Huittinen (Swedish: Vittis) is a Finnish city located in the
province of Satakunta. The city belongs to the Pori region. The city
has a population of 10,029 and an area of 539.59 km2, of which 6.95
km2 are water bodies. The population density is 18.83 inhabitants /
km2. Huittinen's neighboring municipalities are Kokemäki, Loimaa,
Punkalaidun, Sastamala and Säkylä.
In 1892, Kauvatsa was
separated from Huittinen as its own municipality, which was merged
into the neighboring municipality Kokemäki in 1969, and Keiky in
1919, which was merged with Kiika into Äetsä municipality in 1981.
Vampula has also been part of Huittis before, and was reunited with
Huitti in early 2009. In addition to these, Huittinen's former
neighboring municipalities are Alastaro, which was merged with Loima
in 2009, and Köyliö, which was merged with Säkylä in 2016. Huittinen
became a township at the beginning of 1972, and in connection with
the closure of townships in 1977. The coat of arms of Huittinen was
designed by Erkki Honkanen and strengthened in 1953.
The largest water body in Huittinen is the
Kokemäenjoki River, which initially flows to the southwest, but
turns northwest in the municipality towards Poria. It is joined by
the main tributary Loimijoki and the smaller Punkalaitumenjoki and
Sammunjoki. There are no more lakes in the Huittinen area, but
instead there are extensive bogs in the northwestern part. The
southern end of Puurijärvi and Isosuo National Park extends to
Huittinen and the park's information center is in the former
Karhiniemi school.
Huittinen is mostly flat in surface shape
and the lowest areas are located along rivers in the central part of
the city. The bedrock, which is mostly granodiorite in Huittinen, is
not visible anywhere in the city. The highest hills, reaching more
than 100 meters above sea level, are located in the south in the
direction of Vampula. Well-known vantage points are Ripovuori,
Kymmenvuori and Korkeakallio. A ridge section runs through
Huittinen, which comes from the northwest on the Kokemäki side and
continues through Huhtamo to the Punkalaitumen side.
In 1904, in the area of Huittinen, Palojoki, one of Finland's most
famous antiquities was discovered, a deer-shaped percussion weapon
dating back to the Stone Age. It is deposited in the National
Museum. In addition to the finds, there is a comb-ceramic residence
in Korkeakoski and a younger burial ground in the village of Sammu,
as well as some cemeteries. Researchers have concluded that
Huittinen received its first inhabitants mainly from the northwest,
downstream of the Kokemäenjoki River.
Huittinen was mentioned
as a parish priest in 1414. The gray stone church of Huittinen was
built in the late 15th century. The church burned down in 1783 and a
high tower was added to it during the renovation. On flat terrain,
the tower is visible far into the surroundings. Before the stone
church, Huittinen has had a wooden church, possibly two.
There were 300 farmhouses in the Suur-Huittinen area at the
beginning of the 16th century, but at the end of the same century
there were another hundred deserted houses. During the great famine
of 1696–1697, more than 800 inhabitants of the parish are reported
to have died. In his travelogue from 1738 to 1741, statistician
Ulrik Rudenschöld gave a rather positive picture of Huittinen's
agriculture and suggested channeling the Kokemäenjoki River and
establishing a town in the village of Karhiniemi. The Kokemäenjoki
River was cleared in the late 18th century to prevent flood damage.
Juusela's estate in the village of Nanhia has been considered
the home of the Juslenius family. The most famous member of the
family was Bishop Daniel Juslenius. The pastor of Nils Idman, a
pastor known for his economic and scientific hobbies, also came from
the same house. Archbishop Erkki Kaila's father Jonatan Johansson
served as Huittinen's parishioner in the 1860s.
Huittinen's
city center, Lauttakylä, became the most important land transport
hub in southwestern Finland long before the car era. The railways
were far away and the waterways were not navigable over long
distances. However, the passenger ship from Lauttakylä runs along
the Kokemäenjoki River to the Kyttälä railway station on the Tampere
– Pori line, right from the completion of the line until the 1930s.
The ferry village was born at the crossroads of the old Helsinki –
Pori and Turku – Tampere roads, where the Loimijoki was crossed by
ferry. Bus traffic from Lauttakylä in all directions began in the
early 1920s.
After the last wars, the migrants of Pyhäjärvi
(Vpl) and Sakkola were inhabited in Huittinen.