Kerava

Sister cities

• Trollhättan Municipality
• Hjørring
• Vladimir
• Kristiansand Municipality
• Arumeru District
• Solt
• Ogre
• Reykjanesbær
• Aschersleben
• Keila

History

Until the Middle Ages, Kerava was a wilderness, until two villages, Ylikerava ("Upper Kerava") and Alikerava ("Lower Kerava"), were created along the Kerava River (Keravanjoki). The first signs of established village settlement date back to the 1440s. Kerava was annexed to Tuusula when the Tuusula parish was founded in 1643. In 1862, the railway between Helsinki and Hämeenlinna was opened, which quickly brought industry to agricultural Kerava; the carpentry factory in Kerava was established in 1908, and the wood industry became an important factor in the development of the town. The coat of arms designed by Ahti Hammar features a woodworking joints made by a carpenter. In 1924, Kerava was separated from Tuusula as its own township. At that time, it had a population of about 3,000. Originally, it also included part of the Korso area, and Korso railway station was also located in the township area. However, from 1954 onwards, the entire Korso was annexed to the then Helsinki Rural Municipality. During the peak periods of the late 1960s and 1970s, the population almost doubled due to immigration and good transport connections, and new suburbs were created in Kurkela, Kilta and Untola. Kerava was officially granted town rights in 1970.

Geography

Kerava is located in the north of the Helsinki metropolitan area, 27 kilometres north of Helsinki. The city is crossed by the (Helsinki-) Kerava–Lahti railway line and the Lahdenväylä motorway and the Keravanjoki river. Keravanjoki is a tributary of the Vantaanjoki river. Its neighbours are Vantaa to the south, Tuusula to the west and Sipoo to the east. Kerava forms an almost uniform urban area, which can be roughly divided into the centre and Savio in the south and Ahjo in the east. The centre of Kerava is surrounded by several radial streets. A pedestrian street runs through the centre under the railway, which is said to be the longest in Finland (850 metres). Kerava is divided into 10 neighbourhoods. {| class="prettytable sortable" style="text-align:left;" ! Number ! Name |- | 1 || Kaleva |- | 2 || Kilta |- | 3 || Sompio |- | 4 || Keskusta |- | 5 || Ahjo |- | 6 || Savio |- | 7 || Ylikerava |- | 8 || Kaskela |- | 9 || Alikerava |- | 10 || Jokivarsi |}

Most-observed species

• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  36
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  33
• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  28
• White Stork

  Ciconia ciconia (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  27
• Common Chaffinch

  Fringilla coelebs Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  27
• White Wagtail

  Motacilla alba Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  25
• Peacock

  Aglais io (Linnaeus, 1758) · Insecta
  24
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  23