the average income generally high, making it possible to keep the taxation rate low without compromising the service to the inhabitants. Kauniainen is a bilingual municipality with Finnish and Swedish as its official languages. The population consists of 59% Finnish speakers, 30% Swedish speakers, and 11% speakers of other languages. The dominant party in

988-421: Is unilingually Finnish . [REDACTED] Media related to Evijärvi at Wikimedia Commons This Western Finland location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Municipalities of Finland Municipalities have council-manager government : they are governed by an elected council ( kunnanvaltuusto , kommunfullmäktige ), which is legally autonomous and answers only to

1040-590: The Finnish Environment Institute classifies urban settlements with over 15,000 inhabitants as kaupunki , municipalities can name themselves kaupunki with fewer inhabitants. There are 44,991 inhabitants in Nurmijärvi , the largest kunta in Finland, and 1,246 inhabitants in Kaskinen , the smallest kaupunki , so the kunta–kaupunki categorisation mainly concerns the name of the municipality. The areas of

1092-636: The 18th century, King Gustaf III implemented the Great Partition, where common lands were redistributed into larger properties, and claimed all unclaimed land to the crown. Thus, there is no "leftover" land outside the jurisdiction of municipalities, as all land belongs to either to a private property or to the government. The secular government divided the properties to taxable units (villages and secular municipalities) according to its own convenience, which were not necessarily convergent with parishes. Furthermore, cities were chartered separately. Up to 1734,

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1144-564: The Interior confirmed the use of the coat of arms on March 11 of the same year. Around 10,000 years ago, after the Ice Age , only a few islets were visible in the Yoldia Sea , heights that today form the highest peaks of the area that is today known as Kauniainen. As the land slowly rose Kauniainen became a part of the inner archipelago around 4,000 years ago and there is evidence of human activity in

1196-493: The area in form of pieces of ceramics from this time period. However, the first permanent settlements in the area were established in the 19th century. Today Kauniainen is situated several kilometres from the sea. In the beginning of the 20th century Kauniainen only consisted of a few crofters' holdings at the outskirts of larger farms in Espoo. The name of the place, Grankulla, was known as the more dialectal Gränkull . The main road between Helsinki and Turku had passed through

1248-460: The capital area. From 2023, new wellbeing services counties will take the responsibility for healthcare and social services from the municipalities. As of 2021 , there are 309 municipalities in Finland, and from 1 January 2025 308, of which (the following numbers not updated) 107 are cities or towns ( kaupunki ). Sixteen municipalities are unilingually Swedish (all in the autonomous Åland region), while 33 are bilingual: 15 with Swedish as

1300-527: The church village ( kirkonkylä , abbreviated kk ) is the historical center, the largest or administrative center may be in another village. For example, Askola has a church village (Askolan kirkonkylä), but its administrative center is in Monninkylä . Often, the church village has the same name as the municipality, as with Askola. However, this is not necessarily so, e.g. Enontekiö is governed from Hetta ; these villages are often erroneously labeled in maps. This

1352-461: The city council has traditionally been the Swedish People's Party . The Swedish name Grankulla is composed by the Swedish words "gran" ( spruce ) and "kulle" ( hill ) and has been in use in this form since the beginning of the 1900s. Earlier the place was known under its dialectal form Gränkull . The name Gränkull is found on modern maps as the name of the hill where the water tower in Kauniainen

1404-407: The composition of the council, not along government-opposition lines. Furthermore, individual decisions are prepared in specialized municipal boards ( lautakunta ) for a council meeting, which include, for example, zoning, social assistance, and education boards. Council, executive board, and municipal board memberships are elected positions of responsibility, not full-time jobs. Remuneration depends on

1456-474: The economy, transport and environment, while law and environmental enforcement is handled by the local aluehallintovirasto , governing multi-region jurisdictions termed alue .-G.H- Residents pay a municipal tax that is a form of income tax , which is the mainstay of the income of a municipality (42% of income). Municipal tax is nominally a flat tax that is levied from a broader population (including lower income levels) than progressive state income tax, which

1508-452: The end of 2020 there were 10,177 people living in the town. Kauniainen has good road connections in most directions. The east-to-west Helsinki–Turku motorway ( national road 1 ) passes Kauniainen to the south and the old Helsinki–Turku main road ( regional road 110 ) passes the northern parts of the town. The construction of the motorway in the 1960s played a big role when new inhabitants moved to Kauniainen, when they could drive quickly along

1560-1172: The former Minister for Regional and Municipal Affairs, Hannes Manninen , suggested creating a two-tier system of municipalities with different powers, while the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities ( Kuntaliitto ) favoured a system where municipalities would be units of at least 20,000–30,000 inhabitants, cf. the current median at 4,700. The motion was inspired by a similar reform in Denmark (see Municipalities of Denmark ). The former government ( Vanhanen II ), however, planned to not impose mergers. Recently, many voluntary mergers have been agreed on. Ten mergers were completed in 2005, one in 2006, 14 in 2007 and one in 2008. In 2009, there were even more, many of which consolidated more than two municipalities. Several cities merged with surrounding rural municipalities in Hämeenlinna , Salo , Kouvola , Seinäjoki , Naantali , Kauhava , Lohja , Raseborg , Jyväskylä and Oulu in 2009. In total, there were 32 mergers, involving 99 municipalities, that reduced

1612-400: The late 1920s functionalism. The work with a new town plan was started in the late 1920s, but the proposal was disputed; the inhabitants (and property owners) thought the roads were too wide. The architect also died in the middle of the process, which led to that a compromise could be reached as late as in 1937. The population grew only by 10% from 1917 to 1939, while the population right outside

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1664-572: The law was different in cities than in rural municipalities. On 6 February 1865, the modern municipalities were established as secular entities separate from the parishes. The reform was inspired by the Swedish municipal reforms of 1862 . Up to 1964, cities financed their own police and registry services. Until 1977 municipalities were divided into cities ( kaupunki , stad ), market towns ( kauppala , köping ) and rural municipalities ( maalaiskunta , landskommun ). The market town category

1716-514: The majority language (all but four in Ostrobothnia ) and 18 with Finnish as the majority language (all but five in Uusimaa region). Four municipalities in northern Lapland ( Utsjoki , Inari , Sodankylä and Enontekiö ) have one or all of the three Sami languages spoken in Finland as an official language. Finnish municipalities can choose to be called either kaupunki ( city or town ) or kunta (small town or rural municipality). Although

1768-533: The market town's borders grew significantly. Kauniainen has been officially bilingual since 1936 and the Finnish name Kauniainen was made official beside the Swedish name Grankulla in 1949 by the market town's council. Already in the 1930s the name Kauniainen was used by the railways and the post service. The era of the villas ended with the Second World War and was replaced by reconstruction and economically challenging times. The independence of Kauniainen as

1820-482: The modern era, many of them by Gustaf von Numers . In addition, municipalities like Vantaa since 2015 and Helsinki since 2017 have a logo distinct from their coat of arms. Distinctively, the Helsinki capital region , has no special arrangements. The area consists of four entirely independent cities that form a continuous conurbation . The Helsinki metropolitan area has grown in population and area relatively quickly:

1872-453: The motorway into Helsinki's city centre. The north-to-south Kehä II (Ring Road 2) passes the eastern corner of Kauniainen. Kauniainen is served by two commuter rail stations, Kauniainen and Koivuhovi , on the Rantarata line , which was opened in 1903. The railway has been important for the development of Kauniainen as a suburb of Helsinki. Trains leave appromaximately every 15 minutes and

1924-473: The municipalities vary, as the population is the primary criterion for forming a municipality. The largest municipalities in size are found in Lapland, of which the largest is Inari at 17,333.65 km (6,692.56 sq mi) (130 km square). The smallest municipalities are very small towns. Kaskinen is an independent town with a land area of only 10.49 km (4.05 sq mi). Kauniainen , which

1976-508: The municipality and position, but is generally nominal or modest: a regular council member is paid 70 euro on average on a per-meeting basis (2017). Municipal managers ( kaupunginjohtaja , stadsdirektör for cities, kunnanjohtaja , kommunsdirektör for other municipalities) are civil servants named by the council. The city manager of Helsinki is called ylipormestari / överborgmästare "Lord Mayor" for historical reasons. There were previously no mayors in Finland, but after

2028-442: The municipality of Espoo, to which the area of Kauniainen belonged, did not show much interest in the new community, the company was responsible for developing it; roads were built, a school founded, electricity arranged and the company lobbied for a railway station (opened in 1908) and a police office . In 1915 Kauniainen received a limited autonomy from Espoo and the role of the company declined. The first exact population figure

2080-451: The nearby municipalities, considered rural only 50 years ago, have become suburbs , and the growth is projected to continue. A state-imposed merger of Helsinki and a part of Sipoo , a rural, 40% Swedish-speaking municipality adjacent to the Helsinki metropolitan area, was approved by the government in 2006, counter to the opinion of the Sipoo municipal council. This area will effectively become

2132-402: The northern parts of Kauniainen for centuries, but the new railway between the same cities that opened in 1903 was crucial for the development of the area. The history of modern Kauniainen began in 1906 when a company, AB Grankulla , bought the land and sold it to people who wanted to have a villa outside the unhealthy city life in Helsinki. Several other similar communities were established at

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2184-551: The number of municipalities by 67. The year 2009 also marked the end of the last maalaiskunta , a municipality surrounding a city but sharing the name, in Jyväskylä . There were four mergers in 2010, six in 2011, ten in 2013, three in 2015, four in 2016, two in 2017, one in 2020 and one in 2021. In the period 2005–2021, the number of municipalities was voluntarily reduced from 444 to 309. In 2012, Katainen's government published an extensive plan aiming at merging municipalities to reach

2236-534: The ride to Helsinki Central railway station takes about 20 minutes. There are two regional bus lines which connect to Helsinki. There are also local bus lines which connect to various districts of Espoo . Kauniainen offers a very large range of services to its inhabitants, considering the size of the town. There are six schools in Kauniainen, spread out on three levels and two languages – Finnish and Swedish. Kauniainen has: There are three districts in Kauniainen called I, II and III. No districts are named because of

2288-485: The same time around Helsinki: Kulosaari , Haaga , Leppävaara and Puistola . The share holders, among them the "father" of the municipality Janne Thurman , could be satisfied with their investment; they got the invested money back in one year. The era of the villas had, however, begun a few years earlier, when Elia Heikel and Emil Lindstedt bought the area around lake Gallträsk and built the first villas. No properties sold were smaller than 3,000 square metres. Because

2340-556: The small size of the town. The only area that is viewed as a named district is Kasavuori ( Swedish : Kasaberget ) in the western part of the town. The following parties have seats in the city council of Kauniainen following the 2021 municipal election : * National Coalition and the Christian Democrats formed an electoral alliance. Results of the 2011 Finnish parliamentary election in Kauniainen: Kauniainen has

2392-420: The state of Finland is a separate legal person. Excluding judicial review of formal compliance to administrative law, municipalities are independent and not a part of a local state hierarchy. Municipalities cooperate in regions of Finland . State agencies have jurisdictions spanning one or more regions: each region is served by an ely-keskus ( elinkeino-, liikenne- ja ympäristökeskus ) on matters of employment,

2444-569: The status of a city (fi. kaupunki ) and the year after Finnish became the majority language of the inhabitants and Swedish the minority. The town had at the time 6,400 inhabitants. The commercial centre has been considered ugly and outdated for more than 20 years and a new development plan for the town centre was approved in May 2006. The project begun in December 2006 when the first building was demolished. The population surpassed 10,000 inhabitants in 2020. At

2496-501: The villa milieu would be kept, but that the number of inhabitants would be significantly raised, from 2,500 to 10,000, and that the unmodern villas would be replaced by new ones. Also apartment buildings should be built. A new commercial centre was planned next to the railway station with Vällingby in Stockholm as a model. The plans for Kasavuori were approved in 1959 and for the rest of the market town in 1961 and 1963. The commercial centre

2548-456: The voters. The size of the council is proportional to the population, the extremes being 9 in Sottunga and 85 in Helsinki . A subsection of the council, the municipal executive board ( kunnanhallitus ), controls the municipal government and monitors the implementation of decisions of the council. Its decisions must be approved by the council. Unlike national cabinets, its composition is derived from

2600-496: Was abolished and these were renamed as cities. The rest of the municipalities were classified as 'other municipalities'. All municipalities called maalaiskunta were eventually either merged to their parent cities or changed their names. From 1995 onwards only 'municipality' is recognized by law and any municipality is allowed to call itself a city. Not all municipalities have an obvious urban center; indeed, rural municipalities are often composed of distributed rural villages. Although

2652-513: Was inaugurated in 1966. The town plan has later been criticised because the unique villa environment was disrupted and many of the beautiful villas were demolished. A skiing centre was planned in Kasavuori of the same type as Holmenkollen in Oslo , but the plans were never realised. Today this area is protected. The number of inhabitants grew rapidly; in 1967 by as much as 25%. In 1972 Kauniainen gained

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2704-677: Was originally a corporation in Espoo , is only 6.00 km (2.32 sq mi). Municipalities were originally parishes . The old word for a municipality is pitäjä , 'keeper', because when the system was instituted, one municipality kept one minister. Municipalities were divided into villages, which consisted of individual properties. Borders between properties and thus municipalities were defined by oral agreements passed down from generation to generation; usually along straight lines between defined markers such as boulders. Medieval documentation survives only from legal disputes concerning borders. In

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