Kauhajoki

Kauhajoki (literally “Scoop River”) is a town and municipality of Finland. The city is unilingually Finnish.

Kauhajoki
Town
Kauhajoen kaupunki
Kauhajoki stad
Kauhajoki church
Coat of arms
Location of Kauhajoki in Finland
Coordinates: 62°25′55″N 22°10′46″E
Country Finland
RegionSouthern Ostrobothnia
Sub-regionSuupohja sub-region
Charter1868
Town privileges2001
Government
 • Town managerLinda Leinonen
Area
 (2018-01-01)[1]
 • Total1,315.54 km2 (507.93 sq mi)
 • Land1,299.10 km2 (501.59 sq mi)
 • Water16.46 km2 (6.36 sq mi)
Area rank55th largest in Finland
Population
 (2020-07-31)[2]
 • Total13,143
 • Rank80th largest in Finland
 • Density10.12/km2 (26.2/sq mi)
 • Demonym
Kauhajokinen (Finnish)
Population by native language
 • Finnish98.7% (official)
 • Swedish0.2%
 • Others1.1%
Population by age
 • 0 to 1416.4%
 • 15 to 6465.2%
 • 65 or older18.4%
Time zoneUTC+02:00 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Municipal tax rate[5]21%
Websitewww.kauhajoki.fi

It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Southern Ostrobothnia region. The population of Kauhajoki is 13,143 (31 July 2020)[2] and the municipality covers an area of 1,299.10 km2 (501.59 sq mi) of which 16.46 km2 (6.36 sq mi) is inland water (1 January 2018).[1] The population density is 10.12/km2 (26.2/sq mi).

History

Permanent settlement in the Kauhajoki area began in the 16th century and in 1584 chapel was built in Kauhajoki.

When the Soviet Union attacked Finland in the Winter War, in early December 1939 Parliament was evacuated and the legislature temporarily relocated to Kauhajoki, a town in western Finland far away from the frontline. The parliament held 34 plenary sessions in Kauhajoki, with the last on 12 February 1940.[6]

2008 vocational college shooting
Main article: Kauhajoki school shooting

On 23 September 2008, a school shooting at a vocational college in the city left 11 dead, including the gunman, and another woman wounded. The incident was the second school shooting in less than a year in Finland, the other being the Jokela school shooting in November 2007, in which nine people including the gunman died. Before that, only one other school shooting had taken place in the country's history, in Rauma in 1989, leaving two people dead.[7]

Sports

Some internationally successful Kauhajokian sports figures include:

  • Jouko Salomäki, the 1984 Olympic Champion in Greco-Roman wrestling, was born in Kauhajoki.
  • Kaarlo Maaninka, the 1980 Olympic silver and bronze medalist in long distance running, lives in Kauhajoki. He also represented the town's sports club Kauhajoen Karhu during his career.
  • Vesa Hietalahti, the 2003 World Championship silver medalist in biathlon, was born and lives in Kauhajoki. He also represented the town's sports club Kauhajoen Karhu throughout his career.
  • Heli Koivula Kruger, the 2002 European Championship silver medalist in triple jump, was born in Kauhajoki. She also represented the town's sports club Kauhajoen Karhu throughout her career.
  • Jani Haapamäki, the 2009 European Champion in Greco-Roman wrestling, was born in Kauhajoki. He also represents the town's sports club Kauhajoen Karhu.

Kauhajoki is also known about basketball club Kauhajoen Karhu, which plays in the Finnish first-tier league Korisliiga.

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]. Heinäkuu 2020" (in Finnish). Statistics Finland. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  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.
  6. "Parliament to recreate Winter War evacuation". Yle Uutiset. 2019-11-30. Retrieved 2019-04-30.
  7. "School Shootings Rare in Finland". YLE. 2007-11-07. Retrieved 2008-09-23.

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