Sotkamo

Sotkamo is a municipality of Finland, located in the Kainuu region. Vuokatti, in west of Sotkamo, is the most populous village in the municipality and also a popular skiing resort. The Hiidenportti National Park is located in the municipality.

Sotkamo
Municipality
Sotkamon kunta
Sotkamo kommun
Church of Sotkamo
Coat of arms
Location of Sotkamo in Finland
Coordinates: 64°08′N 028°23′E
Country Finland
RegionKainuu
Sub-regionKajaani sub-region
Government
 • Municipality managerMika Kilpeläinen
Area
 (2018-01-01)[1]
 • Total2,951.86 km2 (1,139.72 sq mi)
 • Land2,649.50 km2 (1,022.98 sq mi)
 • Water302.61 km2 (116.84 sq mi)
Area rank20th largest in Finland
Population
 (2019-01-31)[2]
 • Total10,379
 • Rank96th largest in Finland
 • Density3.92/km2 (10.2/sq mi)
Population by native language
 • Finnish98.6% (official)
 • Others1.3%
Population by age
 • 0 to 1416.1%
 • 15 to 6464%
 • 65 or older19.9%
Time zoneUTC+02:00 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Municipal tax rate[5]19.75%
Urbanisation55.8%
Unemployment rate16.7%
Websitewww.sotkamo.fi

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.

Delimitation and population

The municipality has a population of 10,379 (31 January 2019)[2] and covers an area of 2,951.86 square kilometres (1,139.72 sq mi) of which 302.61 km2 (116.84 sq mi) is water.[1] The population density is 3.92 inhabitants per square kilometre (10.2/sq mi).

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

References
  1. "Area of Finnish Municipalities 1.1.2018" (PDF). National Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  2. "Suomen virallinen tilasto (SVT): Väestön ennakkotilasto [verkkojulkaisu]. Tammikuu 2019" (in Finnish). Statistics Finland. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  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.

Media related to Sotkamo at Wikimedia Commons



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