Perho 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' ...

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 in 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 ...

Western Finland Western Finland (, ) was a province of Finland from 1997 to 2009. It bordered the provinces of Oulu, Eastern Finland and Southern Finland. It also bordered the Gulf of Bothnia towards Åland. Tampere was the largest city of the province. Histor ...

and is part of the

Central Ostrobothnia Central Ostrobothnia (; ) is a Regions of Finland, region in Finland. Central Ostrobothnia borders the Bothnian Bay and the regions of Ostrobothnia (administrative region), Ostrobothnia, North Ostrobothnia, Central Finland and South Ostrobothnia ...

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 distance between Perho and the regional center

Kokkola Kokkola (; , ) is a town in Finland and the regional capital of Central Ostrobothnia. It is located on the west coast of the country, on the Gulf of Bothnia. The population of Kokkola is approximately , while the Kokkola sub-region, sub-region h ...

is about . 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. It neighbourhood municipalities are

Alajärvi Alajärvi (; ) is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the South Ostrobothnia region. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The town is unilingually Finnish. The mu ...

Halsua Halsua () is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. Halsua is located in the provinces of Finland, province of Western Finland and is part of the Central Ostrobothnia regions of Finland, region. The municipality has a population o ...

Kinnula Kinnula is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Central Finland region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbouring municipalities are Kivijärvi, Le ...

Kivijärvi Kivijärvi (; literally "stone(y) lake") is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the Central Finland regions of Finland, region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water ...

Kyyjärvi Kyyjärvi (; ) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Central Finland region, about northwest of Jyväskylä. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municip ...

Lestijärvi Lestijärvi is a municipality of Finland. There is also the Lake Lestijärvi in the area. Lestijärvi is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Central Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of (), which m ...

Veteli Veteli () is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Central Ostrobothnia region. The municipality had a population of almost 3200 in 2019. and covers an area of of which is water. The p ...

and

Vimpeli Vimpeli (; ) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the South Ostrobothnia region, northeast of Seinäjoki and northwest of Jyväskylä. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population de ...

. The name of Perho refers to the word ''perhonen'', which means ''

butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

'' in Finnish; due to this, the golden butterfly appears in the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

of the municipality. In the same coat of arms, the silver "nail cross" above the butterfly refers to J. L. Runeberg's poem ''The Tomb in Perho.'' The coat of arms was designed by

Gustaf von Numers Gustaf von Numers (31 July 1912 – 21 May 1978) was a Swedish-speaking Finnish civil servant and leading heraldic artist. Life Gustaf von Numers studied heraldry in the 1930s under Arvid Berghman and was considered one of the leading Fin ...

and was confirmed for use on March 6, 1953.

History

In 1860, the large parish of Kokkola, which covers almost present-day

, disintegrated and the parish of

, which included the smaller parishes of

Kaustinen Kaustinen () is a municipality of Finland. It is part of the Central Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population about 4300 and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbouring municipalities are Halsua, ...

and Perho, was separated from it. Perho officially became a chapel parish five years later. Perho became an independent parish in 1879, and the first

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

took office in 1885. The first

public library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...

in the Kokkola region was established in Perho. Preacher Emanuel Snellman, locksmith Erkki Lakanen and were the handlers. As the former librarian of

Vähäkyrö Vähäkyrö () is a former municipality of Finland and an exclave of the city of Vaasa since January 1, 2013. It was located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Ostrobothnia region. The municipality had a population of 4,727 (31 ...

's library in the 1850s, Taittonen had made it the largest public library in the country.

Transport

Highway 13 The following roads may be referred to as Route 13 or Highway 13. For a list of roads named A13, see List of A13 roads. International * AH13, Asian Highway 13 * European route E13 * European route E013 Afghanistan *The Kabul–Behsud Highwa ...

, which connects the

Central Finland Central Finland (; ) is a Regions of Finland, region ( / ) in Finland. It borders the regions of Päijät-Häme, Pirkanmaa, South Ostrobothnia, Central Ostrobothnia, North Ostrobothnia, Northern Savonia, North Savo, and Southern Savonia, South S ...

region and the town of Kokkola, passes through Perho and also serves as a main street of village. There are two

roundabout A roundabout, a rotary and a traffic circle are types of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junct ...

s in the village center. Perho is served by

OnniBus.com OnniBus.com is a Finnish express coach operator. It commenced operating in 2011. History In 2011, OnniBus was founded by Pekka Möttö, Lauri Helke, Petteri Rantala and Pertti Möttö. In May 2014, Brian Souter's Highland Global Transport ...

route Helsinki—Jyväskylä—Kokkola.

Culture

Food

In the 1980s,

turnip The turnip or white turnip ('' Brassica rapa'' subsp. ''rapa'') is a root vegetable commonly grown in temperate climates worldwide for its white, fleshy taproot. Small, tender varieties are grown for human consumption, while larger varieties a ...

rieska Bread is a staple food of Finland. It is served with almost every meal and many different types are produced domestically. In the Swedish-speaking Regions of Finland, region of Åland, there are other varieties of bread, the majority of which o ...

s'', flour-

potato The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...

porridge Porridge is a food made by heating, soaking or boiling ground, crushed or chopped starchy plants, typically grain, in milk or water. It is often cooked or served with added flavourings such as sugar, honey, fruit, or syrup to make a sweet cereal ...

and mashed

lingonberry ''Vaccinium vitis-idaea'' is a small evergreen shrub in the heath family, Ericaceae. It is known colloquially as the lingonberry, partridgeberry, foxberry, mountain cranberry, or cowberry. It is native to boreal forest and Arctic tundra through ...

sauce were named Perho's traditional parish dishes.

Notable people

* Arsi Harju (born 1974), former track and field athlete *

Rami Hietaniemi Rami Antero Hietaniemi (born 28 December 1982 in Perho Perho is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the provinces of Finland, province of Western Finland and is part of the Central Ostrobothnia regions ...

(born 1982), wrestler * Lauri Linna (1930–2018), politician *

Marita Liulia Marita Liulia (born 27 October 1957 in Perho, Finland) is a visual artist working primarily in interactive multimedia. Her debut CD-ROM ''Maire'' (1994) was among the first works of art published in this format in the world. Her production inclu ...

(born 1957), visual artist * Eero Tuomaala (1926–1988), long-distance runner

Twinnings

Antsla Antsla () is a Populated places in Estonia, town in Võru County, southern Estonia, it is the administrative seat of Antsla Parish. The Populated places in Estonia, borough of Antsla was reclassified as a third-rank town by Konstantin Päts on ...

, Estonia

Gallery

File:Perho Church 20190619.jpg, Perho church File:Perho 20190619.jpg, A roundabout in the village center File:Perho Osuuspankki 20190619.jpg, Osuuspankki bank File:Perho municipal border sign 20190619.jpg, Perho's municipality border

References

External links

Municipality of Perho
– Official website {{CentralOstrobothnia Populated places established in 1868 Municipalities of Central Ostrobothnia