Kolari is a
municipality of
Finland at the
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
border, which follows the
Torne River, the longest free-flowing river in Europe.
It is located in the
region of
Lapland
Lapland may refer to:
Places
*Lapland or Sápmi, an ethno-cultural region stretching over northern Fennoscandia (parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia)
**Lapland (Finland) (''Lappi''/''Lappland''), a Finnish region
*** Lapland (former pr ...
. The municipality has a population of ()
and covers an area of of which is water.
The
population density is .
Neighbouring municipalities are
Muonio,
Pello,
Kittilä,
Rovaniemi in
Finland and
Pajala Municipality in
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
.
The municipality is unilingually
Finnish.
Kolari railway station is the northernmost station in Finland.
Ylläs, one of the most popular ski resorts in Finland, is located in Kolari. The area also features the country's largest bog with a thousand-year-old forest.
History
The first permanent settler in the area was a
Savonian named Pekka Kolari, arriving in the area in the early 1580s. He originated from
Konnevesi, which was a part of the
Rautalampi parish at the time. The island named ''Kolarinsaari'' near the village of
Istunmäki was likely his original home, as the Savonian surname ''Kolari'' originates from the same island.
The area of Kolari was a part of the
Pajala parish, which is in modern Sweden. Kolari started growing in the 17th century due to the nearby
Kengis (Köngäs) ironworks established in 1644. Kolari was home to many skilled blacksmiths. Charcoal, tar and chalk were produced and delivered to
Tornio.
After Russia gained Finland in 1809, it was transferred to the Turtola parish, modern
Pello. As the winter market could no longer be held in Kengis due to the new border, they were held on the island of Kolarinsaari in the Tornio river. Kolari became a chapel community in 1856 and a separate parish in 1894.
See also
*
Äkäslompolo
References
External links
Municipality of Kolari– Official website (in Finnish)
Archived English version of the official website's homepageYlläs webpage
*
Populated places established in 1867
Ski areas and resorts in Finland
1867 establishments in the Russian Empire
Municipalities of Lapland (Finland)
{{Lapland-geo-stub