Puolanka (; , also ) 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, ...

located in the

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 ...

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 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. The fir-tree topped line 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 Puolanka refers to local

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

and the cattle bells to

livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...

management and past grazing in forest lands. The coat of arms was designed by Aake Kaarnama, and the Puolanka municipal council approved it at its meeting on 8 June 1962. The

Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the ...

approved the coat of arms for use on 29 August of the same year. Puolanka has been called the "most pessimistic municipality in Finland". In 2019, the municipality gained worldwide publicity when the ''

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

'' published a video about Puolanka, describing it as the "most pessimistic town in the world". Pessimism has a long tradition in the Kainuu region, and the residents of Puolanka decided to make it their

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a form of intellectual property that consists of a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination that identifies a Good (economics and accounting), product or Service (economics), service f ...

, which is why the residents organize various events related to the topic every year. The name ''Puolanka'' is of Sámi origin, meaning "burning land" (compare to modern

Northern Sámi Northern Sámi or North Sámi ( ; ; ; ; ; disapproved exonym Lappish or Lapp) is the most widely spoken of all Sámi languages. The area where Northern Sámi is spoken covers the northern parts of Norway, Sweden and Finland. Geographic distr ...

word ''buollán'' "burning land"), with ''-nka'' being a Finnish feature.

History

The first permanent settlers in Puolanka came in the 1550s. The municipality of Puolanka was established in the year of 1867. In that same year the Puolanka parish became independent from the Hyrynsalmi church to which it had previously belonged to administratively. The municipal council of Puolanka was formed in the year of 1916. At its peak Puolanka had a population of about 7,520 in 1960. Towards the end of the 1960s, however, Puolanka's population began to decline, alike other municipalities within Kainuu.

Geography

Ranked one of the most beautiful

waterfalls A waterfall is any point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several ...

in Finland, the ''Hepoköngäs'', is located from the center of Puolanka.

Villages

Villages within Puolanka are as follows: * Aittokylä * Auho * Joukokylä * Kivarinjärvi * Kotila * Kongasmäki * Leipivaara * Lylykylä * Naulaperä * Puokio * Puolanka * Rasinkylä * Suolijärvi * Vihajärvi * Väyrylä * Yli-Oterma * Törmänmäki

Politics

Results of the 2023 Finnish parliamentary election in Puolanka: * Centre Party 38.0% *

Finns Party The Finns Party ( , PS; , Sannf), formerly known as the True Finns, is a right-wing populist political party in Finland. It was founded in 1995 following the dissolution of the Finnish Rural Party. The party achieved its electoral breakthro ...

25.6% * Left Alliance 13.3% *

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

8.1% *

National Coalition Party The National Coalition Party (NCP; , Kok; , Saml) is a liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative List of political parties in Finland, political party in Finland. It is the current governing political party of Finland. Founded in 1918, the ...

5.4% * Christian Democrats 3.4% * Green League 1.9% * Power Belongs to the People 1.7% As of 2021 Finnish municipal elections, Puolanka municipal council is made up of: Centre Party (13 seats), Left Alliance (4), and Finns Party (4).

Notable individuals

* Juha Sipilä, the

Prime Minister of Finland The prime minister of Finland (; ) is the leader of the Finnish Government. The prime minister and his or her cabinet exercise executive authority in the state. The prime minister is formally ranked third in the protocol after the president ...

2015−2019 * Kalle Määttä, volleyball player * Kaarina Mähönen, poet * Kari Hiltunen, sports journalist * Kimmo Saneri, writer * Lasse Väisänen, footballer * Louis Moilanen, giant * Markku Kukkoaho, sprinter * Santeri Haapanen, politician * Tauno Tarkkinen, writer * Tuulikki Pyykkönen, Olympic cross-country skier * Unto Väisänen, baseball player

Gallery

File:Kalettomanlampi Puolanka.JPG, Lake Kalettomanlampi in Puolanka, seen from the southernmost shore towards northeast. File:Hepoköngäs.jpg, With its drop of 24 meters, Hepoköngäs is the highest waterfall in Kainuu. File:Keskijoki Puolanka.JPG, The river Keskijoki in Puolanka. File:Pirttijärvi Puolanka.JPG, The lake of Pirttijärvi in Puolanka, seen from the beach at the North-Western end of the lake towards southeast.

References

External links

Official website of Puolanka municipality
Municipalities of Kainuu {{OuluProvince-geo-stub