Kauhajoki (; literally “

Scoop Scoop, Scoops or The scoop may refer to: Objects * Scoop (tool), a shovel-like tool, particularly one deep and curved, used in digging * Scoop (machine part), a component of machinery to carry things * Scoop stretcher, a device used for casualt ...

River A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

”) is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. It is located in the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

Western Finland Western Finland ( fi, Länsi-Suomen lääni, sv, Västra Finlands län) was a province of Finland from 1997 to 2009. It bordered the provinces of Oulu, Eastern Finland and Southern Finland. It also bordered the Gulf of Bothnia towards Åland. ...

and is part of the

Southern Ostrobothnia South Ostrobothnia ( fi, Etelä-Pohjanmaa; sv, Södra Österbotten) is one of the 19 regions of Finland. It borders the regions of Ostrobothnia, Central Ostrobothnia, Central Finland, Pirkanmaa, and Satakunta. Among the Finnish regions, South ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

, southwest of the city of Seinäjoki. The population of Kauhajoki is () and the municipality covers an area of of which is inland water (). The population density is . The town is unilingually

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

. The neighboring municipalities of Kauhajoki are

Isojoki Isojoki ( sv, Storå; lit. "Big River") is a municipality of Finland. It is part of the South Ostrobothnia region. The city of Pori is located south of Isojoki. The population of Isojoki is () and the municipality covers an area of of which is ...

in the southwest,

Kankaanpää Kankaanpää () is a town and municipality of Finland. Kankaanpää was founded in 1865, became a township in 1967 and finally a town in 1972. It is located in the crossroads of Hämeenkangas and Pohjankangas ridges. It belongs to the region of S ...

in the south,

Karijoki Karijoki ( sv, Bötom) is a municipality of Finland. It is part of the South Ostrobothnia region. The population of Karijoki is (), which makes it the smallest municipality in South Ostrobothnia in terms of population. The municipality covers an ...

in the west,

Karvia Karvia is a municipality of Finland founded in 1865. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Satakunta region. The population of Karvia is () and the municipality covers an area of of which is inland water (). The p ...

in the southeast, Kurikka in the north and

Teuva Teuva ( sv, Östermark) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the South Ostrobothnia region. The population of Teuva is () and the municipality covers an area of of which is inland water (). The population density is . The municipali ...

in the west. Kauhajoki is the center of the Suupohja sub-region.

Geography

Most of Kauhajoki is located north of the

Suomenselkä Suomenselkä is a drainage divide in western Finland. Roughly long and wide, it is marked by an ensemble of northeast–southwest oriented moraines parallel to the Bothnian coastline. Rivers flowing west from Suomenselkä drain to the Gu ...

's watershed. Most of the municipal area is a gently sloping

plain In geography, a plain is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and as plateaus or uplands ...

s to the west and north. On the border of the Kauhajoki and Isojoki is

Lauhanvuori Lauhanvuori National Park ( fi, Lauhanvuoren kansallispuisto) is a national park in the Southern Ostrobothnia region of Finland, on the border of Kauhajoki and Isojoki. It was established in 1982 and covers . The park is characterized by its pine ...

, one of the highest points in

, which rises 231 meters above sea level. However, the highest point of Lauhanvuori is on the Isojoki side, a few tens of meters from the Kauhajoki border. Lauhanvuori national park and an other national park located in Kauhajoki
Kauhaneva-Pohjankangas
belong to
Unesco Global Geopark Lauhanvuori-Hämeenkangas

History

Permanent settlement in the Kauhajoki area began in the 16th century and in 1584 chapel was built in Kauhajoki. When the Soviet Union attacked Finland in the

Winter War The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...

, in early December 1939 Parliament was evacuated and the legislature temporarily relocated to Kauhajoki, a town in western Finland far away from the frontline. The parliament held 34 plenary sessions in Kauhajoki, with the last on 12 February 1940.

2008 vocational college shooting

On 23 September 2008, a

school shooting A school shooting is an attack at an educational institution, such as a primary school, secondary school, high school or university, involving the use of firearms. Many school shootings are also categorized as mass shootings due to multiple c ...

at a

vocational college A university of applied sciences (UAS), nowadays much less commonly called a polytechnic university or vocational university, is an institution of higher education and sometimes research that provides vocational education and grants academic de ...

in the city left 11 dead, including the gunman, and another woman wounded. The incident was the second school shooting in less than a year in Finland, the other being the Jokela school shooting in November 2007, in which nine people including the gunman died. Before that, only one other school shooting had taken place in the country's history, in Rauma in 1989, leaving two people dead.

Culture

Food

In the 1980s, the traditional parish dished of Kauhajoki was named ''sinsalla'' (a local name of ''

rosolli In Finnish cuisine, rosolli is a salad eaten mostly as a cold side dish, in particular as part of the traditional Finnish Christmas meal. Overview Rosolli is made of cooked, diced root vegetables, especially beetroot, carrot and potato, often ...

'') and charred

Baltic herring Atlantic herring (''Clupea harengus'') is a herring in the family Clupeidae. It is one of the most abundant fish species in the world. Atlantic herrings can be found on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, congregating in large schools. They can ...

Sports

Today sports in Kauhajoki is mostly famous for the basketball team Karhu Basket
Karhu Basket
has been the most successful team in Finland for years winning th
national league
in 2018, 2019 and 2022. On year 2021 Karhu Basket was second and year 2020 the season was interrupted because of the Covid-19 pandemic. On season 2022 – 23 Karhu Basket plays also in th
FIBA Europe Cup
The home venue of Karhu Basket is the IKH Areena
IKH Areena
can hold 3600 customers, which is more than a quarter of the inhabitants of Kauhajoki. Some internationally successful Kauhajokian sports figures include: *

Jouko Salomäki Jouko Johannes Salomäki (born 26 August 1962 in Kauhajoki) is a Finnish wrestler and Olympic champion in Greco-Roman wrestling. He was nicknamed "Jokke" during his career. Salomäki competed at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles ...

, the 1984 Olympic Champion in

Greco-Roman wrestling Greco-Roman (American English), Graeco-Roman (British English), classic wrestling (Euro English) or French wrestling (in Russia until 1948) is a style of wrestling that is practiced worldwide. Greco-Roman wrestling was included in the first mod ...

, was born in Kauhajoki. *

Kaarlo Maaninka Kaarlo Hannes Maaninka (born 25 December 1953) is a Finnish former long-distance runner who won a silver medal in the 10,000 metres and a bronze medal in the 5,000 metres at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. He later admitted that he had used blood tran ...

, the 1980 Olympic silver and bronze medalist in long distance running, lives in Kauhajoki. He also represented the town's sports club Kauhajoen Karhu during his career. * Vesa Hietalahti, the 2003 World Championship silver medalist in biathlon, was born and lives in Kauhajoki. He also represented the town's sports club Kauhajoen Karhu throughout his career. * Heli Koivula Kruger, the 2002 European Championship silver medalist in triple jump, was born in Kauhajoki. She also represented the town's sports club Kauhajoen Karhu throughout her career. * Jani Haapamäki, the 2009 European Champion in Greco-Roman wrestling, was born in Kauhajoki. He also represents the town's sports club Kauhajoen Karhu.

References

External links

Town of Kauhajoki
– official site {{authority control Cities and towns in Finland Populated places established in the 16th century