Vanhakylä
Vanhakylä or Vanha-Ulvila is a district of Ulvila in the Pori sub-region of Satakunta in southwestern Finland. The Kokemäenjoki divides the town centre of Ulvila into two parts – Vanhakylä constitutes the eastern half, on the northern bank of the Kokemäenjoki, and the western half is the district of, on the river's southern bank.
The medieval town of Ulvila was located in the modern district of Vanhakylä, from which the district's name is derived. Situated outside of the core of Vanhakylä, the Ulvila Church is the only remaining building from the medieval settlement. The Ulvila Church and surroundings were designated a Cultural Heritage Site of National Significance by the Finnish Heritage Agency in 2009.
Transportation
The Kokemäenjoki divides the town centre of Ulvila into two parts – the western portion is the district of on the southern bank of the Kokemäenjoki, and the eastern portion is Vanhakylä, on the northern bank of the Kokemäenjoki. The districts are linked along via the Friitalan silta. The first Friitalan silta was opened in 1952, when demand for crossing exceeded the capacity of the existing ferry services.The original Friitalan silta was demolished in 2017 and a new Friitalan silta was completed in 2018. The bridge supports bidirectional traffic with a vehicle lane in either direction, features wide sidewalks on both sides, and sees an average of 8,300 auto crossings per day.
Connecting road 2442 meets in the core of Vanhakylä. Connecting road 2440 has different names to the north and south of its junction with connecting road 2442. To the north, connecting road 2440 is called the Kirkkotie because it directly passes the Ulvila Church.
The area along the Kitkkotie, north of the core of Vanhakylä, which includes the Ulvila Church, is called the Ulvilan kirkonseutu. The area is generally sparsely populated but includes the Mynsteri residential area where, among other things, the home pitch of the football club FC Ulvila is located.
Location
Vanhakylä is surrounded by countryside to the north, east, and south, with the Kokemäenjoki defining its western edge and separating the district from the Friitala district of Ulvila to the west and the Harmaalinna district of Pori to the north-west. The closest neighboring settlements on the northern bank of the Kokemaenjoki are villages and hamlets within the Ulvila municipality that lie to the north, south, and east of Vanhakylä, separated from Vanhakylä's residential areas by fields and forests.To the north is the village of, which has an approximate population of 1,500 and lies from Vanhakylä's core. Traveling from Vanhakylä to Harjunpää is done via connecting road 2440, which becomes connecting road 2553 north of Mynsteri. Connecting road 2553 passes through the hamlets of and, and north of Vanhakylä respectively.
About to the south of Vanhakylä's core is the village of ; the portion of connecting road 2440 running south of connecting road 2442 towards Ravani is called the Ravanintie.
To the east is the village of, which had a population of 585 in 2015 and lies about from the centre of Vanhakylä along the Kaasmarkuntie.
Saarenluoto
To the north-west of the core of Vanhakylä and west of the Ulvilan kirkonseutu is, an approximately long island formed by the Kokemäenjoki and one of its minor branches, the. There are three bridges across the Kirkkojuopa between Saarenluoto and Vanhakylä:- a wooden bridge connects the Ulvila Church to the Saari manor
- Eeron silta, a wooden suspension bridge for foot traffic that connects Mynsteri to the nature trails of Ulvila's outdoor municipal recreation area on Saarenluoto
- a bridge along Highway 11, which runs just north of Mynsteri and also links Saarenluoto to Pori across the Kokemäenjoki