Pargas (former municipality)

Pargas (Finland Swedish: [ˈpɑrːɡɑs]; Finnish: Parainen, pronounced [ˈpɑrɑi̯nen]) is a former town and municipality in south-western Finland. On 1 January 2009, it was consolidated with Houtskär, Iniö, Korpo and Nagu to form the new municipality of Väståboland (since renamed to Pargas).

Pargas Pargas – Parainen
Former town
Pargas stad Paraisten kaupunki
Coat of arms
Location of Pargas in Finland
Coordinates: 60°18′N 022°18′E
Country	Finland
Region	Southwest Finland
Sub-region	Åboland
Charter	1948
Town privileges	1977
Consolidated	2009
Government
• City manager	Folke Öhman
Area [1]
• Total	476.73 km2 (184.07 sq mi)
• Land	273.18 km2 (105.48 sq mi)
• Water	203.55 km2 (78.59 sq mi)
Population  (2008-12-31)[2]
• Total	12,266
• Density	26/km2 (67/sq mi)
Population by native language
• Finnish	45% (official)
• Swedish	54% (official)
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)

It is known as the "capital" of the archipelago of Turku and had been called a town since 1977. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Southwest Finland region. The town had a population of 12,266 (as of 31 December 2008)^[2] and covered a land area of 273.18 square kilometres (105.48 sq mi).^[1] The population density was 44.9 inhabitants per square kilometre (116/sq mi).

The municipality was bilingual, with the majority (54%) being Swedish and the minority (45%) Finnish speakers.

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

View from Airisto harbour, Stormälö

International relations

Main article: List of twin towns and sister cities in Finland

Twin towns — Sister cities

The sister cities of Pargas are

• Haninge, Sweden
• Ulstein, Norway
• Chudovo, Russia
• Kärdla, Estonia