Pargas

Pargas has a large limestone industry, with the industry and Nordkalk as an important local employer, agriculture employs many in the rural regions of the municipality. Furthermore, the shipping industry is a relevant industry in the region.{{cite web|url=http://www.helsinkitimes.fi/themes/themes/travel/13201-discovering-swedish-speaking-municipalities-pargas.html|title=Discovering Swedish-speaking municipalities: Pargas|website=Helsinkitimes.fi|date=22 January 2015 |access-date=28 December 2017}} The municipality is suffering from high debt.{{cite web|url=http://svenska.yle.fi/nyheter/artikel.php?id=224680|title=Ekonomin högst upp på den väståboländska agendan|website=Svenska.yle.fi|access-date=28 December 2017}}

Archaeological excavations revealed that the vikings used to travel to the archipelago in the 9th century.

Karin Thomasdotter (1610–1697), who served as vogt in Pargas for over forty years, was one of the longest serving vogts, and also one of only two females to have the position in contemporary Finland.[http://www.kansallisbiografia.fi/kb/artikkeli/3913/ Suomen kansallisbiografia (National Biography of Finland])Ohlander, Ann-Sofie. Tusen svenska kvinnoår, 2008. Upplaga 3. uppl.

On 1 January 2009, Pargas, Nagu, Korpo, Houtskär and Iniö merged to form the new municipality of Väståboland ({{langx|fi|Länsi-Turunmaa}}).

Shortly after the merge, people started debating if the Väståboland name was the right name for the merged municipality; those arguing against the Väståboland name proposed Pargas as a 'new' name. The former municipalities could not agree on a new name, and Pargas insisted on a change, so the state had to step in and decided that the name would be Väståboland.{{cite web|url=http://hbl.fi/nyheter/2008-06-19/det-blev-vastaboland-stad|title=Det blev Väståboland stad|website=Hbl.fi|access-date=28 December 2017}} The debates became heated and a referendum was arranged to decide what name the municipality should have in May 2011.{{cite web|url=http://www.vastaboland.fi/web/kungorelser/2011/sv_SE/namnomrostning/|title=Folkomröstning angående stadens namn|first=Ch5 Finland|last=Oy|website=Vastaboland.fi|access-date=28 December 2017}} The result of the referendum showed that 57,7% of the voters supported Pargas and 40.1% of voters supported Väståboland. Though the overall majority supported changing the name, there was an overwhelming support for the name Väståboland in 4 out of 5 of the former municipalities. In Iniö, only 1 voter out of 173 total voted for Pargas, in all four, 62 out of 2060, while in Pargas proper, 74,5% voted for Pargas.{{cite web|url=http://www.vastaboland.fi/web/kungorelser/2011/sv_SE/folkomrostning_resultat/|title=Rådgivande kommunal folkomröstning 22.5 - resultat|first=Ch5 Finland|last=Oy|website=Vastaboland.fi|access-date=28 December 2017}}

The municipality council ({{langx|sv|"Fullmäktige"}}) decided on 14 June 2011 in favour of the majority population and decided to rename the municipality Pargas on 1 January 2012.{{cite web|url=http://hbl.fi/lokalt/2011-06-14/vastaboland-blir-pargas|title=Väståboland blir Pargas|website=Hbl.fi|access-date=28 December 2017}} The Council considered taking this issue up again for debate and vote.{{cite web|url=http://svenska.yle.fi/nyheter/artikel.php?id=224675|title=Regeringen ändrar på förutsättningen för namnfrågan|website=Svenska.yle.fi|access-date=28 December 2017}} The council made a re-vote on 6 September 2011 with 25 votes for Pargas, 17 for Väståboland and 1 blank vote.{{cite web|url=http://www.vastaboland.fi/web/aktuellt/2011/sv_SE/stadens_namn_september/|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120917223644/http://www.vastaboland.fi/web/aktuellt/2011/sv_SE/stadens_namn_september/|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 September 2012|title=Fullmäktige beslöt om stadens namn|first=Ch5 Finland|last=Oy|website=Vastaboland.fi|access-date=28 December 2017}}

The possibility of merging with Kimitoön to form a single municipality that would include the entire Åboland archipelago has been discussed since 2007, with interest being reignited by the healthcare reforms during the Sipilä Cabinet.{{cite web|url=http://svenska.yle.fi/nyheter/artikel.php?id=224699|title="Åboländsk storkommun måste diskuteras"|website=Svenska.yle.fi|access-date=28 December 2017}}

Pargas has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb) closely bordering on an oceanic climate (Cfb).

{{Weather box

|location = Pargas (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1959–present)

|metric first = Y

|single line = Y

|width = 60%

|Jan record high C = 7.7

|Feb record high C = 6.7

|Mar record high C = 11.6

|Apr record high C = 15.9

|May record high C = 21.5

|Jun record high C = 25.9

|Jul record high C = 29.2

|Aug record high C = 27.1

|Sep record high C = 22.3

|Oct record high C = 17.0

|Nov record high C = 12.8

|Dec record high C = 9.2

|year record high C = 29.2

|Jan high C = 1.4

|Feb high C = 0.2

|Mar high C = 1.8

|Apr high C = 5.6

|May high C = 10.7

|Jun high C = 15.6

|Jul high C = 19.8

|Aug high C = 19.6

|Sep high C = 15.3

|Oct high C = 9.9

|Nov high C = 5.9

|Dec high C = 3.5

|year high C =

|Jan mean C = -0.2

|Feb mean C = -1.4

|Mar mean C = 0.1

|Apr mean C = 3.5

|May mean C = 8.3

|Jun mean C = 13.4

|Jul mean C = 17.6

|Aug mean C = 17.7

|Sep mean C = 13.6

|Oct mean C = 8.5

|Nov mean C = 4.6

|Dec mean C = 2.0

|year mean C =

|Jan low C = -1.8

|Feb low C = -3.0

|Mar low C = -1.6

|Apr low C = 1.4

|May low C = 5.8

|Jun low C = 11.1

|Jul low C = 15.4

|Aug low C = 15.7

|Sep low C = 11.9

|Oct low C = 7.0

|Nov low C = 3.2

|Dec low C = 0.5

|year low C =

|Jan record low C = -27.6

|Feb record low C = -28.0

|Mar record low C = -21.2

|Apr record low C = -11.4

|May record low C = -1.2

|Jun record low C = 0.8

|Jul record low C = 7.0

|Aug record low C = 7.4

|Sep record low C = 0.6

|Oct record low C = -4.5

|Nov record low C = -9.9

|Dec record low C = -22.4

|year record low C = -28.0

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 44

|Feb precipitation mm = 34

|Mar precipitation mm = 32

|Apr precipitation mm = 24

|May precipitation mm = 28

|Jun precipitation mm = 42

|Jul precipitation mm = 47

|Aug precipitation mm = 57

|Sep precipitation mm = 57

|Oct precipitation mm = 66

|Nov precipitation mm = 62

|Dec precipitation mm = 57

|year precipitation mm = 551

|source 1 = Extreme Weather Watch[https://www.extremeweatherwatch.com/cities/parainen Parainen Weather Records]{{better source needed|date=November 2022}}

}}

{{Weather box

|location = Parainen Fagerholm (1991-2020 normals, records 1993-present)

|metric first = Yes

|single line = Yes

|collapsed = Yes

|Jan record high C= 8.5

|Feb record high C= 8.9

|Mar record high C= 11.6

|Apr record high C= 20.1

|May record high C= 25.8

|Jun record high C= 28.2

|Jul record high C= 31.7

|Aug record high C= 30.5

|Sep record high C= 24.6

|Oct record high C= 17.0

|Nov record high C= 14.1

|Dec record high C= 9.7

|year record high C= 31.7

|Jan high C = 0.5

|Feb high C = -0.7

|Mar high C = 1.8

|Apr high C = 6.7

|May high C = 12.3

|Jun high C = 17.0

|Jul high C = 20.5

|Aug high C = 19.8

|Sep high C = 15.3

|Oct high C = 9.7

|Nov high C = 5.5

|Dec high C = 2.7

|year high C = 9.3

|Jan mean C = -1.3

|Feb mean C = -2.6

|Mar mean C = -0.6

|Apr mean C = 3.5

|May mean C = 9.1

|Jun mean C = 14.0

|Jul mean C = 17.8

|Aug mean C = 17.4

|Sep mean C = 13.2

|Oct mean C = 8.0

|Nov mean C = 4.0

|Dec mean C = 1.2

|year mean C = 7.0

|Jan low C = -3.6

|Feb low C = -5.2

|Mar low C = -3.5

|Apr low C = 0.8

|May low C = 5.8

|Jun low C = 11.1

|Jul low C = 15.2

|Aug low C = 15.1

|Sep low C = 11.3

|Oct low C = 6.5

|Nov low C = 2.4

|Dec low C = -0.7

|year low C = 4.6

|Jan record low C= -26.8

|Feb record low C= -25.7

|Mar record low C= -20.8

|Apr record low C= -11.3

|May record low C= -1.2

|Jun record low C= 4.2

|Jul record low C= 9.6

|Aug record low C= 8.2

|Sep record low C= 3.5

|Oct record low C= -4.0

|Nov record low C= -12.0

|Dec record low C= -20.3

|year record low C= -26.8

|unit precipitation days= 0.1 mm

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 56

|Feb precipitation mm = 39

|Mar precipitation mm = 36

|Apr precipitation mm = 30

|May precipitation mm = 29

|Jun precipitation mm = 46

|Jul precipitation mm = 52

|Aug precipitation mm = 62

|Sep precipitation mm = 59

|Oct precipitation mm = 72

|Nov precipitation mm = 70

|Dec precipitation mm = 67

|year precipitation mm= 617

|Jan precipitation days = 17

|Feb precipitation days = 13

|Mar precipitation days = 12

|Apr precipitation days = 11

|May precipitation days = 9

|Jun precipitation days = 10

|Jul precipitation days = 10

|Aug precipitation days = 13

|Sep precipitation days = 13

|Oct precipitation days = 16

|Nov precipitation days = 18

|Dec precipitation days = 19

|year precipitation days = 161

| source 1 = https://www.ilmatieteenlaitos.fi/ilmastollinen-vertailukausi

| source 2 = https://kilotavu.com/asema-taulukko.php?asema=100924

}}

{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Finland}}

Pargas is twinned with:

• {{flagicon|SWE}} Haninge Municipality, Sweden

{{-}}

• Utö Island

{{Reflist}}

{{commons category-inline|Pargas}}

• [https://www.pargas.fi/en/ Town of Pargas] – Official website

{{Geographic location

| Centre = Pargas

| N = Kustavi, Naantali, Turku

| NE = Kaarina

| E = Sauvo
Kimitoön

| S = Baltic Sea

| SW = Kökar (Åland) / Archipelago Sea

| W = Sottunga (Åland) / Archipelago Sea

| NW = Brändö (Åland) / Kihti

}}

{{FinlandProper}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pargas}}

Category:Cities and towns in Finland

Category:Populated coastal places in Finland

Category:Populated places established in 2009

Category:Municipalities of Southwest Finland

Category:2009 establishments in Finland