Karkkila (; ) is a town and a municipality of Finland.

Neighboring municipalities are Lohja, Loppi, Tammela and Vihti.

Geography

Karkkila is located in the Uusimaa region. The municipality has a population of () The place was originally known as Pahajärvi ("bad lake"), but the name became established as Pyhäjärvi ("holy lake") in the late 17th or 18th century. The borough area consisted mainly of the villages of Nyhkälä and Karkkila. The growth and industrialization of Karkkila has been affected by the now closed narrow-gauge Hyvinkää–Karkkila railway. Later, the municipality of Pyhäjärvi was merged with the Karkkila borough in 1969. Officially, the Karkkila borough became a town in 1977. In the 2022 county election of Finland, the Left Alliance rose to the top again making Karkkila the only municipality in Finland where the majority of votes where given to the Left.

Results of the 2019 parliamentary election of Finland in Karkkila:

  • Social Democratic Party 25.8%
  • The Finns Party 19.7%
  • Left Alliance 13.4%
  • National Coalition Party 11.1%
  • Green League 9.2%
  • Centre Party 9.1%
  • Movement Now 4.0%
  • Christian Democrats 2.4%
  • Blue Reform 1.3%
  • Swedish People's Party 1.1%

The results of the municipal elections in Karkkila in 2021:

  • Joint list of Karkkilaan Sitoutuneet 29%
  • Social Democratic Party 16.4%
  • National Coalition Party 16%
  • Left Alliance 14.2%
  • The Finns Party 9%
  • Centre Party 7.1%
  • The Greens 1%
  • Christian Democrats 1%
  • Communist Party of Finland 0.4%

Personalities

  • Movie director Aki Kaurismäki lives in Karkkila.
  • Famous Finnish curler Markku Uusipaavalniemi comes from Karkkila.
  • Sampsa Astala, better known as Kita from the hard rock band Lordi, spent most of his teenage years living in Karkkila.

International relations

Twin towns - Sister cities

Karkkila was a member of the Douzelage, a unique town twinning association of 24 towns across the European Union. This active town twinning began in 1991 and there are regular events, such as a produce market from each of the other countries and festivals. Karkkila was replaced by Asikkala as the Finnish town in the association in 2016.

References

  • Official site