Pello (formerly Turtola) is a
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality' ...
of
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, ...
. It is located approximately north of the
Arctic Circle
The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the northernmost of the five major circle of latitude, circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth at about 66° 34' N. Its southern counterpart is the Antarctic Circle.
The Arctic Circl ...
in the western part of the
province
A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
of
Lapland, and is part of the
Lapland region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...
. The municipality is on the national border with Sweden, by the
Tornionjoki-river. The municipality has a population of ()
and covers an area of of
which
is water.
The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...
is
.
The municipality is unilingually
Finnish, according to the
legal definition in Finland.
Konttajärvi is in this municipality.
It is served by the
Pello railway station.
History
The name of Pello is ultimately derived from the word ''pelto'', field; which may have been the original name of the village. The weak grade stem of ''pelto'' is ''pello-'' (e.g. ''pellon'' - genitive case form of ''pelto''), through which the name was corrupted to its current form. The name of Turtola refers to a male name ''Turto'', a Finnish form of the Scandinavian name ''Tord''.
During the Late Middle Ages and the 16th century, Pello was the northernmost Finnish village in the
Tornio Valley. It was a part of the
Tornio parish until 1606, when said parish was divided into
Alatornio and
Ylitornio, from which the latter included Turtola and Pello.
After Russia conquered Finland in 1809, Ylitornio was split into two parts. The villages of Pello and Turtola were also split, which is why there is a
Pello and a Turtola (
Svanstein) in Sweden. The northern parts of Ylitornio became a separate parish and municipality in 1867, called Turtola after its most significant village at the time. The village of Pello later surpassed Turtola, thus the municipality was renamed to Pello in 1949.
Notable people
*
Kaarlo Castrén (1860–1938), politician; the Prime Minister of Finland
*
Paavo Lipponen (born 1941), politician; the Prime Minister of Finland
*
Toivo Mäkikyrö (born 1957), biathlete
*
Eero Mäntyranta (1937–2013), cross-country skiers
*
Timo K. Mukka (1944–1973), author
*
Olli-Markus Taivainen (born 1989), ski-orienteering competitor
References
External links
Municipality of Pello– Official website
Tourism of Pello– Official website
Divided cities
Populated places established in 1867
Finland–Sweden border crossings
Municipalities of Lapland (Finland)
1867 establishments in the Russian Empire
{{Lapland-geo-stub