Kärsämäki (; literally meaning " snout hill") is a

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 state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of Oulu and is part of the

Northern Ostrobothnia North Ostrobothnia ( fi, Pohjois-Pohjanmaa; sv, Norra Österbotten) is a region of Finland. It borders the Finnish regions of Lapland, Kainuu, North Savo, Central Finland and Central Ostrobothnia, as well as the Russian Republic of Karelia. ...

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 an ...

. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), 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 ...

is . Kärsämäki is a significant road junction where Highway 4 (

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

– Oulu–

Utsjoki Utsjoki (; sme, Ohcejohka ; smn, Uccjuuhâ; sms, Uccjokk; no, Utsjok) is a municipality in Finland, the northernmost in the country. It is in Lapland and borders Norway as well as the municipality of Inari. The municipality was founded in 18 ...

) and Highway 28 (

Kokkola Kokkola (; sv, Karleby, ) is a town and municipality of Finland. The town is located in the Central Ostrobothnia region. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbour municipali ...

–

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 ...

) intersect and where Highway 58 leading to

Kangasala Kangasala is a city in Finland which is situated about 16 kilometres East of Tampere. The city was founded in 1865 and had a population of people as of . Kangasala covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Finnish auth ...

begins.Kärsämäki-info
(in Finnish) The distance to the regional capital Oulu is . Neighbour municipalities are

Haapajärvi Haapajärvi is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Oulu and is part of the Northern Ostrobothnia region. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neig ...

Haapavesi Haapavesi is a town and a municipality of Finland. It is located in the North Ostrobothnia region. The name means "Aspen Water". The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbour mun ...

Pyhäjärvi Pyhäjärvi (1993–1995 ''Pyhäsalmi'') is a town and municipality in the south of Northern Ostrobothnia region, Finland. Pyhäjärvi also borders the Northern Savonia and Central Finland regions. The town belongs to the subregion of Nivala–Ha ...

, Pyhäntä and

Siikalatva Siikalatva (pronounced ) is a geographical area and a municipality of Finland. It lies 90 kilometres to the south of the city of Oulu and belongs to the North Ostrobothnia region. Siikalatva has a population of approximately 6 000 and the municipa ...

. The previous neighboring municipality was Piippola, which was merged with the municipality of Siikalatva in 2009. The municipality 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 explanation of the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

of the municipality of Kärsämäki is "in the silver

field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

the terrace and the

boat A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically found on inl ...

, both blue, seven red

fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition point, flames a ...

tabs rise from the boat." The subject of the coat of arms refers to the name of the village of Venetpalo, which in turn comes from the

tribal The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to conflic ...

battles with the

Tavastians Tavastians ( fi, Hämäläiset, sv, Tavaster, russian: Емь, Yem, Yam) are a historic people and a modern subgroup (heimo) of the Finnish people. They live in areas of the historical province of Tavastia (Häme) and speak Tavastian dialects ...

. The village is told by the Tavastians shout ''”Veneet palaa!”'' (lit. "Boats are burning!") according to local villagers set fire to the raiding boats on fire. The coat of arms was designed by Gustaf von Numers and approved by the Kärsämäki Municipal Council at its meeting on June 23, 1964. The coat of arms was approved for use by the

Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministr ...

on October 5 of the same year.

Geography

Nature

Most common soil type is

till image:Geschiebemergel.JPG, Closeup of glacial till. Note that the larger grains (pebbles and gravel) in the till are completely surrounded by the matrix of finer material (silt and sand), and this characteristic, known as ''matrix support'', is d ...

. In terms of surface shape, Kärsämäki is a gently sloping expanse, in which case the terrain rises only when going southeast; of these, the highest elevations in the Saviselkä village area rise up to 180m. Over 60% of area is swamp. Bigges swamps are Kärsämäenneva, Lauttaneva, Onkineva and Vellihonganneva. The

Pyhäjoki Pyhäjoki (; literally the "Holy River") is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the defunct province of Oulu, which was split in two regions; Pyhäjoki is part of the Northern Ostrobothnia region. It is located southwest of the city of O ...

river flows through Kärsämäki. Another significant river is Hautajoki along the village by the same name.

Villages

Alajoki, Kärsämäki (''Kirkonkylä''), Miiluranta, Ojalehto, Porkkala, Pyrrönperä, Rannankylä, Saviselkä, Sydänmaankylä and Venetpalo.

History

The original name of Kärsämäki was ''Kärsämä'', with the word ''mäki'' (hill) being added to it later. This change has happened to other settlement names, as

Pieksämäki Pieksämäki () is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the Southern Savonia region, about north of Mikkeli, east of Jyväskylä and south of Kuopio. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. Th ...

, Elimäki and Längelmäki were originally known as ''Pieksämä, Elimä'' and ''Längelmä''. The village was first mentioned in 1556 as ''Kärsemby''. It was a part of the

parish, gaining its own church in 1764 and becoming an independent parish and municipality in 1856.

Demographics

At the end of 2018, Kärsämäki had 2,611 inhabitants, of which 1,188 lived in

urban area An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities ...

, 1,407 in sparsely populated areas and the residences of 16 were unknown. The degree of agglomeration in Kärsämäki is 45.8%. There is only one urban in the municipality, the church village of Kärsämäki.

Culture

Food

In the 1980s, Kärsämäki's traditional parish dishes were ''elsuupa'' cooked from

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

raisin A raisin is a dried grape. Raisins are produced in many regions of the world and may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking, and brewing. In the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia, the word ''raisin'' is reserved for the ...

s and bread cheese, a

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...

pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the domestic pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooked and preserved; ...

casserole called ''läksloota'' and the '' rieska'' bread.

Notable people

* Berndt Leonard Frosterus * Aappo Luomajoki * Markku Koski * Kalevi Hemilä *

Paula Vesala Paula Julia Vesala (born December 10, 1981) is a Finnish singer-songwriter, actress, and playwright. She was one of two singers and main lyricist in the pop rock duo PMMP along with Mira Luoti. Her solo career began in 2015 under the stage name ...

* Matti Ristinen * Sasu Paavola

References

External links

* * Municipalities of North Ostrobothnia Populated places established in 1869 1869 establishments in the Russian Empire {{OuluProvince-geo-stub