Kalajoki is a Finnish city located at the mouth of the Kalajoki
River, in the Southern Province of Oulu, Northern Ostrobothnia. The
city was inhabited by 12,413 people in 2010 after a municipal union
with the municipality of Himanga and covers an area of 2,391.29 km²,
of which 6.98 km² are water bodies. The population density is 13.43
inhabitants / km². The population of Kalajoki, excluding the Himanga
area, ie before the 2010 Association of Municipalities, was 9,591.
The city is known for tourism, agriculture and the metal
industry. Kalajoki is located at the intersection of Highway 8 and
Highway 27, and the nearby port of Rahja acts as a traffic hub
between truck and ship traffic. The nearest railway stations are in
Ylivieska and Kannus.
The neighboring municipalities of
Kalajoki are Alavieska, Kokkola, Kannus, Merijärvi, Pyhäjoki, Sievi
and Ylivieska.
The Kalajoki region was not freed from the power of
water until the end of the Stone Age, which is why only some Stone
Age finds have been found in the municipality. The most significant
of the finds is Kivimaa's extensive residence in the Rautia area.
The area was inhabited by the Sámi until the 13th and 14th
centuries. Later, the area was mainly the wilderness area of the
people of Satakunta and Häme.
Permanent settlement began when
a few wilderness visitors settled at the mouth of the Kalajoki and
Himanganjoki rivers. The oldest villages in the region are
Pohjankylä, Eteläkylä and Raumankari, which were probably founded in
the 14th and 15th centuries. There is a Kuninkaankivi monument in
the village of Rautila, reminiscent of the visit of the King of
Sweden. According to tradition, King Adolf Fredrik stopped at the
spot on his way north.
The main occupations of the population
were initially agriculture, fishing and seal hunting. Fish were
caught from the largest rivers and the sea. Maakalla, which rose
from the sea in the 15th century, developed into an important
fishing base in the 16th century, where dozens of fish houses and
barns were built.
In the Middle Ages, Kalajoki belonged to
the Salo parish. In 1525, the Salo Chapel Parish was formed from
Kalajoki. Himanka, on the other hand, first belonged to the
administrator of Pietarsaari, from the 1490s to the administrator of
Kokkola. In the 1570s, Kalajoki was formed into its own
administrative area, which included Alavieska, Ylivieska, Sievi,
Reisjärvi, Nivala and Haapajärvi. In the same year, the
administrative head of Lohtaja was also formed, which included
Himanka. Himanka originally belonged to the Lohtaja parish, but
became independent as the Lohtaja chapel parish in the early 18th
century. The Free Duchy of Ikalaborg ruled the area as a Swedish
province from 1652 for more than twenty years.
Kalajoki and
Himanka grew slowly in the 17th century, when the development of the
population was particularly affected by the years of the roof and
wartime. Great hatred also limited the population development of
Kalajoki and Himanga. After the Great Wrath, the population began to
rise and in the late 18th century the population began to grow
strongly. The good traffic position of the Kalajoki and Himanga
estuaries led to the bourgeoisie of Kokkola starting to hold markets
in these areas. In Kalajoki, Plass's marketplace became an important
trading place in the area. In Himanga, on the other hand, the old
Raumankari became an important trading place in the area. In the
19th century, Kalajoki was known for its diverse small industry. The
holder made brass items, watches and weapons, among other things. In
Himanga, shipbuilding grew into a significant industry. The most
important industry from the 18th century until the end of the 19th
century was tar burning. Tar was sold to the burghers of Kokkola.
In the Finnish War in Himanga in 1808 there were small
skirmishes with the Russians. Wilhelm von Schwerin died in the
battle of Kalajoki during the Finnish War. Kalajoki was one of the
core areas of the revival movement in the Kalajoki Valley in the
early 19th century. In 1838–1839, the well-known Kalajoki district
was held in the Törnvall House in Pohjankylä, where those who were
awakened were sentenced on the basis of a convention poster. A large
number of awakened laymen were fined and priests were briefly
removed from office. Siltasaari's relocated district building
currently serves as the Kalajoki local history museum. In the 19th
century, the population of Himanga began to grow. In 1810 there were
491 inhabitants, in 1850 892. The great years of death 1866–1868
slightly reduced the population of Kalajoki and Himanga.
Today, Kalajoki is known as a tourist municipality. The sandbars of
the Kalajoki River have been a nationally known and marketed holiday
destination since the 1970s. Kalajoki also has a strong agricultural
tradition, and farms still produce grain, potatoes, meat and milk.
The metal industry in Kalajoki is driven by the steel of Kalajoki
and the port of Rahja, among others.
In the 1980s, leather
and red whey drained from milk were named the main dishes of
Kalajoki.
Kalajoki
Kalajoki was founded in 1865. The
population of Kalajoki grew steadily for a long time in the 20th
century. In 1920 the municipality had 5,780 inhabitants. In 1952
there were 7,085 of them and in 1960 already 7,373 inhabitants.
However, the 1960s cut off favorable demographic trends and by 1970
the population had fallen to 6,979. In the 1970s, the population
began to grow again. In 1985, Kalajoki had a population of 9,108.
Kalajoki became a city at the beginning of 2002.
Himanka
In 1868, Himanga became its own parish. In 1870 there
were already 2,192 inhabitants, in the same year two houses were
transferred from Kannus Mutkalamminkylä to Himangan village in
Himanga. The houses were Ainali and Oja. The population of Himanga
was reduced by migration in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The immigrants moved from the region mainly to America. Local sports
clubs include Himangan Athletes, Himangan Roima and Himangan Ball.
Ahti Pöyhtäri, an honorary war veteran and local politician who died
in 1999, has written about the history of the region. He was born in
Himanga on August 11, 1918. Himanka is also one of the most
important ware-producing municipalities in Finland. Prior to 2010,
the municipality had 3,023 inhabitants.
Rautio
Rautio
acquired the rights of the chapel parish on November 11, 1826. At
that time, the village of Kärkinen was also connected to the same
chapel. Rautio was entitled to become an independent parish in 1912,
but in reality this did not happen until 1921. There were two larger
villages in the parish: Kirkonkylä and Kärkinen. According to the
formation of the settlement, the following villages were also
separated: Huhtakylä, Holland, Sorvari, Taipale, Pahkamaa, Typpö and
Iso-ditch. In 1970, the parish had 1,423 inhabitants.
Municipal associations
The municipality of Rautia joined the
Kalajoki River in 1973. The municipality of Himanga joined the city
of Kalajoki on January 1, 2010. The coat of arms of the new
municipality became the coat of arms of Himanga. At the same time,
the Himanga region moved from the province of Central Ostrobothnia
to the province of Northern Ostrobothnia.