Oulainen

Oulainen

Oulainen

Town in North Ostrobothnia, Finland

Oulainen (Swedish: Oulainen, also Oulais) is a town and a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Northern Ostrobothnia region, 101 kilometres (63 mi) south of the city of Oulu. The municipality has a population of 6,978 (31 December 2023)[4] and covers an area of 597.53 square kilometres (230.71 sq mi) of which 10.01 km2 (3.86 sq mi) is water.[1] The population density is 11.87 inhabitants per square kilometre (30.7/sq mi). Oulainen is founded in 1865, and it received township rights in 1977.

Quick Facts Country, Region ...

The municipality is unilingually Finnish. The municipality has previously also been known as "Oulais" in Swedish documents, but is today referred to as "Oulainen" also in Swedish.[5]

Geography

Neighbouring municipalities are Alavieska, Haapavesi, Merijärvi, Pyhäjoki, Raahe and Ylivieska. In addition to the town center, the municipality includes the villages of Kilpua, Lehtopää, Matkaniva, Petäjäskoski, Piipsjärvi and Honkaranta.

History

Oulainen was first mentioned in 1572 as Oulahais and as a part of the Pyhäjoki parish. A farm named Oulahainen was established earlier. The name comes from a dialectal word oulu meaning "flooding waters" (see also Oulu) and seems to suggest a Tavastian origin. Alpo Räisänen suggests that the name could be of Savonian or Karelian origin.

Oulainen became a chapel community in 1682, a parish in 1870, a kauppala in 1967 and a town in 1977.[6]

Events

Notable annual events include the National Veteran Machines Fair (Waltakunnalliset Weteraanikonepäivät)[7] and Oulainen Music Weeks (Oulaisten Musiikkiviikot). Oulainen Music Weeks were organized for the twentieth time in 2006. The Oulainen Youth Choir (Oulaisten Nuorisokuoro) has received international acclaim.

Notable people

See also

References

  1. [1]
    "Area of Finnish Municipalities 1.1.2018" (PDF). National Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  2. [2]
    "Population growth biggest in nearly 70 years". Population structure. Statistics Finland. 2024-04-26. ISSN 1797-5395. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  3. [3]
    "Population according to age (1-year) and sex by area and the regional division of each statistical reference year, 2003–2020". StatFin. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  4. [4]
    "Suomen virallinen tilasto (SVT): Väestön ennakkotilasto [verkkojulkaisu]" (in Finnish). Statistics Finland. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  5. [5]
    Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus :: Kuntien nimet Archived 2011-12-23 at the Wayback Machine
  6. [6]
    "SuomalainenPaikannimikirja_e-kirja_kuvallinen.pdf" (PDF). kaino.kotus.fi (in Finnish). p. 309+310. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  7. [7]
    Waltakunnalliset Weteraanikonepäivät


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