Simo is a municipality in Finland, located in the southwestern
part of the province of Lapland, on the border of the province of
North Ostrobothnia, on the coast of the Baltic Sea, along the four
roads. 2,877 people live in the municipality, and its area is
2,085.60 km², of which 619.05 km² is sea area and 19.96 km² is
inland water bodies. The population density is 1.99 inhabitants/km².
Simojoki flows through Simon. Simoa The nearest cities are Kemi,
Tornio, Haaparanta and Oulu. Neighboring municipalities are Ii,
Kemi, Keminmaa, Ranua and Tervola. Simo is also known for the
significant landscape areas of Simojokisuu.
Even though the
municipality belongs to the Kemi–Tornio regional municipality, it
has exceptionally joined the Oulunkaari regional municipality as a
partner in terms of social and health care.
Simo consists of
many small village communities. Simon's attractions include, among
other things, Simon's church, which represents the later empire
style and was completed in 1846, and a jaeger camp with statues
reminiscent of the stage route of the jaegers and the skirmish of
Simon in 1916.
In 2015, the city of Kemi and the
municipalities of Keminmaa and Simon negotiated a merger into the
new city of Kemi. The merger was supposed to take place at the
beginning of 2017. The municipal councils of Kemi and Simon approved
the merger proposal, but the council of Keminmaa rejected it.
Early history
Simonkylä's river mouth area and the Simo and
Maksniemi coastal regions are Simon's oldest residential area. The
oldest information about the settlement of Simonkylä is from the 14th
century. In the 16th century, the population of Simon grew as a result
of the migration of the Savonians, which especially increased the
population of Simonkylä and Simoniemi. Simo was especially known for
large farms and fishermen. The areas of the current station villages
were sparsely populated: a few salmon fishermen had settled near the
rapids.
Development time
In the 19th century, Simonkylä was
still the most important center of Simon. Little by little, the
settlement began to expand along the banks of the Simojoki. In 1865, in
a major municipal reform, the municipality of Simon got its actual
borders, even though the area had long been called Simo and the
inhabitants Simoans. In the 19th century, Kemi, a large part of today's
Ranua and small amounts of Tervola belonged to Simo. Kemi was separated
into its own municipality as early as 1869. Simon's population changed
significantly at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The large
landowners still held power in Simo, but the dominant population quickly
began to become worker-dominated due to the jobs provided by Kemi's
industry.
In 1903, a significant event took place in Simo in
terms of its current form. When they left Oulu to continue the railway
towards the north, according to the plan, the railway ran through the
middle of the wilderness, passing Simonkylä. The railway was considered
to be curved towards the shore, so that the railway would pass through
Simonkylä. The idea was considered too expensive, and it was decided to
run the railway across Simon, which gave birth to Simon's current
center, Asemakylä. In the vicinity of the station, a new and fast
building base quickly arose, and the population of Asemakylä grew from a
little over a hundred to a little over 450 inhabitants by 1910. At the
same time, Simonkylä lost its status as Simon's administrative center.
Farther inland, a small sawmill industry emerged in the 1930s, and large
cattle ranches and potato fields were established on vast expanses. Even
today, potatoes are one of the most important export products in Simo.
The Lapland War
In the war in Lapland, Simon's central town and
Maksniemi suffered great destruction. German stations were located north
of the station village. The bridges of the Simojoki were blown up in the
Lapland war, which is why the Simojoki had to be crossed by a castle
long after the war. The bridge connection was important, because it cut
off Nelostie. Simonkylä and Simoniemi survived the ravages of the war.
From the war to the present day
After the war, Simon's population
declined slightly, but began to rise again in the 1960s. The growth
continued until the 1970s, after which the growth leveled off. At the
end of the 1970s, industry was born again in Simo, and the population
began to rise again. In Simo, the outlying villages also benefited from
the increase in migration at that time, where the descendants of farmers
moved to continue the farms. The population grew rapidly in the 1980s,
but leveled off towards the end of the decade. Due to the recession of
the 1990s, the industry ran into difficulties and the industry
disappeared from Simo. The population began to decline, the most
population disappeared at the turn of the millennium in 1995–2000 when
the population moved to the south and to the relatively nearby growth
center of Oulu. In 2005, the municipality of Kuivaniemi started to
figure out the future federal government. Simo suggested that Kuivaniemi
join Simo, because the distance between the municipalities' central
drives is only about 7 kilometers. In Kuivaniemi, the proposal was
opposed and the location of Simon in the province of Lapland and the
location of Kuivaniemi in the province of North Ostrobothnia were also
an obstacle. Kuivaniemi finally joined Ii municipality.
Kemi-Tornio has remained the main working area, but in the 21st century
the number of people working in Oulu has increased. Simon's municipality
has slowly begun to make closer contact with Oulu, the latest example
being Simon's partial joining of Oulunkaari sub-district. After the
regional merger in 2013, there has been only one municipality between
Simon and Oulu. A possible expansion of the Oulu-Kemi distance between
the quadruples in the future would probably increase Simon's orientation
towards Oulu even more.
The municipality of Simon was about to be
joined to a large union of five municipalities covering the entire
Kemi-Tornio region, but the project fell through. After this, Simo, Kemi
and Keminmaa negotiated the union. Due to Keminmaa's opposition, the
project failed, after which Simo and Kemi negotiated a merger, which
Simo rejected.
In terms of its general topography, Simo is for the most part a flat
area, whose ridges, the municipalities, rise 5–10 meters above their
surroundings. The land surface rises slowly and steadily towards the
coast, reaching a height of one hundred meters on the banks of the
Simojoki near the Ranua border, and nearly 150 meters in the far north.
Simo is an area with very little water. The share of water bodies is
about 2% of the surface area, while it is 9% on average in the whole
country. The Simojoki, which starts from Simojärvi in Ranua, flows
through Pitäjä, and is about 178 km long. Several tributaries flow into
Simojoki from the north. The most important are Iso-Tainijoki,
Kuivasjoki, Simoskanoja and Martimo-oja starting from Martimojärvi. On
the northwest edge, from the Kivalo danger line, the Viantienjoki
discharges its waters into the Perämere.
Simon's coastline is
quite tortuous. Small bays and capes alternate along the entire coast.
The most prominent capes are Simoniemi, Karsikkoniemi and Ykskuusi,
which lies between them. There are many islands in front of Simon, more
than 50. The largest islands are Tiuranen and Montaja. The most
prominent of the outer islands, Tiurasenkruuni, is located 15 kilometers
from the coast.
Simon's vegetation is relatively diverse due to
its changing nature, and the number of species is large compared to its
position in the north. Almost half of the municipality's territory is
covered by forest. The share of groves is higher than the average in
Northern Finland. Runkaus nature park is partially located in the Simon
area.
Saaria in front of Simon
Haahka, Halttari, Ravakari,
Bull's bed, Junkiletto, Birkuluoto, Korkiakari, Kuralanletto, Laitakari,
Lamb's bed, Bread, Leipäreenkrunni, Lisbon, Louekari, Montaja, Omeakari,
Möyly, Oravainen, Paavonletto, Firecarin bed, Paskaletto, Bush beds,
Deer rock, Rowan bed, Little- Leipäre, Pirttisaari, Rajaletto,
Saapaskari, Selkäkari, Selkäkarinmatala, Tiuranen, Tiurasenkalla
(Korkiankalla), Tiurasenkrunni, Tynttyrit, Vatunki, Ykskivi, Ööperit.
Simo is a municipality dominated by agriculture and forestry, with no
industry. There are extensive peat production areas in Simo.
Simo
was previously involved in the studies of Fennovoima Oy, which
investigated the construction possibilities of the sixth nuclear power
plant, as one of the possible locations for the construction of the
nuclear power plant. In addition to Simon, Pyhäjoki and Ruotsinpyhtää
made it to the environmental impact assessment procedure among the ten
localities that initially showed interest. In Simo, Karsikko and
Laitakari located in front of it, as well as Montaja and Tiuranen
islands off the coast, were proposed as possible construction sites.
Fennovoima announced in October 2011 that a nuclear power plant would be
built in Pyhäjoki.
Wind power
Simo became the first
municipality to become a member of the Finnish Wind Power Association in
2012, when three TuuliWatti wind farms operated in the municipality. In
2013, it was reported that the municipality of Simon is aiming for a
hundred windmills in its area. According to former municipal manager
Esko Tavia, the mills bring much-needed additional income in the form of
real estate taxes, the real estate taxes from one mill are around 10,000
euros per year. In 2013, TuuliWatti applied for 35 permits for new wind
turbines in addition to the ten windmills that had already received
permits at the time. If the plans come true, new power plants will start
to be built in 2015. The new wind turbines would be 140–150 meters high
and have a nominal power of 3–5 megawatts.
Passenger trains do not stop at Simon railway station. The nearest station used by passenger traffic is the Kemi railway station, about 25 kilometers to the north. Kemi-Tornio airport is 30 kilometers away. Highway 4 (E75) passes through Simon. The nearest important trading ports are in Kemi and Tornio.
Simon's population has been decreasing slowly but steadily in recent
years. Simo suffers from the natural decline of the population
(population aging and thereby death), but the municipality is profitable
from migration. However, the profit from migration has not been enough
to increase the number of residents. According to the 1999 statistics,
Simo had the most people aged 15–64 (65.8%) and the least people over 85
(1.5%). The unemployment rate in 2006 was 12.9%, while it was 18.3% in
the entire county of Lapland.
The following graph shows the
population development of the municipality every five years since 1980.
The regional division used is in accordance with the situation on
January 1, 2017.
Simo consists of numerous small villages and areas: Alaniemi,
Asemakylä, Hamari, Karisuvanto, Maksniemi, Matala, Onkalonperä, Pömiö,
Sankala, Simonkylä (Filpus), Simoniemi (church village), Soikko,
Tainijoki, Taininiemi, Viantie, Ylikärppä and Marostenmäki. The largest
are Asemakylä and Maksniemi.
On November 30, 2015, the fourth
Finnish national landscape management area was established in the area
of Simoniemi and Simonkylä on the basis of the Nature Conservation Act.
Simon's landscape management area is 7,821 hectares in size, of which
3,762 hectares are land. About 650 people live in the area.
Simo has two primary schools, one middle school and a high school.
Previously, Ammattiopisto Lappian fisheries training was organized in
Simo, but in the fall of 2015 it moved to the Kemi location. The nearest
university is in Oulu. There are 9 school buildings in Simo, but only
two are in use.
Health and social services
The Oulunkaari
municipal corporation is responsible for health and social services.
Stores
There are two shops and a pizzeria in Simo.
Well-known
people from Simo
Veikko Huovinen, writer, born in Simo
Matti
Lackman, doctor of philosophy, principal and researcher
Seppo Lohi,
doctor of theology, Simon's former vicar
Tuomas Lohi, Kempele
municipality manager
Juha Marttila, chairman of MTK
Martti
Miettunen, State Councilor, three-time Prime Minister
Aarne
Orjatsalo, actor
Martti Räsänen, linguist (Turkologist)
Mervi
Simoska, Mayor of Juva
Esko Tavia, municipal manager, lieutenant
colonel