Taivassalo

Taivassalo (Finnish: [ˈtɑi̯ʋɑˌsːɑlo]; Swedish: Tövsala) is a municipality of Finland, about 50 kilometres (31 mi) from the city of Turku. It is located in the Southwest Finland region. The municipality has a population of 1,690 (31 December 2024)^[2] and covers an area of 217.68 square kilometres (84.05 sq mi) of which 77.23 km² (29.82 sq mi) is water.^[1] The population density is 12.04 inhabitants per square kilometre (31.2/sq mi).

Taivassalo Tövsala
Municipality
Taivassalon kunta Tövsala kommun
Taivassalo Church
Coat of arms
Location of Taivassalo in Finland
Coordinates: 60°33.7′N 021°36.5′E
Country	Finland
Region	Southwest Finland
Sub-region	Vakka-Suomi
Founded	1155
Government
• Municipal manager	Sanna Häkli
Area  (2018-01-01)[1]
• Total	217.68 km2 (84.05 sq mi)
• Land	140.33 km2 (54.18 sq mi)
• Water	77.23 km2 (29.82 sq mi)
• Rank	284th largest in Finland
Population  (2024-12-31)[2]
• Total	1,690
• Rank	271st largest in Finland
• Density	12.04/km2 (31.2/sq mi)
Population by native language [3]
• Finnish	92.2% (official)
• Swedish	1.1%
• Others	6.7%
Population by age [4]
• 0 to 14	13.4%
• 15 to 64	52.6%
• 65 or older	34%
Time zone	UTC+02:00 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Climate	Dfb
Website	www.taivassalo.fi

The municipality is unilingually Finnish. Its neighboring municipalities are Kustavi, Masku, Mynämäki, Naantali, Uusikaupunki and Vehmaa.

The medieval sailing ship appearing in the coat of arms of Taivassalo refers to the maritime connections the coastguard already had during the Northern Crusades, as well as to the medieval naval weaponry, the surviving information of which comes from Taivassalo itself. The coat of arms was designed by Olof Eriksson, and the Taivassalo municipal council approved it at its meeting on October 21, 1953. The Ministry of the Interior approved the coat of arms for use on February 11, 1954.^[5][6]

Name

Taivassalo literally means "sky island", however J. A. Lopmeri and Elias Lönnrot theorized that the initial word was originally taival/taipale, as the area was originally an island, by the time of the naming it may have been connected to the mainland by a thin isthmus (taipale) as a result of post-glacial rebound. The Swedish name Tövsala is an adaptation of the Finnish name.^[7]

History

Taivassalo was first mentioned in 1350 as Thowesalu, when it was already a separate parish. It also included Velkua, Kustavi (originally Kivimaa) and Iniö until the 19th century. ^[8][9]

Notable people

• Emma Irene Åström (1847–1934)
• Reima Salonen (born 1955)

References

1. "Area of Finnish Municipalities 1.1.2018" (PDF). National Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
2. "Population increased most in Uusimaa in 2024". Population structure. Statistics Finland. 2025-01-23. ISSN 1797-5395. Retrieved 2025-01-23.
3. "Population growth biggest in nearly 70 years". Population structure. Statistics Finland. 2024-04-26. ISSN 1797-5395. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
4. "Population according to age (1-year) and sex by area and the regional division of each statistical reference year, 2003–2020". StatFin. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
5. Suomen kunnallisvaakunat (in Finnish). Suomen Kunnallisliitto. 1982. p. 165. ISBN 951-773-085-3.
6. "Sisäasiainministeriön vahvistamat kaupunkien, kauppaloiden ja kuntien vaakunat I:13 Taivassalo" (in Finnish). Kansallisarkiston digitaaliarkisto. Retrieved 2022-07-04.
7. "SuomalainenPaikannimikirja_e-kirja_kuvallinen.pdf" (PDF). kaino.kotus.fi (in Finnish). p. 442. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
8. "SuomalainenPaikannimikirja_e-kirja_kuvallinen.pdf" (PDF). kaino.kotus.fi (in Finnish). p. 442. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
9. "Suomen Sukututkimusseura". hiski.genealogia.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved December 28, 2022.

External links

Media related to Taivassalo at Wikimedia Commons

• Municipality of Taivassalo – Official website