Salla (''Kuolajärvi'' until 1936) ( smn, Kyelijävri) 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 ...

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 Bot ...

, located in Lapland. The municipality 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 RosenberPopu ...

is . The nearby settlement of Sallatunturi is home to the Salla Ski Resort.

History

Salla is in the Eastern Lapland and as a border area was affected by the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

troops invaded Finland at Salla during 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 ...

but were stopped by the

Finnish Army The Finnish Army ( Finnish: ''Maavoimat'', Swedish: ''Armén'') is the land forces branch of the Finnish Defence Forces. The Finnish Army is divided into six branches: the infantry (which includes armoured units), field artillery, anti-aircraf ...

(see Battle of Salla). Parts of the municipality were ceded to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

after the war. The ceded part is sometimes called "Old Salla" or ''Vanha Salla''. During the Continuation War the old town of Salla was on the Soviet side of the border. The German XXXVI Corps attacked the Soviet positions in an operation code-named '' Polarfuchs''. With the help of the Finnish 6th Division it managed to occupy all of the ceded territories. At the end of the war the German troops were pushed out of Lapland by Finnish troops in the Lapland War. The following villages were ceded to the Soviet Union: Alakurtti, Korja (Korya), Kuolajärvi ( Kuoloyarvi), Lampela, Sallansuu, Yläkurtti (Yulyakurtti), Sovajärvi (Sovayarvi), Tuutijärvi (Tuutiyarvi) and Vuorijärvi (Vuoriyarvi). In January 2021, the mayor of Salla, Erkki Parkkinen, launched a bid to host the

2032 Summer Olympic Games The 2032 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXXV Olympiad and also known as Brisbane 2032, will be an international multi-sport event scheduled to take place from 23 July to 8 August 2032, in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. ...

to raise awareness of climate change and highlight the threat the climate crisis poses to Salla and its ecosystem, which is dependent on low temperatures for most of the year.

Transportation

Salla is the terminus of a freight-only railway line from

Kemijärvi Kemijärvi ( se, Giemajávri, smn, Kiemâjävri, sms, Ǩeeʹmmjäuʹrr) is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Lapland. History The first permanent settler inhabitant of Kemijärvi was Paavali Ollinpoi ...

. In 2006, the

Finnish Rail Administration The Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency ( fi, Väylävirasto, sv, Trafikledsverket), shortened to FTIA, is a Finnish government agency responsible for the maintenance of Finland's road, rail, and waterway systems. The agency's annual budget ...

announced proposals to close the line.Finnish Railway News – Year 2006
/ref> The railway formerly extended beyond Salla into Russia, but has never carried international traffic.

Geography

Neighbour municipalities are

Kuusamo Kuusamo ( sme, Guossán; smn, Kuáccám) is a town and municipality in Finland. It is located in the Northern Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . T ...

, Pelkosenniemi,

Posio Posio is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Lapland. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbour municipalities are Rovaniemi, Kemijärvi, ...

and Savukoski.

Climate

Salla has a

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of an ocean, g ...

( Dfc). Summer days are mild with about 1/3 of all days experiencing precipitation with nights tending to be cool. Winters are very long, cold, snowy, and extremely cloudy, lasting from the beginning of October through April, with mid-winter thaws being rare, and cold snaps relatively common. Spring and Autumn tend to be cool, not very variable, and short, lasting only a couple weeks to a few weeks in length. The low temperature record of Salla is -50 °C (-58 °F), which was recorded in Naruska in 1985. It was also the record of Finland until 1999. On 28 January 1999, the unofficial record of Finland, -54,3 °C (-65,7 °F), was recorded in Naruska.

Historical places

In popular culture

Salla was referenced in the song ''66°50’N, 28°40’E'' by Finnish

death-doom Death-doom is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It combines the slow tempos and pessimistic or depressive mood of doom metal with the deep growling vocals and double kick drumming of death metal. The genre emerged in the late-1980s and gain ...

band

Swallow the Sun Swallow the Sun is a Finnish death-doom band founded in 2000 by Juha Raivio. Their death-doom style emphasizes melody and atmosphere, and occasionally steps into gothic and black metal territory. They have released eight full-length albums, on ...

on their 2015 triple album ''Songs From the North I, II and III''.

References

External links

*
Municipality of Salla
– Official website {{Authority control Populated places established in 1857 Finland–Russia border crossings 1857 establishments in the Russian Empire