Nurmes

Nurmes is a town and municipality of Finland. It was located in the former province of Eastern Finland until 2010 and is now in the North Karelia region. The town has a population of 9,492 (31 July 2020)[2] and covers an area of 1,854.78 square kilometres (716.13 sq mi) of which 253.7 km2 (98.0 sq mi) is water.[1] The population density is 5.93 inhabitants per square kilometre (15.4/sq mi). Neighbouring municipalities are Juuka, Kuhmo, Lieksa, Rautavaara, Sotkamo and Valtimo.

Nurmes
Town
Nurmeksen kaupunki
Nurmes stad
Nurmes Church
Coat of arms
Location of Nurmes in Finland
Coordinates: 63°32.7′N 029°08′E
Country Finland
RegionNorth Karelia
Sub-regionPielinen sub-region
Charter1810
Town privileges1973
Government
 • Town managerAsko Saatsi
Area
 (2018-01-01)[1]
 • Total1,854.78 km2 (716.13 sq mi)
 • Land1,601.09 km2 (618.18 sq mi)
 • Water253.7 km2 (98.0 sq mi)
Area rank38th largest in Finland
Population
 (2020-07-31)[2]
 • Total9,492
 • Rank105th largest in Finland
 • Density5.93/km2 (15.4/sq mi)
Population by native language
 • Finnish99% (official)
 • Swedish0.1%
 • Others0.9%
Population by age
 • 0 to 1413.3%
 • 15 to 6462.4%
 • 65 or older24.3%
Time zoneUTC+02:00 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Municipal tax rate[5]20%
Websitewww.nurmes.fi

Nurmes railway station is the northern terminus of a twice-daily VR passenger train service from Joensuu; The service has been under threat of closure but is currently part of rail services that ministry of transportation requires VR to run in exchange for monopoly in more attractive routes and this agreement is currently valid until December 2019.

Karelian village and spa hotel Break Sokos Hotel Bomba is situated in Nurmes. Bomba Karelian Village is a tourist destination for Karelian construction and food culture and traditions. Near by Bomba area is Hotel Hyvärilä Holiday-and Youth Centre and Pielis-golf golfcourse.

Karelian nest

The municipality is officially unilingually Finnish, but in 2009, Finland's first Karelian language "nest" (pre-school immersion group) was established in Nurmes.[6]

Geography

Nurmes is located in eastern Finland on the shore of lake Pielinen, next to Kainuu and Northern Savonia regions. The Nearest major cities by road are Kuopio (128 km), Joensuu (127 km) and Kajaani (113 km) where are the nearest airports located. The railway from Nurmes to Joensuu is 160 km, where the railway runs through Lieksa. Helsinki is 518 kilometers by road and can be reached by rail by changing from train from Joensuu. Nurmes is close to Tahko Tourist Center (93 km), Vuokatti Ski Resort (88 km), Koli National Park (78 km), Tiilikkajärvi National Park (56 km) and Hiidenportti National Park (44 km).

Nurmes is located eastern Finland where is continental climate with four seasons. Winters are cold and the average temperature from November to March is below -5 °C. On average, the snow season lasts 4–5 months from November to April. North Karelia is one of the snowiest regions in Finland, with a typical March snow depth of more than 50 cm. During the darkest time of the year the sun is above the horizon for about four hours.

Summers are cool to warm and temperatures changes very rapidly during weeks. During the brightest time of the year the sun is about 20 hours above the horizon.

The Nature of Nurmes is characterized by hilly landscapes, forests and lakes. There are altogether 409 lakes in Nurmes, the largest and the most famous is lake Pielinen. There are species such as perch, grayling, pike, lake salmon, whitefish, lake trout in the lake Pielinen. It is possible to do fishing with a licence what can be bought from shops.

There is three hiking areas in Nurmes:

  • Raesärkkä area consists of a 5.9 km2 protected forest and a 1.2 km2 recreational forest. It has a grazing field, marshes, lakes and rivers.
  • Mujejärvi area consists of a 20 km2 hiking area with cliffs, ridges, gorges and lakes.
  • Lake Peurajärvi is suitable for families with children and fishermen. There are many lakes, ponds and rivers in the area, with easy access routes.

There is many different mushroom, wild herb and berry species in the forests. There is Freedom to roam in Finland.

Economy

Key industries of Nurmes are wood industry, food industry and metal and mechanical engineering.

Wood industry is the most significant industrial sector of our region in terms of turnover and employees. The products manufactured here include sawn and planed wood, glued beams, impregnated wooden poles, and high-quality special cardboards.

Nurmes has strong expertise in bakery, fish and meat processing sectors. The most sold signature products have been bread in various forms, and gluten-free bakery products.

Metal and mechanical engineering companies operate as subcontractors or manufacture products under their own trademarks. They develop innovative products & processes and search actively for new subcontracting opportunities.[7]

Nurmes has Green Industry Area (Nurmes GIA) what is a novel business district that offers spacious plots, modern infrastructure, and good logistic services. Nurmes GIA is an excellent platform e.g. for manufacturing and logistics of bio-based chemical products. The areal zoning and environmental impact assessment have been designed to benefit the start-up of forest-based industries and circular economy.[8]

Culture

Nurmes declared Finland's Christmas Song City in 2005 and the European Christmas Song City in 2009. A lot of musical activities, such as various concerts and events, are organized during Christmas at Nurmes.

Nurmes has a lot of various cultural events during summertime.

Finnish composer P. J. Hannikainen was from Nurmes so a theatre, a street and a playschool are named after him. He has own monument in Nurmes city centre.

Nurmes-talo is the Nurmes Cultural Center, where library, cinema, art gallery and a museum take place. Nurmes-talo is being renovated since June 2019. There is another museum in Nurmes called Ikola museum.

Nurmes is the home town of the main protagonist of the acclaimed 2002 Aki Kaurismäki film Mies vailla menneisyyttä (The Man Without a Past).

Notable people from Nurmes

International relations
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Finland

Twin towns — Sister cities

Nurmes is twinned with:

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. "Nurmeksen kielipesässä lapsista tulee karjalankielisiä". Archived from the original on 2012-01-15. Retrieved 2010-07-10.
  7. "The Key industries - eng". www.pikes.fi. Retrieved 2019-04-06.
  8. "Nurmes Green Industry Area - eng". www.pikes.fi. Retrieved 2019-04-06.

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