Nurmes
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Nurmes 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 ...
of
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 ...
, located in the
county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
of
North Karelia North Karelia ( fi, Pohjois-Karjala; sv, Norra Karelen) is a region in eastern Finland. It borders the regions of Kainuu, North Savo, South Savo and South Karelia, as well as Russia's Republic of Karelia. It is the easternmost region of Finlan ...
. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
is . Neighbouring municipalities are
Juuka Juuka (; sv, Juga) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the North Karelia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality is unilingually Finnish. ...
,
Kuhmo Kuhmo (known as ''Kuhmoniemi'' until 1937) is a town and a municipality in Finland and is located at the south-eastern corner of the Kainuu region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population ...
,
Lieksa Lieksa () is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the North Karelia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality is unilingually Finnish. ...
,
Rautavaara Rautavaara is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Northern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality is unilingually Finnish. Tiili ...
,
Sotkamo Sotkamo is a municipality of Finland, located in the Kainuu region about east of Kajaani, the capital of Kainuu. Vuokatti, in west of Sotkamo, is the most populous village in the municipality and also a popular skiing resort. Both Hiidenportti Nat ...
and
Valtimo Valtimo () is a former municipality of Finland. It was merged with the town of Nurmes on 1 January 2020. It was located in the North Karelia region. In 2019, the municipality had a population of 2,140 and covered an area of , of which was wa ...
. Nurmes railway station is the northern terminus of a twice-daily VR passenger train service from
Joensuu Joensuu (; krl, Jovensuu; ) is a city and municipality in North Karelia, Finland, located on the northern shore of Lake Pyhäselkä (northern part of Lake Saimaa) at the mouth of the Pielinen River (''Pielisjoki''). It was founded in 1848. Th ...
. The service has been under threat of closure but is currently part of rail services that the Ministry of Transport and Communications requires VR to run in exchange for its monopoly on more attractive routes. The agreement is currently valid through 2030. Karelian village and spa hotel Break Sokos Hotel Bomba are situated in Nurmes. Bomba Karelian Village is a tourist destination for Karelian construction and food culture and traditions. Hotel Hyvärilä Youth and Holiday Centre, and Pielis-Golf golf course are located near the Bomba area.


Karelian nest

The municipality is officially 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 ...
, but in 2009, Finland's first
Karelian language Karelian (North Karelian and Livvi Karelian: ; Ludic: ; Tver Karelian: ) is a Finnic language spoken mainly in the Russian Republic of Karelia. Linguistically, Karelian is closely related to the Finnish dialects spoken in eastern Finland, and ...
"nest" (pre-school immersion group) was established in Nurmes.


Geography

Nurmes is located in
Finnish Karelia Karelia ( fi, Karjala) is a historical province of Finland which Finland partly ceded to the Soviet Union after the Winter War of 1939–40. The Finnish Karelians include the present-day inhabitants of North and South Karelia and the still-surv ...
on the shore of lake
Pielinen Pielinen ( sv, Pielisjärvi) is the fourth largest lake of Finland, with a drainage basin area of equally distributed between eastern Finland and Russia. The creation of the lake and its outlet is attributed to a post-glacial isostatic rebound, w ...
, next to the counties of Kainuu and
Northern Savonia North Savo (or Northern Savonia; fi, Pohjois-Savo; sv, Norra Savolax) is a region in eastern Finland. It borders the regions of South Savo, Central Finland, North Ostrobothnia, Kainuu, and North Karelia. Kuopio is the largest city in the regi ...
. The nearest major cities by road are
Kuopio Kuopio (, ) is a Finnish city and municipality located in the region of Northern Savonia. It has a population of , which makes it the most populous municipality in Finland. Along with Joensuu, Kuopio is one of the major urban, economic, and cult ...
(128 km),
Joensuu Joensuu (; krl, Jovensuu; ) is a city and municipality in North Karelia, Finland, located on the northern shore of Lake Pyhäselkä (northern part of Lake Saimaa) at the mouth of the Pielinen River (''Pielisjoki''). It was founded in 1848. Th ...
(127 km) and
Kajaani Kajaani (; sv, Kajana) is the most populous town and the capital of the Kainuu Region of Finland. It is located southeast of Lake Oulu (Oulujärvi), which drains into the Gulf of Bothnia through the Oulu River (Oulujoki). As of , it had a pop ...
(113 km) where the nearest airports are located. The railway from Nurmes to Joensuu is 160 km and runs through
Lieksa Lieksa () is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the North Karelia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality is unilingually Finnish. ...
.
Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
is 518 kilometers by road and can be reached by rail by changing from train from Joensuu. Nurmes is close to
Tahko Tahkovuori or Tahko is a resort in the middle of Finland, in Kuopio. It is about 70 kilometers north of the city centre and is open all year round. Tahko is a small tourist town with many restaurants and outdoor activities, including winter spo ...
Tourist Center (93 km),
Vuokatti Vuokatti is an urban area that is a physically separate part of the municipality of Sotkamo, Finland. It is home to more than 6,000 inhabitants, making it the second most populous urban area in the region of Kainuu, after the main urban area ...
Ski Resort (88 km),
Koli National Park Koli National Park ( fi, Kolin kansallispuisto) is a national park in the municipalities of Joensuu, Lieksa and Kontiolahti in the North Karelia region of Finland. It covers of forested hills on the western shore of Lake Pielinen. The park wa ...
(78 km), Tiilikkajärvi National Park (56 km) and
Hiidenportti National Park Hiidenportti National Park ( fi, Hiidenportin kansallispuisto) is a national park in Sotkamo in the Kainuu region of Finland. Hiidenportti National Park was established in 1982 to preserve the region's wilderness. A mosaic mix of mires and dry f ...
(44 km). Nurmes experiences a
continental climate Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in the middle latitudes (40 to 55 north), within large landmasses where prevailing winds blow overland bringing som ...
with four seasons. Winters are cold and the average temperature from November to March is below -5 °C. On average, the snow season lasts 4–5 months from November to April. North Karelia is one of the snowiest regions in Finland, with a typical March snow depth of more than 50 cm. During the darkest time of the year, the sun is above the horizon for about four hours. Summers are cool to warm and temperatures change very rapidly during the summer. During the brightest time of the year, the sun is above the horizon for about 20 hours. The nature of Nurmes is characterized by hilly landscapes, forests and lakes. There are 409 lakes in Nurmes. The largest and the most famous of these is lake Pielinen. Species such as
perch Perch is a common name for fish of the genus ''Perca'', freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which three species occur in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Percif ...
, grayling, pike, lake salmon, whitefish,
lake trout The lake trout (''Salvelinus namaycush'') is a freshwater char living mainly in lakes in northern North America. Other names for it include mackinaw, namaycush, lake char (or charr), touladi, togue, and grey trout. In Lake Superior, it can also ...
are found in Pielinen. Fishing is possible with a licence that can be bought from shops. There are three hiking areas in Nurmes: * Raesärkkä area consists of a 5.9 km2 protected forest and a 1.2 km2 recreational forest. It has a grazing field, marshes, lakes and rivers. * Mujejärvi area consists of a 20 km2 hiking area with cliffs, ridges, gorges and lakes. * Lake Peurajärvi is suitable for families with children and fishermen. There are many lakes, ponds and rivers in the area, with easy access routes. There are many different mushroom, wild herb and berry species in the forests. There is
Freedom to roam The freedom to roam, or "everyman's right", is the general public's right to access certain public or privately owned land, lakes, and rivers for recreation and exercise. The right is sometimes called the right of public access to the wilderness ...
in Finland.


Economy

Key industries of Nurmes are wood industry, food industry and metal and mechanical engineering. Wood industry is the most significant industrial sector of our region in terms of turnover and employees. The products manufactured here include sawn and planed wood, glued beams, impregnated wooden poles, and high-quality special cardboards. Nurmes has strong expertise in bakery, fish and meat processing sectors. The most sold signature products have been bread in various forms, and gluten-free bakery products. Metal and mechanical engineering companies operate as subcontractors or manufacture products under their own trademarks. They develop innovative products & processes and search actively for new subcontracting opportunities. Nurmes has Green Industry Area (Nurmes GIA) which is a novel business district that offers spacious plots, modern infrastructure, and good logistic services. Nurmes GIA is an excellent platform e.g. for manufacturing and logistics of bio-based chemical products. The areal zoning and environmental impact assessment have been designed to benefit the start-up of forest-based industries and
circular economy A circular economy (also referred to as circularity and CE) is a model of production and consumption, which involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products as long as possible. CE aims ...
.


Culture

Nurmes was declared Finland's Christmas Song City in 2005 and the European Christmas Song City in 2009. A lot of musical activities, such as concerts and events, are organized during Christmas in Nurmes. During the summertime there are cultural events, such a
Nurmes Summer Music
which takes place in the beginning of July. Finnish composer P. J. Hannikainen was from Nurmes, so a theatre, a street and a playschool are named after him. He has own monument in Nurmes city centre. Nurmes-talo is the Nurmes Cultural Center, where library, cinema, art gallery and a museum take place. Nurmes-talo has been under renovation since June 2019 and will reopen on August 9th, 2021. There is another museum in Nurmes called Ikola museum. Nurmes is the home town of the main protagonist of the acclaimed 2002 Aki Kaurismäki film ''Mies vailla menneisyyttä'' (''
The Man Without a Past ''The Man Without a Past'' ( fi, Mies vailla menneisyyttä) is a 2002 Finnish comedy-drama film produced, written, and directed by Aki Kaurismäki. Starring Markku Peltola, Kati Outinen and Juhani Niemelä, it is the second installment in Kauri ...
'').


Notable people

* Elli Saurio (1899–1966), Economist *
Mikko Collan Colonel Mikko (''Karl Johan Michael'') Collan (22 July 1881 – 3 October 1964) was a Finnish military officer, farmer, and politician, born in Nurmes. He was a member of the National Progressive Party. He served as Minister of Provisions in Laur ...
, military officer and politician * P. J. Hannikainen, composer * Jani Hartikainen, football player * Juha Holopainen, skier * Ilkka Laitinen, military officer and government executive * Pekka Meriläinen, stonemason and politician *
Urho Peltonen Urho Pellervo Peltonen (15 January 1893 – 7 January 1951) was a Finnish athlete who competed mainly in the javelin throw. He competed for Finland in the 1912 Summer Olympics held in Stockholm, Sweden, in both the regular and two-handed ja ...
, javelin thrower * Olli Soikkeli, jazz guitarist


International relations


Twin towns — Sister cities

Nurmes is twinned with: *
Laholm Laholm () is a town and the seat of Laholm Municipality, Halland County, Sweden, with 6,527 inhabitants in 2015. Laholm is, despite its small population, for historical reasons often still referred to as a ''city''. The town is located at the ...
, Sweden *
Møn Møn () is an island in south-eastern Denmark. Until 1 January 2007, it was a municipality in its own right but it is now part of the municipality of Vordingborg, after merging with the former municipalities of Langebæk, Præstø, and Vordingbo ...
, Denmark *
Ørsta is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Møre og Romsdal Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre Districts of Norway, region of Western Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Ørsta ( ...
, Norway *
Volda Volda is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre is the village of Volda. Other villages in the municipality include Dravlaus, Fyrde, Straumshamn, Leira, Bjørke, and ...
, Norway *
Segezha Segezha (russian: Сеге́жа; krl, Segeža; fi, Sekehe) is a town and the administrative center of Segezhsky District of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, located north of Petrozavodsk on the Segezha River and on the western shore of La ...
, Russia


References


External links


Town of Nurmes
– Official website {{authority control Populated lakeshore places in Finland Cities and towns in Finland Populated places established in 1810