Kauniainen (Finnish: [ˈkɑu̯niˌɑi̯nen]; Swedish: Grankulla) is a town in Finland, located in the southern interior of the country.

The municipal taxation rate in Kauniainen is the lowest in Finland ([6]%), which has made the city attractive to high-income families.

The squirrel holding the spruce cone of the coat of arms indirectly refers to the Swedish name of Kauniainen (Grankulla).

The coat of arms was designed by Ahto Numminen and approved by the Kauniainen Chamber of Commerce at its meetings on June 5, 1951, and January 10, 1952.

As the land slowly rose Kauniainen became a part of the inner archipelago around 4,000 years ago and there is evidence of human activity in the area in form of pieces of ceramics from this time period.

[7] In the beginning of the 20th century Kauniainen only consisted of a few crofters' holdings at the outskirts of larger farms in Espoo.

The main road between Helsinki and Turku had passed through the northern parts of Kauniainen for centuries, but the new railway between the same cities that opened in 1903 was crucial for the development of the area.

[7] The history of modern Kauniainen began in 1906 when a company, AB Grankulla, bought the land and sold it to people who wanted to have a villa outside the unhealthy city life in Helsinki.

Several other similar communities were established at the same time around Helsinki: Kulosaari, Haaga, Leppävaara and Puistola.

[7] Because the municipality of Espoo, to which the area of Kauniainen belonged, did not show much interest in the new community, the company was responsible for developing it; roads were built, a school founded, electricity arranged and the company lobbied for a railway station (opened in 1908) and a police office.

[1] Kauniainen also differed from its rural surroundings in Espoo with a town plan, road network, villas and electricity.

The work with a new town plan was started in the late 1920s, but the proposal was disputed; the inhabitants (and property owners) thought the roads were too wide.

The era of the villas ended with the Second World War and was replaced by reconstruction and economically challenging times.

Kauniainen offers a very large range of services to its inhabitants, considering the size of the town.

The only area that is viewed as a named district is Kasavuori (Swedish: Kasaberget) in the western part of the town.

The following parties have seats in the city council of Kauniainen following the 2021 municipal election:[12] * National Coalition and the Christian Democrats formed an electoral alliance.

GrIFK was founded in 1925 and is today active in ice hockey, football, team handball, floorball and alpine skiing.