Vaala () is a municipality 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, ...

. It is located in the

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 ...

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 ...

. Established in 1954 (predecessor municipality ''Säräisniemi'', established in 1867), 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 . Previously Vaala was part of 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 but was transferred to Northern Ostrobothnia on 1 January 2016. Half of

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 of Finland is located in Vaala. The municipality is unilingually Finnish. Vaala is also an old Finnish word, which means the phase in a river just before rapids.

History

The original center of the area was

Manamansalo Manamansalo is the largest island in the Oulujärvi, the fifth largest lake in Finland. Administratively it belongs to the Vaala municipality in North Ostrobothnia, or Kainuu until 2016. It is the seventh largest inland island in Finland, or the ...

, the largest island in the

with a village by the same name. Both it and Säräisniemi were first mentioned in 1555 when they were parts of the large

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 parish of Oulujärvi, covering all of

with its center in Manamansalo, was separated from Liminka in 1559, but merged back into Liminka in the 1580s after Russians raided the island. In 1599, the area became a parish again, this time with its center 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. ...

, due to which the parish was now 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 ...

Säräisniemi Säräisniemi () is a village in the Vaala, Vaala municipality in North Ostrobothnia, Finland. The village was the municipal center of the then Säräisniemi municipality until 1954. The village is located on the west side of Lake Oulujärvi, on t ...

acquired its own church under Paltamo in 1779 and became a separate parish and municipality in 1864.

Vuolijoki Vuolijoki () is a List of former municipalities of Finland, former municipality in Finland. The municipality was consolidated with the city of Kajaani in the beginning of year 2007. Vuolijoki was located in the provinces of Finland, province of ...

was separated from Säräisniemi as a parish in 1896 and as a municipality in 1915. Some parts of Kajaanin maalaiskunta were also used in the municipality's formation. The village of Vaala was transferred from

Utajärvi Utajärvi is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the Northern Ostrobothnia regions of Finland, region next to the border of the Kainuu region, and is part of the former provinces of Finland, province of Oulu (pro ...

to Säräisniemi in 1954, becoming the new administrative center of the municipality. The municipality itself was also renamed Vaala in the process. Vaala was transferred from Kainuu to

in 2016.

Climate

Dialect

Vaala is located on the border between the Northern Ostrobothnian and Savonian (

) dialects.

Notable people

Anne Huotari Anne Päivi Aulikki Huotari (born 31 December 1959 in Vaala, Finland) is a Finnish politician. She was a member of the Parliament of Finland from 1995 to 2007, representing the Left Alliance. Afterwards she has served on the Oulu Oulu ( , ; ...

(born 1959) *

Maustetytöt Maustetytöt (; ) is a Finland, Finnish girl group consisting of sisters and . The band's trademarks include a laconic and serious-looking performance style. Originally from Vaala, Maustetytöt listen to traditional Finnish music#Iskelmä, Finni ...

, band *

Tytti Seppänen Tytti Seppänen (born 1980) is a Finnish Centre Party politician. She was born in Vaala Vaala () is a municipality in Finland. It is located in the North Ostrobothnia regions of Finland, region. Established in 1954 (predecessor municipality ...

(born 1980)

References

External links