Pyhtää

Pyhtää (Swedish: Pyttis) is a municipality in Kymenlaakso, at the western forks of the Kymi river.

Understand


Pyhtää has a population of 5.000 on of land. It includes 450 km² of sea, with several major islands. Part of the archipelago belongs to the Gulf of Finland National Park.

After the Russo-Swedish War of 1741–1743, the border was moved to go through Pyhtää, with the western Kymi shore in Swedish hands (called Svenska Pyttis, "Swedish Pyhtää") forming a new municipality, Strömfors, now mostly part of Loviisa. Modern Pyhtää is the part that belonged to the Russian Empire until Finland's independence (although part of the Grand Duchy of Finland since 1811), with some parts of former Strömfors added.

The municipality is bilingual with 90% speaking Finnish and 7% Swedish as their mother tongue.

The parish village Pyhtää (Pyttis) with 700 inhabitants is in the western part of the municipality. The modern municipal centre Siltakylä (Broby) with 3,000 inhabitants is 9 km to the east, 12 km from Kotka centre. Purola (Svartbäck) with 250 inhabitants is 6 km south-west of Siltakylä by a sea bay sheltered by Munapirtti (Mogenpört). The other villages are smaller.

Get in and around
The Helsinki–Loviisa–Kotka roads King's Road, road 170 and road 7 (E18) pass through Pyhtää and Siltakylä.

By boat
The coastal fairways pass through the municipality, the innermost boating route (1.2 m) snaking through the inner archipelago, other ones going through or off the outer archipelago. Although there is no shortage of fairways and boating routes, boats with greater draught are mostly confined to natural harbours – and there is no shortage of rocks in this archipelago.

A 1.2-m boating route forks off to Lökören and Kalaranta of Siltakylä from the inner boating route. Thanks to the Struka Canal and its manually operated lock (see See below), also the parish village 5 km up the river is reachable by boat (draught likewise 1.2 m). A 2.5-m fairway leads to the Verkkoniemi harbour at the southern end of Kaunissaari.

Do




Lodging




Camping
There are tent sites on some islands of the national park, free, with outhouse toilets, well and campfire sites but little other service. Staying with a tent by the Moronvuori Day Trip Hut for a night or two is allowed (cf the right to access).

Backcountry
See Right to access in the Nordic countries. You can camp with a tent in the woods. No campfires.