Pello (formerly Turtola) is a municipality in the northern
Lapland region. It is located on the Finnish side of the Tornionjoki
River and, together with Ylitornio, forms the Torne Valley
subregion. The parish that gives the municipality its name, Pello,
has been divided into two countries by the Torne River since the
Russian Empire conquered it in 1809. However, the rich culture that
unites the two sides of the valley is stronger than politics and the
river; for example, the Torne people speak Meänkiel, a dialect of
Finnish. In addition, the municipality, together with the
municipalities of Övertorneå, Pajala and Ylitornio, has launched a
tourism project to promote the valley. Pello has an area of
1,863.66 square kilometers, almost as large as Gipuzkoa, and
although it is not one of the least populated municipalities in
Lapland, with only about 4,000 inhabitants.
The Arctic Circle
divides the municipality in two and, as a result, in the 18th
century, In the mid-17th century, in 1736, the French astronomer,
mathematician and philosopher Pierre Louis Maupertuis came to the
town and its neighbour Ylitornio to conduct research on the size of
the Earth. As mentioned, he attempted to conduct research on the
size of the Earth from the peaks of the Aavasaksa hills in Ylitornio
and the Kittisvaara hills in Pello. The coat of arms represents all
these researches, as the three hills in the town that the researcher
climbed and the three stars that he studied are depicted.
Among the most famous residents of Pello is the cross-country skier
Eero Mäntyranta. One of the most successful Finnish skiers, he won
three gold, two silver and two bronze Olympic medals at the 1960,
1964 and 1968 Winter Olympics.
The coat of arms is the main symbol of the municipality. It was created in 1952 by the Helsinki artist Olof Eriksson and was approved by the Pello municipal council on March 17 of the same year (by the Ministry of the Interior on May 30). With the images shown on it, the author wanted to express the nature and culture of the municipality. On a dark blue field, there are three silver peaks, topped by three silver six-pointed stars with a 1+2 position. The peaks represent the research journey of the French astronomer, mathematician and philosopher Pierre Louis Maupertuis; in order to determine the exact size of the Earth, the scientist traveled to Pello between 1736 and 1737. To carry out his mission, Maupertuis had to climb the hills of Horilankero, Kittisvaara and Niemivaara in the municipality, and these three hills are the three peaks represented in the coat of arms. On the other hand, the three stars that appear indicate the location of the city, in the heart of the Arctic Circle.
There are two places related to ethnography and art in the
municipality. The first, the Etnografinen museu or Ethnography Museum,
is a wooden building in the village of Pello, where the history of the
municipality and the origin of the inhabitants of the Torne Valley are
studied. This museum has become the leading museum in the valley thanks
to renovation works carried out in recent years. The second is the Lapin
Keramiikka/ Lapin Savi area, where there is an exhibition and a shop of
the famous ceramics produced in the Lappi region.
On the other
hand, at the top of the Kittisvaara hill, there is a memorial erected in
honor of the researcher Pierre Louis Maupertuis. Due to the
long-standing structures and historical value of the buildings there,
the village of Ratasjärvi and the Kittisvaara hill were designated a
monument in 1993.
Among them, the most famous buildings and
monuments in the municipality are:
Eero's Statue: This statue in
honor of the skier Eero Mäntyranta was erected in the village of Pello
in 1967. In fact, this Pello native, one of the most famous Finnish
skiers, won a total of three gold, two silver and two bronze Olympic
medals at the 1960, 1964 and 1968 Winter Olympics; he was also the world
champion in the 30 km race for eight years. The 1964 Olympics held in
Innsbruck were the peak of this skier's professional career; there he
became one of the most successful Finnish athletes and earned the
nickname "Mister Seefeld".
Pello Church: The church in the village of
Pello is the most important building in the municipality; this wooden
Lutheran church was opened in 1953 with the help of American Lutherans
after World War II and the Lapland Wars. In total, there is seating for
350 believers and in addition to the main building, a few meters away is
the famous bell tower. Although it is not the oldest building in Pello,
it is the building to which the municipality owes its name.
Turtola
Church: It is a Lutheran church in the village of Turtola. It was built
on the ashes of the old church that was destroyed during the Lapland
War. It was opened in 1953 and was also built thanks to the financial
support of American Christians. In total, there is seating for 220
believers.
The Pellon Ponsi or PePo team is a famous sports team in the
municipality. The sports in which the team participates are
cross-country skiing, orienteering and athletics. Among the most famous
team members are Eero Mäntyranta, Olli-Markus Taivainen and Sari
Keskitalo. The former is one of the most famous Finnish skiers, having
won a total of three gold, two silver and two bronze medals at the 1960,
1964 and 1968 Winter Olympics; she was also the world champion in the 30
km race for eight years. The 1964 Olympics in Innsbruck were the skier's
professional peak, where she became one of the most successful Finnish
athletes and earned the nickname "Mister Seefeld". The latter is the
middle-distance world champion in ski orienteering at the age of twenty.
The Keskitalo tournament winner is the best Finnish sprinter, having won
the most sprint championships in the country since 2006.
5th
division ice hockey team: PeKi Red Stars (Pellon Kiekko).
Every June, the village of Oranki hosts an art competition. In a forest a couple of kilometres from the village, artists exhibit their works, and since 2001 the area has become a forest cemetery of around fifty works of art. It is a very popular competition, and every year around ten sculptures arrive in this small village.
The first organized society to arrive in the Torne Valley is believed
to have arrived after the Ice Age, when the northern climate began to
soften and the glaciers began to melt, around 6000 BC. The culture that
developed over the centuries is called Komsa or Gorravárri and, since
they settled mainly on the coast of the Arctic Ocean, they had close
relations with the tribes of the early Fonsa culture of the North Sea.
Although the origin of the original inhabitants of this territory, the
Sami, is still unknown, it seems that they are the result of a mixture
of these tribes and the Ural peoples who later (in the Stone Age)
entered Scandinavia from the east. Initially, their territory extended
from the Arctic Ocean to central Finland, Norway and Sweden and they
lived mainly from hunting, gathering fruit and fishing; that is, they
followed their prey, they were nomads. The remains of these first
inhabitants that have been found in Pello date back to 4500 BC. In fact,
a total of fifty objects from this period have been found; These include
hunting tools, jeweled ornaments, paintings and several tombs.
In
the Classical Middle Ages, Swedish influence began to become prominent
and the territory was incorporated into the former province of
Vestrobothnia of the Swedish Kingdom, along with the entire southern
Torne Valley. Thus, Christianity began to spread by the Swedes in the
11th century and the first Finns began to arrive in the Torne Valley;
thus, these Finns began to take over the fertile waters of the
Tornionjoki River, which was originally inhabited by the Sami. The first
written mention of the municipality is on a map by the Swedish Olaus
Magnus from 1518. In it, Magnus describes the village, which is
described as Pele, as a prosperous trading center.
Swedish
influence intensified from the 14th century onwards and in 1531, Gustav
Vasa, then king of the Swedish Kingdom, made the first attempt to found
the city of Torneå and turn the Tornionjoki basin into a trading center.
However, since the Birkars living in these territories controlled the
population and trade, both this attempt and the attempt by John III in
1585 were not successful. Although the Birkars were initially allies of
the Swedes, they did not want to give up their privileges and greatly
hindered the development of Lapland and the entire Torne Valley.
In order to reduce the Birkars' power in this territory and strengthen
the power of the Swedish Kingdom, in 1606 the Swedes divided the Torne
Valley into two: Lower Torne and Upper Torne (in Finnish, Alatornio and
Ylitornio). Finally, in 1620, the Birkars were defeated and the Swedish
Kingdom founded the cities of Umeå, Piteå, Luleå and Torneå; trade
reached the north of the Gulf of Bothnia and the valley. Torneå became
the northernmost city in the entire Swedish Kingdom, and with the
development of this city, the region of Upper Torne, which included
Pello and several other towns, began to prosper. For example, butter,
salmon and furs produced in the valley were valuable goods throughout
the Kingdom; in return, products from all over Sweden and the Baltic Sea
arrived. During this time, the few Sami who remained in the municipality
moved north or gradually adopted Finnish culture. The economic benefits
and land acquisitions offered by the kingdom for colonizing the northern
territories led to the arrival of people from Karelia, Savonia and
Tavastia. The current culture of the Torne Valley began to take shape.
On the other hand, in the mid-18th century, it declined. As a result
of the Great Northern War, trade stopped and many Pello residents moved
to the city, attracted by the shipbuilding industry that had developed
around Tornio. The decline occurred in 1715, when Tornio was conquered
and destroyed by the Russian Empire.
The Arctic Circle passes
through Pello; therefore, in the mid-18th century, in 1736, the French
astronomer, mathematician and philosopher Pierre Louis Maupertuis came
to the town and its neighboring town of Ylitornio to conduct research on
the size of the Earth. From the peaks of the Aavasaksa hills in
Ylitornio and the Kittisvaara hills in Pello, he attempted to conduct
research on the size of the Earth. Also at the end of the 18th century,
the Italian explorer Giuseppe Acerbi visited the Tornionjoki River and
collected several traditional oral melodies there.
In the early
19th century, battles for control of Finland took place between the
Swedish and Russian Empires in Finland and throughout Europe;
eventually, in the Finnish War, the Russian Empire annexed the country
with the support of Finnish nationalism. Finland became a Grand Duchy
within the Empire and new borders were established between Sweden and
the Muonionjoki and Tornionjoki rivers. Thus, the towns on both banks of
the river, such as Pello, Juoksenki and Turtola, were divided into two.
The municipality was founded in 1867, but its path to its formation
had begun long before. In 1818, a church was built in the village of
Turtola and it gradually began to separate from the diocese of
Ylitornio. Finally, taking advantage of the facilities provided by the
Grand Duchy of Finland, the citizens founded a new municipality in 1867.
This new municipality, with a population of about 1,200, was named after
the largest village or the village where the church was located,
Turtola.
After Finland gained independence in the Civil War of
1917, and while this process was still not stabilized, World War II
broke out on the old continent. The country, seeking to maintain its
independent status and to keep the USSR away from its territory, joined
forces with Nazi Germany. German troops who arrived from Norway settled
in the villages and began organizing the defense of the Arctic Ocean;
for example, they built a prison in the village of Oranki in the
municipality. With war approaching, the fledgling Finnish Government
ordered the evacuation of citizens to Sweden. After several wars (Winter
War, Continuation War), Finland signed a peace agreement with the USSR,
which required the expulsion of the Germans from Finnish lands. Finland
then began to pursue the Nazis. They thought of fleeing to their
satellite country, neighboring Norway, but before they could flee, to
prevent their retreat, the Finns settled in Pello and other border
municipalities. The Lapland War began. The municipality suffered severe
consequences, as the Germans burned and destroyed all the villages and
buildings, except for Konttajärvi - among them, Turtola, the old church
and Pello - but the Finnish victory at least facilitated their
reconstruction.
Along with the construction of the new church,
the Pello church was built, and in 1949 the municipality was renamed
Pello, as we know it today. In the years following World War II, Finland
experienced tremendous economic growth and achieved social and political
stability. After 40 years of being a poor post-war country, declaring
itself neutral during the Cold War, and paying a fine imposed by the UN,
it became the most technologically advanced and intelligent state in the
world, with enormous market economic power and a high standard of
living. However, all this growth was not so good for the municipality;
since industry did not take root in Lapland (except in the cities of
Kemi, Kemijärvi and Tornio) and many residents had to flee to other more
developed cities in Finland if they wanted to improve their lives.
Although more and more developed structures are arriving today, the
municipality still remains under the influence of Tornio and its
neighboring cities. At least the tourism offer created together with
Övertorneå, Pajala and Ylitornio has reduced the unemployment rate.
However, Pello has become another municipality in Lapland whose
population is losing ground year after year.
Pello is a municipality in the Torne Valley in northwestern Finland.
It is located in the Lappi region and is separated from the Swedish
municipalities of Pajala and Övertorneå by the Tornionjoki River.
Specifically, its neighbors are Pajala and Övertorneå to the west,
Kolari to the north, the capital Rovaniemi to the east, and Ylitornio to
the south. Together with Ylitornio, it forms the Torne Valley subregion,
the smallest subregion in the entire Lappi region. The municipality has
an area of 1,863.66 km², almost as large as Gipuzkoa, and is the sixth
smallest municipality in all of Lappi. The predominant climate in Pello
is subarctic, and taiga or boreal forest covers all parts of the
municipality. Therefore, the most common trees growing there are alders,
firs, poplars, pines, willows, and birches. Snow, on the other hand,
covers the land of the municipality from early November to May and it is
worth mentioning the marshy and swampy areas where different plant
species can be found, the most famous in the whole country.
The
Arctic Circle, parallel 66º 33' 38", passes through it and divides the
municipality into two parts, the northern Arctic zone and the southern
temperate zone. The phenomena of midnight sun, white night and polar
night occur annually. During the first two, the sun or the brightness of
the sun dominates the sky of the municipality from early June to July;
while the polar night, the period of darkness that prevails, occurs only
for one day, on December 21. As mentioned earlier, the main climate of
the municipality is subarctic and, as a result, temperatures are mild in
summer, but winters tend to be cold and long. However, winters are not
as cold as in central Lapland, because the warm water currents that
reach the Arctic Ocean soften the winters. In ancient times, and in
their calendars that they still make today, the Sami distinguished eight
seasons that help to understand the climate of Lapland: spring-winter,
spring, early spring, summer, early autumn, autumn, pre-dawn and dark
winter. The Northern Lights, on the other hand, are very common on dark
and clear winter nights; from September to March, it is a phenomenon
that occurs three out of four nights, especially in October and March.
As mentioned earlier, the Arctic Circle passes through Pello. For
this reason, in the middle of the 18th century, specifically in 1736,
the French astronomer, mathematician and philosopher Pierre Louis
Maupertuis came to the town and its neighbor Ylitornio to conduct
research on the size of the Earth. As mentioned, from the peaks of the
Aavasaksa hills in Ylitornio and the Kittisvaara hills in Pello, he
tried to conduct research on the size of the Earth.
The
municipality is completely flat, with no place exceeding 300 meters;
among the small hills that the aforementioned Pierre Louis Maupertuis
used for his research are the Horilankero, Kittisvaara and Niemivaara
hills near the banks of the Tornionjoki River. The water surface area,
on the other hand, is only 6.7%, 125.69 km²; however, there are several
lakes and rivers throughout the municipality. For example, the
Tornionjoki, the main symbol of the Torne Valley and a bordering river,
and the lakes Alposjärvi, Miekojärvi, Raanujärvi and Väha Vietonen in
Alainen are worth mentioning. The freshwater fish such as salmon, brown
trout and Lapland trout in its strong, flowing and proud water currents
attract many fishermen. These fishermen tend to set up near the small
Konttaköngäs waterfall because it is easier to catch the mixed fish.
However, the largest animal that can be seen in the water areas is the
famous otter in the country.
Although there are no protected
areas, the nature of Pello is very rich. The forests extend almost
without limits throughout the area, mainly fir, birch and pine forests.
The only limits of these forests are the marshy areas and rivers that
predominate. There are many birds that find refuge in these forests;
such as the great egrets, the yellow-legged and dwarf geese, the
ospreys, the bald eagles, the hawks, the red-tailed hawks, the great and
lesser kestrels, the black-legged and lesser thrushes, the jays, the
snowy owls, the northern falcons, the ravens and the jays, the common
and lesser kestrels, the red-tailed hawks, the little and little grebes,
the red-tailed hawks, the great and great grebes, the winter terns, the
winter terns, the Arctic terns, the yellow jays, the water terns, the
common goldeneyes, the long-legged buntings, the common sawflies, the
marsh terns and the white-tailed blackbirds that arrive in spring after
spending the entire winter in the south. In fact, during the summer, the
municipality receives 150 different species of birds, but only a few
remain for the winter; among them, the white partridges, the sedges, the
great crested grebes and the great crested grebes. Among the carnivorous
mammals, brown bears, white and common martens, lynxes and sables
predominate; although they were hunted for a long time, the numbers of
the latter are increasing thanks to protection laws. Arctic wolves, on
the other hand, are relatively rare, but occasionally appear in the
area. Elk and reindeer, on the other hand, are the most famous large
herbivores.
Finally, it should be noted that the "capital" of the
municipality (Pello village or Pello parish), Juoksenki and Turtola are
villages on both sides of the Tornionjoki River, in Finnish and Swedish;
that is, they are border villages. In fact, when the Russian Empire
annexed Finland in 1809 and declared it a Grand Duchy, the border of the
Kingdom of Sweden was established at the Tornionjoki River, thus
dividing the villages on both sides of the river. On the Finnish side,
these villages are part of Pello, while on the Swedish side, they belong
to the Övertorneå municipality. However, although they are located
between the two countries, there currently appears to be no border on
the river that separates the two sides.
According to the economic structure of Pello, 84% of the working
population works in services; both in public services, forestry and
tourism. The rest works mainly in agriculture (due to climatic
conditions) and reindeer herding. Since the Torne Valley is almost
undeveloped in industry, with the exception of Tornio, the unemployment
rate is the highest of almost all municipalities in Finland, but due to
the rural lifestyle of the town, these figures are not serious.
Since the 70s, and especially in the 90s, the population has been
decreasing year by year, mainly due to the Finnish economic crisis. As
mentioned earlier, the word industry is unknown there and the crisis hit
the primary sector municipality hard; as a result, many residents had to
go abroad in search of work -especially to the cities of Tornio and
Rovaniemi-. However, since Finland's economy is currently at its peak,
the residents are working in their rural world without any problems.
Finally, it is worth noting that in recent years the forestry industry
has also become important in the municipality's income.
However,
services and tourism are the activities that provide the most jobs. In
particular, the tourism offer created together with the municipalities
of Övertorneå, Pajala and Ylitornio in the Torne Valley has managed to
reduce the percentage of unemployment. The route of the researcher
Pierre Louis Maupertuis, the Arctic Circle and the activities around the
Tornionjoki River attract many tourists; especially nature lovers and
fishermen.