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Tornio (; sv, Torneå; sme, Duortnus ; smn, Tuárnus) is a
city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
and municipality in Lapland, Finland. The city forms a cross-border twin city together with Haparanda on the Swedish side. The municipality covers an area of , of which is water. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 geographical ...
is , with a total population of (). Tornio is unilingually
Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...
with a negligible number of native Swedish speakers, although this does not count vast numbers of bilinguals who speak Swedish as a second language, with an official target of universal working bilingualism for both border municipalities.


History

The delta of the
Torne river The Torne, also known as the Tornio ( fi, Tornionjoki, sv, Torne älv, , se, Duortneseatnu, fit, Tornionväylä), is a river in northern Sweden and Finland. For approximately half of its length, it defines the border between these two countr ...
has been inhabited since the end of the last ice age, and there are currently (1995) 16 settlement sites known in the area, similar to those found in Vuollerim (). The Swedish part of the region is not far from the oldest permanent settlement site found in Scandinavia. A former hypothesis that this region was uninhabited and colonised from the Viking Age onward has now been abandoned. Until the 19th century, inhabitants of the surrounding countryside spoke
Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...
, and
Kemi Sámi Kemi Sámi was a Sámi language that was originally spoken in the southernmost district of Finnish Lapland as far south as the Sámi siidas around Kuusamo. A complex of local variants which had a distinct identity from other Sámi dialects, bu ...
, a language of the Eastern Sami group, while those of the town were mainly Swedish-speaking. The name 'Tornio' is an old Finnish word meaning "war spear": the city is named after the river. To Swedish it was borrowed as ''Torneå'' after ''Torne å'', an alternative name of the river. The town received its charter from the King Gustavus Adolphus on May 12, 1621, and was officially founded on the island of Suensaari. At that time, it was the northernmost city in the world. The charter was granted in recognition of Tornio being the hub of all trade in Lapland throughout the 16th century. It was the largest merchant town in the North at the time, and for some years ranked as the richest town in Sweden. Despite the lively trade with Lapland and overseas, the population of the town remained stable for hundreds of years at little over 500. During the 18th century Tornio was visited by several expeditions from Central Europe which came to explore the Arctic. The most notable expedition (1736–1737) was led by a member of the Académie Française,
Pierre Louis Maupertuis Pierre Louis Moreau de Maupertuis (; ; 1698 – 27 July 1759) was a French mathematician, philosopher and man of letters. He became the Director of the Académie des Sciences, and the first President of the Prussian Academy of Science, at the ...
, who came to take meridian arc measurements along the Meänmaa which would show that the globe is flattened towards the poles. The church spire at Tornio was one of the landmarks used by Maupertuis in his measurements. The church was constructed in 1686 by Matti Joosepinpoika Härmä. The Lapland trade on which Tornio depended started to decline in the 18th century, and the harbour had to be moved downriver twice as a result of the rising of the land, which made the river too shallow for navigation. However, the greatest blow to the wealth of the town came in the last war between Sweden and Russia in 1808, which saw the Russians capture and annex Finland. The border was drawn through the deepest channel of the
Muonio Muonio (previously called ''Muonionniska'', se, Muoná) is a municipality of Finland. The town is located in far northern Finland above the Arctic Circle on the country's western border, within the area of the former Lappi (Lapland) province. ...
and Tornio rivers, splitting Lapland into two parts, with deleterious effects on trade. Tornio ended up on the Russian side of the border by special request of the Russian czar. The Swedes developed the village of Haaparanta (present day Haparanda) on their side of the border, to balance the loss of Tornio, and Tornio became unilingually Finnish. During the Russian period, Tornio was a sleepy garrison town. Trade only livened up during the
Åland War The Åland War ( fi, Oolannin sota, sv, Åländska kriget) is the Finnish term for the operations of a British-French naval force against military and civilian facilities on the coast of the Grand Duchy of Finland in 1854–1856, during the Crime ...
(part of the Crimean War) and the First World War, when Tornio became an important border crossing for goods and people. During the First World War, Tornio and Haparanda had the only rail link connecting the Russians to their Western allies. It was also through Tornio that Vladimir Lenin returned to Russia from exile in Switzerland in March 1917. After the
independence of Finland Finland declared its independence on 6 December 1917. The formal Declaration of Independence was only part of the long process leading to the independence of Finland. History Proclamation of Empress Elizabeth (1742) The subject of an indepe ...
in 1917 Tornio lost its garrison and experienced further decline, although its population increased steadily. The town played no role of importance in the Finnish Civil War, but was the scene of some fierce street fighting at the onset of the
Lapland War During World War II, the Lapland War ( fi , Lapin sota; sv, Lapplandskriget; german: Lapplandkrieg) saw fighting between Finland and Nazi Germany – effectively from September to November 1944 – in Finland's northernmost region, Lapland. ...
between Finland and
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
. The rapid liberation of the town by Finnish forces may have saved it from being burned down like so many other towns in Lapland. As a result, the wooden church from 1686 can still be seen today. After World War II, the town created new employment built on the success of the local Lapin Kulta brewery and the Outokumpu stainless steel mill. Tourism based on the border has also been a growing industry. The town is a centre of education for Western Lapland, with a
vocational college A university of applied sciences (UAS), nowadays much less commonly called a polytechnic university or vocational university, is an institution of higher education and sometimes research that provides vocational education and grants academic de ...
and a
university of applied sciences A university of applied sciences (UAS), nowadays much less commonly called a polytechnic university or vocational university, is an institution of higher education and sometimes research that provides vocational education and grants academic de ...
. Tornio and Haparanda have a history as twin cities, and are currently set to merge under the names TornioHaparanda and HaparandaTornio. A new city centre is under construction on the international border and several municipal services are shared.Rajalla – På Gränsen
The towns also share a common golf course, situated astride the border. The IKEA store in Haparanda has signposting in Finnish as well as in Swedish, and all prices are signposted in two currencies.


Sports

Tornion Palloveikot is a bandy club which plays in the Bandyliiga and has become Finnish bandy champion several times. They play their home matches in Haparanda, just on the other side of the Swedish border, which was the venue for games at the 2001 Bandy World Championship. Tornion Pallo -47 is the main association football club in the city.
Teemu Tainio Teemu Mikael Tainio (born 27 November 1979) is a Finnish football coach and former player. He is the current head coach of FC Haka. Tainio began his career with his local club, TP-47, before moving to FC Haka in 1996. A year later, he moved to ...
, a football player and manager, was born in Tornio. Jesse Puljujärvi, an ice hockey player, lived his childhood in Tornio.
Ville Pokka Ville Pokka (born June 3, 1994) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenseman, who currently plays for Färjestad BK of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). Playing career Pokka played with Kärpät in the SM-Liiga during the 2010–11 season. He ...
, an ice hockey player, was born and raised in Tornio.


Climate

Tornio has a subarctic climate ( Dfc) that is slightly tempered in winter by its proximity to the sea, but retains warm continental summers that are quite short. The weatherbox below is from neighbouring city Haparanda and operated by the
Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute The Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute ( sv, Sveriges meteorologiska och hydrologiska institut, abbreviated SMHI) is a Government agency in Sweden and operates under the Ministry of the Environment. SMHI has expertise within the a ...
. Despite the fact that Tornio experiences polar day for 13 days between 15 and 27 June, it does not experience
polar night The polar night is a phenomenon where the nighttime lasts for more than 24 hours that occurs in the northernmost and southernmost regions of Earth. This occurs only inside the polar circles. The opposite phenomenon, the polar day, or midni ...
.


Transport

A
break of gauge With railways, a break of gauge occurs where a line of one track gauge (the distance between the rails, or between the wheels of trains designed to run on those rails) meets a line of a different gauge. Trains and rolling stock generally cannot ...
occurs at Tornio between the Finnish and Swedish railway systems. A
bogie exchange Bogie exchange is a system for operating railway wagons on two or more gauges to overcome difference in the track gauge. To perform a bogie exchange, a car is converted from one gauge to another by removing the bogies or trucks (the chassis cont ...
and variable gauge axle track gauge changing facility are provided. Tornio has a passenger service provided from Tornio-East station by Finnish Railways VR three days a week overnight. Kemi-Tornio Airport is located in Kemi, about south-east from Tornio city centre. The Port of Tornio is a cargo port adjacent to the Outokumpu steelworks. Highway 29 (part of the
European route E8 The European route E8 is a European route that goes from Tromsø, Norway to Turku, Finland. The length of the route is . * E8: Tromsø – Nordkjosbotn – Skibotn – Kilpisjärvi – Kaaresuvanto – Muonio – Tornio – Keminmaa – Kemi ...
) between
Keminmaa Keminmaa (until 1979 Kemin maalaiskunta) ( smn, Kiemâeennâm; sms, Ǩeeʹmmjânnam) is a municipality of Finland. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Geography Neighbou ...
and Tornio is the world's northernmost motorway. Tornio is also the northern terminus of European route E4.


Notable individuals

* Aarne Heikinheimo, Jäger Major-General * , bandy player * , writer, art critic and painter * Heikki Hyvönen, bandy player * , gymnast and snooker player * , businessman * Henri Sillanpää, footballer * Ivar Lantto, schoolteacher, farmer and politician * , forester and long-term director of the Forestry Department in Lapland * Jesse Puljujärvi, ice hockey player * Joni Myllykoski, ice hockey player * Juho-Teppo Berg, footballer * , ice hockey league judge * Jussi Hakasalo, footballer * Jussi Kanervo,
hurdler Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today, ...
* , clergyman and writer * Kalle Palander, alpine skier * , writer * Leena Huhta, sprinter * Läjä Äijälä, musician, comics artist and poet * * , journalist, writer and screenwriter * , ''Jäger'' lieutenant * Pasi Hiekkanen, football goalkeeper and bandy player * , architect *
Saku Mäenalanen Saku Mäenalanen (born 29 May 1994) is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward who is currently under contract with the SCL Tigers of the National League (NL). Mäenalanen was selected by the Nashville Predators in the fifth round (125th over ...
, ice hockey player * Sari Eero, athlete * , politician *
Teemu Tainio Teemu Mikael Tainio (born 27 November 1979) is a Finnish football coach and former player. He is the current head coach of FC Haka. Tainio began his career with his local club, TP-47, before moving to FC Haka in 1996. A year later, he moved to ...
, footballer * Tuuli Matinsalo, aerobics athlete *
Ville Pokka Ville Pokka (born June 3, 1994) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenseman, who currently plays for Färjestad BK of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). Playing career Pokka played with Kärpät in the SM-Liiga during the 2010–11 season. He ...
, ice hockey player * , hairdresser * , musician * Ville Pörhölä, athlete, Olympic Winner


Twin cities

Tornio's closest economic and cultural ties are with its immediate neighbour: * Haparanda, Sweden Tornio also has links with: *
Devizes Devizes is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It developed around Devizes Castle, an 11th-century Norman castle, and received a charter in 1141. The castle was besieged during the Anarchy, a 12th-century civil war between ...
, United Kingdom * Hammerfest, Norway * Ikast, Denmark * Kirovsk, Russia *
Szekszárd Szekszárd (, formerly also ''Szegzárd''; hr, Seksar; german: Sechshard or ; sr, Сексард) is a small city in southern Hungary and the capital of Tolna County. By population, Szekszárd is the smallest county capital in Hungary; by area ...
, Hungary * Vetlanda, Sweden * Pánd, Hungary


Gallery

File:Tornion joki winter 2015.jpg, Torne River in the winter Image:Tornio Orth Church.JPG, Orthodox Church, Tornio File:Suensaari school Sep2008.jpg, Suensaari School, constructed in the early 1900s originally a Russian barracks. File:Outokumpu mill in Tornio May2009 001.jpg, Outokumpu steel mill


See also

* Haparanda (Sweden) * Övertorneå (Sweden)


References


External links

*
Town of Tornio
– Official website

{{Authority control Cities and towns in Finland Populated coastal places in Finland Divided cities Finland–Sweden border crossings Grand Duchy of Finland Port cities and towns in Finland Populated places established in 1621 1621 establishments in Sweden