Korsholm

Parish History

• Korsholm first appeared in historical documents in 1348 with a Finnish name now known as Mustasaari.^{2, 4, 10}  It was one of the original large parishes on the west coast. In the early 15^th century it included all the land from Munsala to the north and Malax to the south. ⁶
• At the end of the 14^th century a Swedish castle was built. It was built as an outpost to defend the Swedish kingdom’s territory towards the northeast. The castle, on a map dated 1539, was named Korsholm. ^{4, 5}
• In 1606 the parish church village was elevated to a town. ⁴ It was known as Mussar town. Five years later it was given the Swedish royal family name of Vasa. ^{5, 10}
• From 1772 to 1807 the parish was known as the ‘City of Vasa and Mustasaari Annex’. (Vaasan kaupunki ja Mustasaaren anneksi). ⁴
• The following sixty years, the name was simplified to the Vaasa and Mustasaari parish. (1807 – 1867) ⁴
• In 1867, the city of Vasa became an independent parish and the surrounding rural area was named Korsholm. ⁴

Parish Records

Villages and farms of Karleby were recorded in T.W. Karsten’s work,   Svesk Bygd I Osterbotten: Nu Och Fordom. ³  Karleby Parish Communion records were not used to confirm these findings.

Because parish Communion records are listed by farm name and because farm names often were used as a part of a person’s name, it is interesting to note the following farms.

To open a printable list of villages and farms (pdf), click here.