Manamansalo is the largest island in the

Oulujärvi Oulujärvi () or Lake Oulu or Ule (), is a large lake in the Kainuu region of Finland. It is also historically known as Lake Cajania from a former name of Kainuu.. With an area of it is the List of lakes of Finland, fifth largest lake in the cou ...

, the fifth largest lake in

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. Administratively it belongs to the

Vaala Vaala () is a municipality in Finland. It is located in the North Ostrobothnia regions of Finland, region. Established in 1954 (predecessor municipality ''Säräisniemi'', established in 1867), the municipality has a population of () and covers ...

municipality in

North Ostrobothnia North Ostrobothnia (; ) is a Regions of Finland, region of Finland. It borders the Finnish regions of Lapland (Finland), Lapland, Kainuu, Northern Savonia, North Savo, Central Finland and Central Ostrobothnia, as well as the Russian Republic of ...

, or

Kainuu Kainuu (), also historically known as Cajania (), is one of the 19 regions of Finland (''maakunta'' / ''landskap''). Kainuu borders the regions of North Ostrobothnia, North Savo and North Karelia. In the east, it also borders Russia (Republic o ...

until 2016. It is the seventh largest inland island in Finland, or the fifth largest if

Soisalo Soisalo () is an area in central Finland, south of Kuopio. It is commonly regarded as the largest island of Finland. While it is an area of land surrounded by water (the lakes Kallavesi, Unnukka, Suvasvesi and Kermajärvi Kermajärvi (literal ...

and

Sääminginsalo Sääminginsalo has been said to be the largest true island of Finland (area ). If it is considered as an island, it is the third largest island in a lake in the world. This inland island is located in Southern Savonia region, Eastern Finland an ...

are not counted as islands.

Geography

Manamansalo is located between the Ärjänselkä and Niskanselkä areas (

fjard A fjard (, ) is a large open space of water between groups of islands or mainland in archipelagos. Fjards can be found along sea coasts, in freshwater lakes or in rivers. Fjard and fjord were originally the same word, and they generally meant sa ...

s) of Oulujärvi. The main village on the island is also known as Manamansalo. Other villages include Puronranta and Unelanperä. The road 8820 (Manamansalontie) goes through the island. The northeastern part has a bridge connected to the mainland, but crossing the Alassalmi strait in the southwest has to be done via the Alassalmi Ferry.

History

Manamansalo was settled by Finns in the 16th century. It was first mentioned in 1555 as a part of the

Liminka Liminka () is a municipality in the Northern Ostrobothnia region in Finland. Liminka is located about south of Oulu. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The neighbour ...

parish. The name Manamansalo means roughly "forested island of death", suggesting that it was used by huntsmen as a burial island. Manamansalo open air church

The first church in all of

was built on Manamansalo in 1559. It became the center of the Oulujärvi parish, separated from Liminka on that year. The church was destroyed by Russians in 1581, after which the Oulujärvi parish was reintegrated into Liminka. A new church was built in

Paltaniemi Paltaniemi is a village on the shores of Lake Oulujärvi, about north of the Kajaani's town center in Kainuu, Finland. It has a population of 291 inhabitants (in December 2020). The Kajaani Airport is located in the eastern side of the village. ...

in 1599, after which the reestablished parish was known as

Paltamo Paltamo (, also ) is a municipality of Finland. It is part of the Kainuu region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . There are two built-up areas in the municipality: Kon ...

. Manamansalo remained part of Paltamo until Säräisniemi was separated from it in 1864. The Säräisniemi municipality was renamed Vaala in 1954 after its seat was moved from the village of Säräisniemi to the village of Vaala. An open-air church was built on the island in 1959 in commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the original church. It is located on the same site as the 16th century church. The bell of the 16th century church was found in the

Solovetsky Monastery The Solovetsky Monastery (, ) is a fortified monastery located on the Solovetsky Islands in the White Sea in northern Russia. It was one of the largest Christian citadels in northern Russia before it was converted into a Soviet Union, Soviet pris ...

of Russia in the 1970s, having been brought there in 1596.

References

{{Reflist Oulujärvi Vaala Geography of North Ostrobothnia Geography of Kainuu Lake islands of Finland