Finland - Kokkola

Kokkola, or Karleby in Swedish, is a town and municipality of Finland. The town is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Central Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of 36 516 (2007) and covers an area of 332.44 km² of which 4.92 km² is water. The population density is 107.6 inhabitants per km². The municipality is bilingual with 81.0% being Finnish and 17.9% Swedish speakers.

The Name of the Town

The Finnish name Kokkola means 'The place of bonfire' or 'The place of eagle' since the Finnish word kokko has two meanings: bonfire and white-tailed eagle (the suffix '-la' denotes a location). The town was known in Swedish by the name Gamlakarleby until January 1, 1977 when the surrounding land municipality of Kaarlela (swe. Karleby) was united with Kokkola, and the town took over the Swedish name of Karleby. Gamla means 'old', Karl means 'man' or 'peasant' and by means 'village'. So it literally means Old village of peasants. The Latin name was Carolina Vetus.