Urjala has been settled for over 6000 years. The first inhabitants lived near the waters of Huhti and Hakolahti during the Stone Age, but there have been findings from other areas as well. The central areas were inhabited already during the Iron Age, but gradually Urjalalankylä, which is located between Lakes Ruta and Korte, grew to be a bigger village.

Ancient sacrifice stones called kourauskivi and kuppikivi found from Urjalankylä shows that people had a deep connection with nature and religion. You may still visit kourauskivi and make a wish for a good life journey. In ancient times, people grabbed good luck from the hole of the stone, for example if they went to make trade to another village, or if they had a big change in their lives. And on their way home they went back to grab a thank you.

The first church was built on an ancient holy place in Urjalankylä. Today there is a medieval stone sacristy, in which beautiful services are held during summer. The church stayed in the same place to the early 17th century. By then, a new centre had formed to the village of Laukeela, and a new church was built there in 1806.

During the Middle Ages, when Finland was under Swedish rule, the people of Urjala were mainly independent peasants. At the late 14th century a few noblemen settled in Urjala as the crown gave land to its distinguished servants. The owner families of these manors had a significant effect to the development of the municipality. The peasants of the nearby area absorbed new technical skills, cultivation methods and manners from the manor.

The owners of Honkola manor and Nuutajärvi manor brought industry to Urjala as they built a glass factory to Nuutajärvi at the late 16th century. Nowadays it is the oldest functional glass factory in Finland. The setting mirrors the environment of a factory worker from the 17th century well. The Nuutajärvi Glass Village is a diverse village of craftspeople, and it has over 100 000 visitors every year.