Kärsämäki (; literally meaning "

snout A snout is the protruding portion of an animal's face, consisting of its nose, mouth, and jaw. In many animals, the structure is called a muzzle, Rostrum (anatomy), rostrum, beak or proboscis. The wet furless surface around the nostrils of the n ...

hill") is a

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

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

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

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

–

– Utsjoki) and Highway 28 (

Kokkola Kokkola (; , ) is a town in Finland and the regional capital of Central Ostrobothnia. It is located on the west coast of the country, on the Gulf of Bothnia. The population of Kokkola is approximately , while the Kokkola sub-region, sub-region h ...

–

Kajaani Kajaani (; ), is a town in Finland and the regional capital of Kainuu. Kajaani is located southeast of Oulujärvi, Lake Oulu, which drains into the Gulf of Bothnia through the Oulujoki, Oulu River. The population of Kajaani is approximately , w ...

) intersect and where Highway 58 leading to Kangasala 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 . Nei ...

, Haapavesi,

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 ...

, Pyhäntä and Siikalatva. The previous neighboring municipality was Piippola, which was merged with the municipality of Siikalatva in 2009. The municipality is unilingually Finnish. The explanation of the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

of the municipality of Kärsämäki is "in the silver field 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 or capacity, its shape, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically used on inland waterways s ...

, both blue, seven red

fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion re ...

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 use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

battles with the Tavastians. The village is told by the Tavastians shout ''”Veneet palaa!”'' (lit. "Boats are burning!") according to local the 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 or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the ...

on October 5 of the same year.

Geography

Nature

The 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 . Over 60% of the area is

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

. Bigges swamps are Kärsämäenneva, Lauttaneva, Onkineva and Vellihonganneva. The Pyhäjoki 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 ...

, 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 Pyhäjoki 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 is a human settlement with a high population density and an infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas originate through urbanization, and researchers categorize them as cities, towns, conurbations or suburbs. In urbani ...

, 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 a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

raisin A raisin is a Dried fruit, 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, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia and South Afri ...

s and bread cheese, a

potato The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...

pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig animal husbandry, husbandry dating back to 8000–9000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooke ...

casserole A casserole (French language, French: diminutive of , from Provençal dialect, Provençal , meaning 'saucepan') is a kind of large, deep cookware and bakeware, pan or bowl used for cooking a variety of dishes in the oven; it is also a categor ...

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

Notable people

* Berndt Leonard Frosterus * Aappo Luomajoki * Markku Koski * Kalevi Hemilä * Paula Vesala * Matti Ristinen * Sasu Paavola

References

External links

* * *
Visit Kärsämäki
{{DEFAULTSORT:Karsamaki Municipalities of North Ostrobothnia Populated places established in 1869 1869 establishments in the Russian Empire