About Uusikaupunki

Uusikaupunki was originally founded in the village of Männäinen in the parish of Uusikirkko, on May 17, 1616. The town was founded in its current place on April 19, 1617, which is considered the official founding day of Uusikaupunki. Uusikaupunki was the capital of Vasaborg county between 1646 and 1681.

Region

Uusikaupunki belongs to the Vakka-Suomi region. Vakka-Suomi includes two towns; Laitila and Uusikaupunki, and four municipalities; Kustavi, Pyhäranta, Taivassalo and Vehmaa. At the end of 2018, the whole of Vakka-Suomi had 31,248 inhabitants and Uusikaupunki had 15,700 inhabitants.

The network of sub-regional towns is a cooperation network including 56 towns that functions on a voluntary basis. Sub-regional towns act as the centre or one of two centres of their region and economic area, without being provincial centres. Sub-regional towns have just under one million inhabitants and over 60,000 businesses operate in them. Sub-regional towns are tranquil places, where one can combine work and family with versatile and high-quality leisure time in an easy and effortless manner. The Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities coordinates and acts as a platform for the network and provides expert support in the network’s operations. 

Location

• Western Finland
• Varsinais-Suomi sub-region
• By the coast of the Gulf of Bothnia
• About 70 km northwest of Turku
• 45 km south of Rauma
• 170 km southwest of Tampere

Transport connections

• the nearest airport with regular scheduled flights is located in Turku (70 km)
• the nearest small airport is the Piikajärvi airport (77 km)
• the nearest goods railway station is in Uusikaupunki
• the nearest passenger railway station is in Turku (70 km)
• the nearest national road no. 8 (Turku-Pori) is 18 km away in Laitila
• Hepokari and Yara harbours, with 7 and 10-metre fairways
• guest marina Pakkahuone (coordinates: 60°47.9´ / 21°24.4´)

Official flag day

The official flag day of Uusikaupunki is April 19, i.e., the founding day of Uusikaupunki. It is recommended that not only the City, but also state agencies, institutions, companies and individuals raise the flag on the flag day.

Uusikaupunki Coat of Arms

The coat of arms of Uusikaupunki is based on an old stamp issued in 1617 at a time when Gustav II Adolf was in the process of granting Uusikaupunki town privileges. The image was updated into its current form by Ahti Hammar, who has also designed the coats of arms of several other municipalities.

Uusikaupunki's coat of arms has two blue pikes on a silver background and, in reference to the Kingdom of Sweden, there is a golden crown at the top of the image with three rubies and two topazes. The colours of the gems, red and blue, represent their natural colour.

The colours in the coat of arms were copied from the coat of arms of the count of Wasaborg. Uusikaupunki was the centre of the county of Wasaborg in 1646-80. The current coat of arms was introduced in 1960.

The coat of arms is intended for use by the town. If an association, organisation or company operating in Uusikaupunki wants to use the coat of arms, they must obtain permission from the City. The mayor is responsible for issuing such permits.

Provincial pennant

Uusikaupunki has a provincial pennant that was designed by the Uusikaupunki Lions Club, which includes a pike pattern that also appears in the City's coat of arms. Pennants may be purchased at, for example, Uusikaupunki tourist office. You can choose from two sizes; length 3 m or 4.5 m. Pennants cost €70 or €80 depending on their size.

The pennant is normally used as an indication that a family is at home or in the cottage. Pennants are easy to use, as they can be flown day and night. However, on official flag days, pennants should be replaced with the Finnish flag.