Loviisa

Loviisa (Finnish: [ˈloʋiːsɑ]; Swedish: Lovisa [luˈviːsɑ] ; formerly Degerby) is a town in Finland, located on the southern coast of the country. Loviisa is situated in the eastern part of the Uusimaa region. The population of Loviisa is approximately 14,000, while the sub-region has a population of approximately 17,000. It is the 78th most populous municipality in Finland. Loviisa is located 90 kilometres (56 mi) from Helsinki and 38 kilometres (24 mi) from Porvoo. The municipality covers an area of 1,751.52 square kilometres (676.27 sq mi) of which 931.92 km2 (359.82 sq mi) is water. The population density is 17.32 inhabitants per square kilometre (44.9/sq mi). The neighboring municipalities of Liljendal, Pernå and Ruotsinpyhtää were consolidated with Loviisa on 1 January 2010. Loviisa is a bilingual municipality with Finnish and Swedish as its official languages. The population consists of 55% Finnish speakers, 39% Swedish speakers, and 6% speakers of other languages. Loviisa was founded in 1745, as a border fortress against Russia. Most of the fortifications have been preserved. Loviisa was originally called Degerby, but king Adolf Frederick of Sweden renamed the city after his spouse Lovisa Ulrika after visiting the town in 1752. Loviisa is the site of two of Finland's nuclear reactors, two VVER units each of 488 MWe, at the Loviisa Nuclear Power Plant. The other operating reactors are at the Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant.