Sotkamo

Sotkamo
Municipality
Sotkamon kunta
Church of Sotkamo
Coat of arms
Location of Sotkamo in Finland
Coordinates: 64°08′N 028°23′E / 64.133°N 28.383°ECoordinates: 64°08′N 028°23′E / 64.133°N 28.383°E
Country	Finland
Region	Kainuu
Sub-region	Kajaani sub-region
Government
• Municipality manager	Petri Kauppinen
Area (2011-01-01)[1]
• Total	2,952.11 km^2 (1,139.82 sq mi)
• Land	2,649.50 km^2 (1,022.98 sq mi)
• Water	302.61 km^2 (116.84 sq mi)
Area rank	20th largest in Finland
Population (2016-03-31)[2]
• Total	10,507
• Rank	95th largest in Finland
• Density	3.97/km^2 (10.3/sq mi)
Population by native language[3]
• Finnish	98.6% (official)
• Others	1.3%
Population by age[4]
• 0 to 14	16.1%
• 15 to 64	64%
• 65 or older	19.9%
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Municipal tax rate[5]	19.75%
Urbanisation	55.8%
Unemployment rate	16.7%
Website	www.sotkamo.fi

Sotkamo is a municipality of Finland, located in the Kainuu region. The municipality has a population of 10,507 (31 March 2016)^[2] and covers an area of 2,952.11 square kilometres (1,139.82 sq mi) of which 302.61 km² (116.84 sq mi) is water.^[1] The population density is 3.97 inhabitants per square kilometre (10.3/sq mi).

Vuokatti, west of Sotkamo, is a popular skiing resort. The Hiidenportti National Park is located in the municipality.

In sports, Sotkamo is known for its Finnish baseball team, Sotkamon Jymy.

One of the major landmarks of Sotkamo is the sandy beach of Hiukka, which locates by the lake Iso Sapsojärvi, just beside the Sotkamo center. In Vuokatti ski center you can find the lake Nuasjärvi and the Vuokatti Hill.

History

Sotkamo has grown beside a water route formed by a continuous band of lakes and rivers. The waters of the Sotkamo route run through Kajaaninjoki into Oulujärvi and finally to the Baltic Sea, but in the past the waterways also created an important commercial route to White Sea in the east. The same water route has been used by soldiers of Russia, Sweden and Denmark to rob and ravage this remote countryside for centuries. The name Sotkamo comes either from the Finnish word "sotku" which means a mess and refers to the obscure water route, or from the word "sotka" which was a general name for water birds in ancient Finnish and now designates the common goldeneye.

During the 19th century Sotkamo was visited by notable Finnish artists such as Akseli Gallen-Kallela and Hugo Simberg.

On November 17, 2007 first pictures of the Kern arc were made in the town of Sotkamo by Marko Mikkilä.

Villages

Alasotkamo, Heinämäki, Halmetvaara, Jormaskylä, Juholankylä, Korholanmäki, Kontinjoki, Laakajärvi, Losovaara, Naapurinvaara, Nuasjärvi, Ontojoki, Paakinmäki, Pohjavaara, Riekinranta, Sipinen, Sipola, Soidinvaara, Sumsa, Suovaara, Tipasoja, Torinkylä, Tuhkakylä, Vuokatti, Ylisotkamo, Ärväänkylä, Maanselkä.

Economy

Beside tourism, mining is important for the economy of Sotkamo. One of the largest nickel deposits in Europe is located in Talvivaara where the Talvivaara Mining Company started its operation in late 2008. Also Mondo Minerals mines talc in Lahnaslampi.

Famous people from Sotkamo

• Anders Chydenius
• Kalle Arantola
• Veikko Huovinen
• Pirjo Häggman

References

1. "Area by municipality as of 1 January 2011" (PDF) (in Finnish and Swedish). Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 9 March 2011.
2. "Ennakkoväkiluku sukupuolen mukaan alueittain, maaliskuu.2016" (in Finnish). Statistics Finland. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
3. "Population according to language and the number of foreigners and land area km2 by area as of 31 December 2008". Statistics Finland's PX-Web databases. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
4. "Population according to age and gender by area as of 31 December 2008". Statistics Finland's PX-Web databases. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 28 April 2009.
5. "List of municipal and parish tax rates in 2011". Tax Administration of Finland. 29 November 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.

External links

Media related to Sotkamo at Wikimedia Commons

• Municipality of Sotkamo – Official website