Vaala

This article is about the municipality. For the district, see Vaala, Turku.

Vaala
Municipality
Vaalan kunta Vaala kommun
Mist rising from Oulujoki river in Vaala
Coat of arms
Location of Vaala in Finland
Coordinates: 64°33′N 026°50′E
Country	Finland
Region	North Ostrobothnia
Sub-region	Oulunkaari
Charter	1954
Government
• Municipality manager	Tytti Seppänen
Area  (2018-01-01)[1]
• Total	1,764.04 km^2 (681.10 sq mi)
• Land	1,302.37 km^2 (502.85 sq mi)
• Water	461.45 km^2 (178.17 sq mi)
• Rank	54th largest in Finland
Population  (2024-10-31)[2]
• Total	2,574
• Rank	232nd largest in Finland
• Density	1.98/km^2 (5.1/sq mi)
Population by native language [3]
• Finnish	97.5% (official)
• Others	2.5%
Population by age [4]
• 0 to 14	11.1%
• 15 to 64	51.4%
• 65 or older	37.4%
Time zone	UTC+02:00 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Website	www.vaala.fi

Vaala is a municipality in Finland. It is located in the North Ostrobothnia region. Established in 1954 (predecessor municipality Säräisniemi, established in 1867), the municipality has a population of 2,574 (31 October 2024)^[2] and covers an area of 1,764.04 square kilometres (681.10 sq mi) of which 461.45 km² (178.17 sq mi) is water.^[1] The population density is 1.98 inhabitants per square kilometre (5.1/sq mi). Previously Vaala was part of the Kainuu region but was transferred to Northern Ostrobothnia on 1 January 2016.^[6]

Half of Oulujärvi, 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, the largest island in the Oulujärvi with a village by the same name. Both it and Säräisniemi were first mentioned in 1555 when they were parts of the large Liminka parish.^[7] The parish of Oulujärvi, covering all of Kainuu 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, due to which the parish was now known as Paltamo.^[8]

Säräisniemi acquired its own church under Paltamo in 1779 and became a separate parish and municipality in 1864. Vuolijoki 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 to Säräisniemi in 1954, becoming the new administrative center of the municipality. The municipality itself was also renamed Vaala in the process.^[9][10]

Vaala was transferred from Kainuu to North Ostrobothnia in 2016.

Dialect

Ostrobothnian in red/orange, Savonian in green.

Vaala is located on the border between the Northern Ostrobothnian and Savonian (Kainuu) dialects.^[11][12]

Notable people

• Anne Huotari (born 1959)
• Maustetytöt, band
• Tytti Seppänen (born 1980)

See also

• Vaala Airfield
• Finnish national road 22

References

1. "Area of Finnish Municipalities 1.1.2018" (PDF). National Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
2. "Finland's preliminary population figure was 5,635,560 at the end of October 2024". Population structure. Statistics Finland. 2024-11-19. ISSN 1797-5395. Retrieved 2024-11-22.
3. "Population growth biggest in nearly 70 years". Population structure. Statistics Finland. 2024-04-26. ISSN 1797-5395. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
4. "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.
5. "Luettelo kuntien ja seurakuntien tuloveroprosenteista vuonna 2023". Tax Administration of Finland. 14 November 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
6. "Vaala siirtyy Kainuusta Pohjois-Pohjanmaahan vuoden 2016 alusta" (in Finnish). Helsinki: Ministry of Finance. 5 February 2015. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
7. "SuomalainenPaikannimikirja_e-kirja_kuvallinen.pdf" (PDF). kaino.kotus.fi (in Finnish). p. 436+485. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
8. "Suomen Sukututkimusseura". hiski.genealogia.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved December 27, 2022.
9. "Suomen Sukututkimusseura". hiski.genealogia.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved December 27, 2022.
10. "Suomen Sukututkimusseura". hiski.genealogia.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved December 27, 2022.
11. "Keski- ja pohjoispohjalaismurteiden pitäjät". sokl.uef.fi (in Finnish). Archived from the original on May 26, 2021. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
12. "Savolaismurteiden alue". sokl.uef.fi (in Finnish). Archived from the original on December 17, 2021. Retrieved December 27, 2022.

External links

• Media related to Vaala at Wikimedia Commons
• Municipality of Vaala – Official website