Haapajärvi is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

and

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

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. It is located in the

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

Oulu Oulu ( , ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Ostrobothnia. It is located on the northwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Oulujoki, River Oulu. The population of Oulu is approximately , while the Oulu sub-regio ...

and is part of the

Northern Ostrobothnia North Ostrobothnia (; ) 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. The easternmost corner of the region between ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbour municipalities are

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 mu ...

Kärsämäki Kärsämäki (; literally meaning "snout hill") is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Oulu and is part of the Northern Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is wate ...

Nivala Nivala (formerly known as ''Pidisjärvi'') is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the Northern Ostrobothnia region. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The muni ...

Pihtipudas Pihtipudas is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. Pihtipudas is known for the annual javelin carnival and for Lauri Pihkala, Lauri "Tahko" Pihkala, the inventor of Pesäpallo, the Finnish variant of baseball. Location and geogra ...

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–H ...

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

and

Sievi Sievi () is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the provinces of Finland, province of Oulu (province), Oulu and is part of the North Ostrobothnia regions of Finland, region. The municipality has a population of ...

. The municipality is unilingually Finnish.

History

Haapajärvi was first mentioned in 1548 as ''Hapaierffue'' (a

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 ...

transcription of the Finnish name), when it was a part of the parish of

Kalajoki Kalajoki (; literally translated the "fish river") is a coastal town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the immediate vicinity of the Gulf of Bothnia in the province of Oulu and is part of the Northern Ostrobothnia region. The town ...

. Many of the initial settlers of the area were

Savonians Savonians (; ), or Savo Finns, are a subgroup (''heimo'') of Finns who live in the areas of the historical province of Savonia. History Savonians are descendants of Tavastian and Karelian peasants who, during the Middle Ages, had settled ...

, including the Herranen and Ronka(i)nen families already mentioned in 1543 as settlers in Kalajoki. According to the oldest known (1547) tax documents regarding the area, at least half of Haapajärvi's inhabitants were Savonians. Due to this, the area of Haapajärvi (including Pidisjärvi) was known as ''Kalajoen Savo'' in the 16th century. Savonian influence is still present in the Central Ostrobothnian dialect spoken in Haapajärvi. The men of

Jämsä Jämsä () is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the Central Finland region, about southwest of Jyväskylä. The municipality has a population of (), which makes it the second most populous town of the Central Finland after ...

held hunting grounds in the area; opposed to the settlement on their lands, men from Jämsä attacked the Savonian settlements of the Kalajoki and Pyhäjoki valleys in 1551. The settlers soon notified the king of Sweden (

Gustav Vasa Gustav Eriksson Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), also known as Gustav I, was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560. He was previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm (''Reichsverweser#Sweden, Riksföreståndare'') fr ...

), who forbade the

Tavastians The Tavastians (; ) were an ancient Finnish tribes, Finnish tribe that inhabited the historical province of Tavastia (historical province), Tavastia (). In Russian sources, they are called ''Yem'' (Емь) or ''Yam'' (Ямь), but the term later ...

from disturbing the new settlements, however also stating that the Tavastians were allowed to settle on their own hunting grounds as well. The first church was built in 1649 or 1653. Haapajärvi acquired chapel rights in 1698 and became an independent parish in 1838, also including the chapel communities of Pidisjärvi and

. Both Reisjärvi and Pidisjärvi (

) were separated in 1868. A chapel was built in the village of Olkkola for the

Laestadian Laestadianism (; ; ; ), also known as Laestadian Lutheranism and Apostolic Lutheranism, is a pietistic Lutheran revival movement started in Sápmi in the middle of the 19th century. Named after Swedish Lutheran state church administrator and ...

community in the 1920s, however it has never been officially designated as a church or a chapel. Olkkola was a chapel community from 1927 to 1978. Haapajärvi became a town (''kaupunki'') in 1977.

Villages

Sport

Haapajärven Speedway track () is a

motorcycle speedway Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four clockwise, anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that ...

venue located approximately 6 kilometres east of the town in a remote forested area, off the Kauniskankaantie road, adjacent to the motocross facility. The speedway track has held the final of the

Finnish Individual Speedway Championship The Finnish Individual Speedway Championship is a Motorcycle speedway championship held each year to determine the Finnish national champion. It was first staged in 1955. The final of the Finnish Championship regularly doubled up as the Finnis ...

on five occasions from 2008 to 2023.

Notable people

* Petri Tapio Mattson (born 1973), Finnish violinist and ensemble director * Johan Gabriel Ståhlberg (1832–1873), Finnish priest and father of President K. J. Ståhlberg

Gallery

File:KunnalliskotiHaapajarvi.jpeg, A "municipal home" (kunnaliskoti) for those unable to provide themselves in Haapajärvi in pre-war Finland

References

External links

Town of Haapajärvi
– Official website Cities and towns in Finland Municipalities of North Ostrobothnia Populated places established in 1868 {{OuluProvince-geo-stub