Kalajoki (; literally translated the "fish river") is a coastal

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. It is located in the immediate vicinity of the Gulf of Bothnia in the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of Oulu and is part of the

Northern Ostrobothnia North Ostrobothnia ( fi, Pohjois-Pohjanmaa; sv, Norra Österbotten) 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. ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

. The town has a population of () and 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 . The municipality 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 ...

History

The first reference to Kalajoki can be found from the beginning of 16th century and it got the status of a parish in 1525, it was designated as a regional parish in 1545. This status ended with the abolishment of the parish form of organization in the early 1860s. Kalajoki was a significant market place and controlled the whole region's

tar Tar is a dark brown or black viscous liquid of hydrocarbons and free carbon, obtained from a wide variety of organic materials through destructive distillation. Tar can be produced from coal, wood, petroleum, or peat. "a dark brown or black bi ...

trading. By the end of 19th century the meaning of tar was diminishing as a good and the importance of Kalajoki was reduced thereafter. The tar trade was a derivative of the

forestry industry The wood industry or timber industry (sometimes lumber industry -- when referring mainly to sawed boards) is the industry concerned with forestry, logging, timber trade, and the production of primary forest products and wood products (e.g. furn ...

, and Kalajoki has long been the location of forestry activities. There are still sawmills in operation in the city today. In addition to tar trading, Kalajoki has long been a

farming Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peopl ...

community, producing a variety of agricultural products, including wheat and rye. There are many farms still operating in the city, and there is a weekly market during the spring and summer months where local farmers and merchants sell their products.

Government

There were many attempts to reorganize Kalajoki as a city, which would confer additional authorities on the municipality. The first attempt was in 1865, and there were several subsequent attempts throughout the 20th century. Kalajoki was finally reorganized as a city in 2002. Just like any

, the city of Kalajoki is composed of several sub-units, called a kylä. The following compose the city of Kalajoki: Vasankari, Plassi, Mehtäkylä, Pohjankylä, Pitkäsenkylä, Etelänkylä, Kääntä, Tynkä, Rahja, Kurikkala, Kärkinen, Typpö,

Rautio Rautio is a former municipality, now a small village of Kalajoki, Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to t ...

. Every four years, the voters of Kalajoki elect a city council of 35 members which meets monthly. The Council then elects a governing council of nine members that meets more regularly to transact the business of the city. As of the most recent municipal election in 2004, 19 members of the city council are from the Centre Party, 6 are from the local Pro Kalajoki Party, 4 are from the centre-right National Coalition Party, 3 are from the Left Alliance, 2 are from the centre-left Social Democratic Party, and one member is from the Christian Democrats Party. The next municipal elections will be held throughout Finland in 2012. The municipality of

was consolidated with Kalajoki in 1973. The neighboring municipality of

Himanka Himanka ( sv, Himango) is a former municipality of Finland. Himanka was consolidated with the neighboring town of Kalajoki on January 1, 2010. It is located in the Central Ostrobothnia region. The municipality had a population of 3,123 (31 Dec ...

was consolidated with Kalajoki on January 1, 2010.

Tourism

Kalajoki is a well known tourist attraction place in Finland due to long sandy beaches at shores of the

Bothnian Bay The Bothnian Bay or Bay of Bothnia (; ) is the northernmost part of the Gulf of Bothnia, which is in turn the northern part of the Baltic Sea. The land holding the bay is still rising after the weight of ice-age glaciers has been removed, and wit ...

, and related activities.

People born in Kalajoki

Kalle Myllylä Kaarle (Kalle) Myllylä (14 September 1844 – 11 July 1923) was a Finnish farmer and politician, born in Kalajoki. He was a member of the Diet of Finland from 1897 to 1899 and again from 1905 to 1906 and of the Parliament of Finland from 1907 ...

(1844 – 1923) *

Tuomas Pohjanpalo Tuomas Pohjanpalo (3 March 1861 – 27 February 1933; surname until 1906 ''Friis'') was a Finnish industrialist and politician, born in Kalajoki. He was a member of the Parliament of Finland from 1907 to 1909, representing the Finnish Party T ...

(1861 – 1933) *

Leonard Typpö Leonard Typpö (29 January 1868 – 27 June 1922) was a Finnish farmer and lay preacher, born in Rautio. He was a member of the Parliament of Finland from 1911 until his death in 1922, representing the Finnish Party from 1911 to 1918 and the Nat ...

(1868 – 1922; born in

) *

Sakari Ainali Sakari Ainali (3 December 1874 - 31 October 1938) was a Finnish farmer, businessman, lay preacher and politician, born in Himanka. He was a member of the Parliament of Finland from 1924 to 1929 and from 1930 to 1933, representing the National Coa ...

(1874 – 1938; born in

) *

Wäinö Palmqvist Wäinö Gustaf Palmqvist (16 January 1882 — 14 July 1964), commonly known as W. G. Palmqvist, was a Finnish architect best known as a designer of industrial and commercial buildings, especially the timber and paper mills and their wider factor ...

(1882 — 1964) * Vilho Kivioja (1896 – 1977) *

Elias Simojoki Lauri Elias Simojoki (28 January 1899 – 25 January 1940) was a Finnish clergyman who became a leading figure in the country's far right movement. The son of a clergyman, Simojoki was born on 28 January 1899 in Rautio. Philip Rees, '' Biographic ...

(1899 – 1940; born in Rautio) * Kauko Tuupainen (1940 – ) * Antti Haapakoski (1971 – ) * Rainer Nygård (1972 – ) *

Jussi Jokinen Jussi Petteri Jokinen (born April 1, 1983) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey forward. After playing in his native Finland with Oulun Kärpät of the Liiga he was drafted by the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Dallas Stars in 2001 in t ...

(1983 – ) * Juho Jokinen (1986 – ) *

Benedek Oláh Benedek Oláh (born 29 March 1991) is a Finnish table tennis player. He competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in the men's singles event, in which he was eliminated in the second round by Jonathan Groth. Benedek was born to Hungarian parents in ...

table tennis player (1992 – ) * (1872 – 1926)

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Kalajoki is twinned with: * Izumo, Shimane, Japan (2003) * Taki, Japan *

Vansbro Vansbro () is a locality in Dalarna and the seat of Vansbro Municipality, Dalarna County, Sweden. It had 2,026 inhabitants in 2010, out of a total municipal population of 7,000. The town is situated by the end of the rivulet Vanån (Van River), th ...

, Sweden List of twin towns and sister cities in Sweden

References

External links

*
Town of Kalajoki
– Official website

{{authority control Seaside resorts in Finland Cities and towns in Finland