Kristiinankaupunki has a population of 6,485 and covers an area
of 1,678.98 km², of which 14.50 km² is inland water and 981.44 km²
is sea. The population density is 9.49 inhabitants / km². The city
is bilingual, and 40.9% of its inhabitants speak Finnish and 55.1%
Swedish as their mother tongue.
Kristiinankaupunki is the
longest currently used municipal name in Finland. The shorter name
of the city is also Kristiina.
History
Kristiinankaupunki and Tiukka were first mentioned in
official writings in 1303. The area of the city was originally
inhabited by Häme residents. At that time, immigrants from Sweden
were allowed to settle in the "land of the people of Häme".
In the 16th century, farmers in the area sought permission to build
a town at the mouth of the Tiukanjoki River. At that time, the
nearest city, Vaasa, was a long way away and transporting goods on
winding and bumpy roads required hard work.
Kristiinankaupunki was founded in 1649 on the island of Koppö, the
parish of Lapäärtt, and the city was initially renamed Koppöstad. On
March 1, 1651, Governor-General Peter Brahe renamed the city
Kristinae Stadh (Swedish: Christinae Stadh). Brahe named the city
after the current queen Kristiina, but it is very possible that she
also thought of her own wife, Countess Kristina Katarina Stenbock,
who died in 1650. Surveyor Claes Claesson drew a town plan for the
city at the request of Peter Brahe in 1651 according to a
Renaissance grid pattern. The town plan is still largely in use.
Kristiinankaupunki became an important shipping city. In the
19th century, Kristiinankaupunki housed one of the largest merchant
fleets in the country. The countryside surrounding the city
developed in the late 19th century. The crown distillery was located
in Tiuka and several mills were located on the banks of the
Tiukanjoki river.
On January 31, 1918, the Battle of
Kristiinankaupunki was fought, which was the only battle between
reds and whites in Southern Ostrobothnia during the Finnish Civil
War.
The current Kristiinankaupunki has included the former
municipalities of Tiukka, Siipyy and Lapväärtti since 1973, in
addition to the center of Kristiinankaupunki.