Vaala
Municipality
Vaalan kunta
Vaala kommun
Mist rising from Oulujoki river in Vaala
Mist rising from Oulujoki river in Vaala
Coat of arms of Vaala
Coat of arms
Location of Vaala in Finland
Location of Vaala in Finland
Coordinates: 64°33′N 026°50′E / 64.550°N 26.833°E / 64.550; 26.833
Country Finland
RegionNorth Ostrobothnia
Sub-regionOulunkaari
Charter1954
Government
 • Municipality managerTytti Seppänen
Area
 (2018-01-01)[1]
 • Total1,764.04 km2 (681.10 sq mi)
 • Land1,302.37 km2 (502.85 sq mi)
 • Water461.45 km2 (178.17 sq mi)
 • Rank54th largest in Finland
Population
 (2023-09-30)[2]
 • Total2,616
 • Rank232nd largest in Finland
 • Density2.01/km2 (5.2/sq mi)
Population by native language
[3]
 • Finnish98.6% (official)
 • Others1.4%
Population by age
[4]
 • 0 to 1411.1%
 • 15 to 6451.4%
 • 65 or older37.4%
Time zoneUTC+02:00 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Websitewww.vaala.fi

Vaala is a municipality in Finland. It is located in the North Ostrobothnia region. Established in 1954 (predecessor municipality Säräisniemi, established in 1867), the municipality has a population of 2,616 (30 September 2023)[2] and covers an area of 1,764.04 square kilometres (681.10 sq mi) of which 461.45 km2 (178.17 sq mi) is water.[1] The population density is 2.01 inhabitants per square kilometre (5.2/sq mi). Previously Vaala was part of the Kainuu region but was transferred to Northern Ostrobothnia on 1 January 2016.[5]

Oulujärvi, the fourth largest lake of Finland is located partly in Vaala.

The municipality is unilingually Finnish.

Vaala is also an old Finnish word, which means the phase in a river just before rapids.

History

The original center of the area was Manamansalo, the largest island in the Oulujärvi with a village by the same name. Both it and Säräisniemi were first mentioned in 1555 when they were parts of the large Liminka parish.[6] The parish of Oulujärvi, covering all of Kainuu with its center in Manamansalo, was separated from Liminka in 1559, but merged back into Liminka in the 1580s after Russians raided the island. In 1599, the area became a parish again, this time with its center in Paltaniemi, due to which the parish was now known as Paltamo.[7]

Säräisniemi acquired its own church under Paltamo in 1779 and became a separate parish and municipality in 1864. Vuolijoki was separated from Säräisniemi as a parish in 1896 and as a municipality in 1915. Some parts of Kajaanin maalaiskunta were also used in the municipality's formation. The village of Vaala was transferred from Utajärvi to Säräisniemi in 1954, becoming the new administrative center of the municipality. The municipality itself was also renamed Vaala in the process.[8][9]

Vaala was transferred from Kainuu to North Ostrobothnia in 2016.

Dialect

Ostrobothnian in red/orange, Savonian in green.

Vaala is located on the border between the Northern Ostrobothnian and Savonian (Kainuu) dialects.[10][11]

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. ↑ "Vaala siirtyy Kainuusta Pohjois-Pohjanmaahan vuoden 2016 alusta" (in Finnish). Helsinki: Ministry of Finance. 5 February 2015. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  6. ↑ "SuomalainenPaikannimikirja_e-kirja_kuvallinen.pdf" (PDF). kaino.kotus.fi (in Finnish). p. 436+485. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Suomen Sukututkimusseura". hiski.genealogia.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved December 27, 2022.
  8. ↑ "Suomen Sukututkimusseura". hiski.genealogia.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved December 27, 2022.
  9. ↑ "Suomen Sukututkimusseura". hiski.genealogia.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved December 27, 2022.
  10. ↑ "Keski- ja pohjoispohjalaismurteiden pitäjät". sokl.uef.fi (in Finnish). Archived from the original on May 26, 2021. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
  11. ↑ "Savolaismurteiden alue". sokl.uef.fi (in Finnish). Archived from the original on December 17, 2021. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
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