Pargas (ˈpɑrɡɑs; , ˈpɑrɑinen) is a former town and municipality in south-western Finland. On 1 January 2009, it was consolidated with Houtskär

Houtskär

Houtskär is a former municipality of Finland. On 1 January 2009, it was consolidated with Iniö, Korpo, Nagu and Pargas to form the new town of Väståboland....

, Iniö

Iniö

Iniö is a former municipality of Finland. On 1 January 2009, it was consolidated with Houtskär, Korpo, Nagu and Pargas to form the new town of Väståboland....

, Korpo

Korpo

Korpo is a former municipality of Finland. On 1 January 2009, it was consolidated with Houtskär, Iniö, Nagu and Pargas to form the new town of Väståboland.It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Finland Proper region...

 and Nagu

Nagu

Nagu is a former municipality of Finland. On 1 January 2009, it was consolidated with Houtskär, Iniö, Korpo and Pargas to form the new town of Väståboland....

 to form the new town of Väståboland

Väståboland

Väståboland is a municipality of Finland, in the Archipelago Sea. The big limestone mine in Pargas is the base of the main industry, while there is still significant rural areas. Except the central parts of Pargas the municipality is mostly rural....

.

It is known as the "capital" of the archipelago of Turku and had been a city since 1977. It is located in the province

Provinces of Finland

The state of Finland consisted of six provinces between the years 1997 and 2009. The provincial authority was part of the central government's executive branch, not directly elected. The system was created in 1634, and its makeup was changed drastically in 1997, when the number of the provinces...

 of Western Finland

Western Finland

Western Finland was a province of Finland from 1997 to 2010. It bordered the provinces of Oulu, Eastern Finland and Southern Finland. It also bordered the Gulf of Bothnia towards Åland.- History :...

 and is part of the Finland Proper region

Regions of Finland

Finland consists of 19 regions called in Finnish and in Swedish. The regions are governed by regional councils, which serve as forums of cooperation for the municipalities of a region. The main tasks of the regions are regional planning and development of enterprise and education. In addition,...

. The town had a population of 12,266 (as of 31 December 2008) and covered a land area of 273.18 square kilometres (105.5 sq mi). The population density

Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 44.9 PD/km2.

The municipality was bilingual, with the majority (54%) being Swedish

Swedish language

Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...

 and the minority (45%) Finnish

Finnish language

Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...

 speakers.

The city has many little suburbs around it, including Kirjala and Lielax.

Twin towns — Sister cities

The sister cities of Pargas are
Haninge

Haninge Municipality

Haninge Municipality is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located in Handen.Haninge Municipality was formed in 1971 when Västerhaninge and Österhaninge were united....

, Sweden Ulstein

Ulstein

Ulstein is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The commercial and administrative centre of Ulstein is Ulsteinvik, population 5,251 . The municipality occupies the western half of the island of Hareidlandet, as well as about 30 or more smaller...

, Norway Chudovo

Chudovo

Chudovo is a town and the administrative center of Chudovsky District of Novgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the Kerest River . It lies on the M10 federal highway connecting Moscow and St. Petersburg, north of Veliky Novgorod and south of St. Petersburg...

, Russia Kärdla

Kärdla

Kärdla is the largest town on the Estonian island of Hiiumaa and the capital of Hiiu County.-Geography:Kärdla is located on the north-eastern coast of Hiiumaa, by the Gulf of Tareste . Southeast of the town is the Kärdla meteorite crater, which is 455 million years old.Several small rivers flow...

, Estonia

External links

• Official website – in Swedish and Finnish