Oulainen
Town
Oulaisten kaupunki
Oulainens stad
The town center of Oulainen in 2017.
The town center of Oulainen in 2017.
Coat of arms of Oulainen
Coat of arms
Motto: 
Syntyy ja tapahtuu.
Location of Oulainen in Finland
Location of Oulainen in Finland
Coordinates: 64°16′N 024°49′E / 64.267°N 24.817°E / 64.267; 24.817
Country Finland
RegionNorth Ostrobothnia
Sub-regionYlivieska
Charter1865
City rights1977
Government
 • Town managerRiikka Moilanen
Area
 (2018-01-01)[1]
 • Total597.53 km2 (230.71 sq mi)
 • Land587.84 km2 (226.97 sq mi)
 • Water10.01 km2 (3.86 sq mi)
 • Rank143rd largest in Finland
Population
 (2023-09-30)[2]
 • Total6,955
 • Rank132nd largest in Finland
 • Density11.83/km2 (30.6/sq mi)
Population by native language
[3]
 • Finnish98.1% (official)
 • Swedish0.1%
 • Others1.8%
Population by age
[4]
 • 0 to 1417.5%
 • 15 to 6454.9%
 • 65 or older27.6%
Time zoneUTC+02:00 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Websitewww.oulainen.fi

Oulainen (Swedish: Oulainen, also Oulais) is a town and a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Northern Ostrobothnia region, 101 kilometres (63 mi) south of the city of Oulu. The municipality has a population of 6,955 (30 September 2023)[2] and covers an area of 597.53 square kilometres (230.71 sq mi) of which 10.01 km2 (3.86 sq mi) is water.[1] The population density is 11.83 inhabitants per square kilometre (30.6/sq mi). Oulainen is founded in 1865, and it received township rights in 1977.

The municipality is unilingually Finnish. The municipality has previously also been known as "Oulais" in Swedish documents, but is today referred to as "Oulainen" also in Swedish.[5]

Geography

Neighbouring municipalities are Alavieska, Haapavesi, Merijärvi, Pyhäjoki, Raahe and Ylivieska. In addition to the town center, the municipality includes the villages of Kilpua, Lehtopää, Matkaniva, Petäjäskoski, Piipsjärvi and Honkaranta.

History

Oulainen was first mentioned in 1572 as Oulahais and as a part of the Pyhäjoki parish. A farm named Oulahainen was established earlier. The name comes from a dialectal word oulu meaning "flooding waters" (see also Oulu) and seems to suggest a Tavastian origin. Alpo Räisänen suggests that the name could be of Savonian or Karelian origin.

Oulainen became a chapel community in 1682, a parish in 1870, a kauppala in 1967 and a town in 1977.[6]

Events

Notable annual events include the National Veteran Machines Fair (Waltakunnalliset Weteraanikonepäivät)[7] and Oulainen Music Weeks (Oulaisten Musiikkiviikot). Oulainen Music Weeks were organized for the twentieth time in 2006. The Oulainen Youth Choir (Oulaisten Nuorisokuoro) has received international acclaim.

Notable people

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Area of Finnish Municipalities 1.1.2018" (PDF). National Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  2. 1 2 "Preliminary population statistics 2023, September". StatFin. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  3. ↑ "Demographic Structure by area as of 31 December 2022". Statistics Finland's PX-Web databases. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  4. ↑ "Population according to age (1-year) and sex by area and the regional division of each statistical reference year, 2003–2020". StatFin. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  5. ↑ Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus :: Kuntien nimet Archived 2011-12-23 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ↑ "SuomalainenPaikannimikirja_e-kirja_kuvallinen.pdf" (PDF). kaino.kotus.fi (in Finnish). p. 309+310. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  7. ↑ Waltakunnalliset Weteraanikonepäivät


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.