View source for Kuhmo

{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
|name = Kuhmo
| official_name = {{lang|fi|Kuhmon kaupunki}}<br />{{lang|sv|Kuhmo stad}}
| settlement_type = Town
| image_skyline = Kuhmo kaupungintalo.JPG
| image_caption = Kuhmo Town hall
| image_shield = Kuhmo.vaakuna.svg
| shield_size = 120x80px
| image_map = Kuhmo sijainti Suomi.svg
| coordinates = {{coord|64|07.5|N|029|31|E|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type  = Country
| subdivision_name  = [[Finland]]
| subdivision_type1 = [[Regions of Finland|Region]]
| subdivision_name1 = [[Kainuu]]
| subdivision_type2 = [[Sub-regions of Finland|Sub-region]]
| subdivision_name2 = [[Kehys-Kainuu]]
| leader_title = [[Town Manager]]
| leader_name = Juhana Juntunen
| established_title = [[Charter]]
| established_date = 1865
| established_title2 = [[City rights]]
| established_date2 = 1986
|area_footnotes = {{Data Finland municipality|area_footnotes|Kuhmo}}
|area_total_km2 = {{Data Finland municipality|area_total_km2|Kuhmo}}
|area_land_km2 = {{Data Finland municipality|area_land_km2|Kuhmo}}
|area_water_km2 = {{Data Finland municipality|area_water_km2|Kuhmo}}
|area_rank = {{Data Finland municipality|area_rank|Kuhmo}}
|population_as_of = {{Data Finland municipality|population_as_of|Kuhmo}}
|population_footnotes = {{Data Finland municipality|population_footnotes|Kuhmo}}
|population_total = {{Data Finland municipality|population_total|Kuhmo}}
|population_density_km2 = {{Data Finland municipality|population_density_km2|Kuhmo}}
|population_rank = {{Data Finland municipality|population_rank|Kuhmo}}
|demographics_type1 = {{Data Finland municipality|population_footnotes|Kuhmo}}
|demographics1_footnotes = {{Data Finland municipality|demographics1_footnotes|Kuhmo}}
|demographics1_title1 = {{Data Finland municipality|demographics1_title1|Kuhmo}}
|demographics1_info1 = {{Data Finland municipality|demographics1_info1|Kuhmo}}
|demographics1_title2 = {{Data Finland municipality|demographics1_title2|Kuhmo}}
|demographics1_info2 = {{Data Finland municipality|demographics1_info2|Kuhmo}}
|demographics1_title3 = {{Data Finland municipality|demographics1_title3|Kuhmo}}
|demographics1_info3 = {{Data Finland municipality|demographics1_info3|Kuhmo}}
|demographics1_title4 = {{Data Finland municipality|demographics1_title4|Kuhmo}}
|demographics1_info4 = {{Data Finland municipality|demographics1_info4|Kuhmo}}
|demographics_type2 = {{Data Finland municipality|demographics_type2|Kuhmo}}
|demographics2_footnotes = {{Data Finland municipality|demographics2_footnotes|Kuhmo}}
|demographics2_title1 = {{Data Finland municipality|demographics2_title1|Kuhmo}}
|demographics2_info1 = {{Data Finland municipality|demographics2_info1|Kuhmo}}
|demographics2_title2 = {{Data Finland municipality|demographics2_title2|Kuhmo}}
|demographics2_info2 = {{Data Finland municipality|demographics2_info2|Kuhmo}}
|demographics2_title3 = {{Data Finland municipality|demographics2_title3|Kuhmo}}
|demographics2_info3 = {{Data Finland municipality|demographics2_info3|Kuhmo}}
|blank_name = {{Data Finland municipality|blank_name|Kuhmo}}
|blank_info = {{Data Finland municipality|blank_info|Kuhmo}}
|timezone = [[Eastern European Time|EET]]
|utc_offset = +02:00
|timezone_DST = [[Eastern European Summer Time|EEST]]
|utc_offset_DST = +03:00
| website = {{Official URL}}
}}
'''Kuhmo''' (known as ''Kuhmoniemi'' until 1937)<ref>[http://www.kajaaninyliopistokeskus.oulu.fi/kainuu/040.htm Kuhmo – kulttuuri- ja erämaakaupunki] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070322091920/http://www.kajaaninyliopistokeskus.oulu.fi/kainuu/040.htm |date=2007-03-22 }} (in Finnish)</ref> is a [[List of cities and towns in Finland|town]] and a [[municipalities of Finland|municipality]] in [[Finland]] and is located at the south-eastern corner of the [[Kainuu]] [[regions of Finland|region]]. The municipality has a population of {{formatnum: {{Data Finland municipality/population count|Kuhmo}}}} ({{#time: j F Y|{{Data Finland municipality/population count|sourcedate}} }})<ref name="population_count" /> and covers an area of {{convert|{{Data Finland municipality/total area|Kuhmo}}|km2}} of which {{convert|{{Data Finland municipality/waters area|Kuhmo}}|km2|abbr=on}} is water.<ref name="total_area" /> The [[population density]] is {{convert|{{Data Finland municipality/population density|Kuhmo|round=2}}|PD/km2}}. It shares a border of {{convert|120|km}} with [[Russia]] ([[Finnish-Russian border]]). Neighbouring towns are [[Hyrynsalmi]], [[Lieksa]], [[Nurmes]], [[Ristijärvi]], [[Sotkamo]] and [[Suomussalmi]]. A neighbour city across the Russian border is [[Kostomuksha]]. Vartius, one of the border crossing points between Finland and Russia, is located in northern Kuhmo.
Kuhmo's eastern border is located at a drainage divider, and the town area is within the [[drainage basin]] of [[Oulujärvi]].
The municipality is unilingually [[Finnish language|Finnish]].
==History==
The first inhabitants arrived in Kuhmo after the last [[Weichselian glaciation|ice-age]], around 8000 BCE. Proof of Stone Age habitation has been found around [[Ontojärvi – Nurmesjärvi|Ontojärvi]] and [[Lammasjärvi]]. [[Sami people]] inhabited Kuhmo area until migration from [[Karelia]] and [[Savonia (historical province)|Savonia]] pushed Sami people up north. The influence of Sami culture is still found in the placenames. Wide spreading water routes are known to have attracted hunters, raiders, merchants and tax collectors since the 9th century.{{citation needed|date=May 2024}}
In the [[Treaty of Nöteborg]], the settlement between [[Sweden]] and the [[Novgorod Republic]] on August 12, 1323, the Kuhmo area belonged to Novgorod. Yet hunters and tax collectors kept on penetrating to the area from west. Swedish interest was to push the border further east.{{citation needed|date=May 2024}}
Permanent habitation settled to the area after [[Gustav I of Sweden|Gustav I]], king of Sweden, had promised tax relief to peasants who would move north. Almost all the habitation was destroyed in the Russo-Swedish war between 1570 and 1595. In the [[Treaty of Teusina]], the region of Kuhmo was annexed into Sweden. In the following centuries, this area was continuously raided in a number of wars and quarrels.{{citation needed|date=May 2024}}
In 1809, Finland was annexed from Sweden to the Russian Empire as the [[Grand Duchy of Finland]]. For merchants from Karelia and Russia, Kuhmo became a trade route and a place to sell their goods. As a memorial of those merchants, on the market of Kuhmo there stands the statue “Laukunkantaja” (in English, "The Bag Bearer"). In this era, [[Elias Lönnrot]], compiler of the Finnish National Epic ''[[Kalevala]]'' made his poem-collecting trips via Kuhmo to Karelia. Lönnrot made some of the editing in Kuhmo. Reconstruction of the hut where he has staying can be seen in the Kalevala village. Publishing ''Kalevala'' in 1835 fueled birth of [[Karelianism]], which became a major trend in culture spheres towards the end of 19th century. [[Akseli Gallen-Kallela]], who is considered one of the founders of Karelianism, spent his honeymoon in Kuhmo. During their stay Gallen-Kallela painted some of his works at Lapinsalmi, lake [[Lentua]]. Scenery to lake Lentua based the background of the middle picture in his work [[Aino triptych]].
During the 19th century [[Slash-and-burn|burn-beating]] was still essential in agriculture but in decline. At the end of 18th century [[tar]] production had arrived to the area as a new and steadily growing source of income. In the year 1900 tar production in Kuhmo was highest in Finland, at 1.6 million litres. Tar was shipped from Kuhmo to [[Oulu]] by [[rowboats]]. Largest boats could carry 25 – 27 barrels, 125 litres each. Remains of tar pits, where tar was distilled from [[pine]], can be found everywhere in the Kuhmo area.
The village of Jonkeri and its surroundings near [[Jonkeri|Lake Jonkeri]] were transferred from [[Nurmeksen maalaiskunta]] to Kuhmo in 1903.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Jonkeri / Kainuunnuotta|url=https://www.kainuunnuotta.net/fi/jonkeri/|access-date=December 22, 2022|website=kainuunnuotta.net|language=fi}}</ref>
The [[Winter War]] was an important event in the history of Kuhmo. During the war Kuhmo was bombarded 48 times and [[Battle of Kuhmo|ground battles took place]] as near as ten kilometers from the center of the town. The [[Soviet Army in World War II|Soviet army]]´s objective in Kuhmo was to proceed through Kuhmo and [[Kajaani]] to Oulu and divide Finland into two. The offensive was stopped on the Kuhmo – Saunajärvi road at Jyrkänkoski and on the Kuhmo – Kiekinkoski road at Tyrävaara, Both battlescenes are approximately 10&nbsp;km from the city center. At narrow Kuhmo (Saunajärvi road) the Soviet 54th Division was forced to spread its troops which made Finnish [[Guerrilla warfare|guerilla]] tactics efficient. After being stopped, Soviet forces were divided and encircled into small [[Pocket (military)|pockets]]. A campaign to destroy the pockets and prevent the Soviet 44th Division from rescuing encircled forces continued until the [[Moscow Peace Treaty|Moscow peace treaty]].  After the war Kuhmo kept its eastern borderline unchanged, thus having an unchanged borderline for 400 years straight since the [[Treaty of Teusina]] of 1595.
==Geography ==
[[File:Bear and Wolf meet at the swamp 4K HDR 12.png|left|thumb|A [[brown bear]] and [[wolf]] in Kuhmo]]
By area the municipality is the second largest in [[Kainuu|the region]] (and the twelfth largest in [[Finland|the country]]), covering twice the land area of [[Luxembourg]].  The population is heavily concentrated in Kuhmo-town.   Most of the area is very wild, featuring more than 600 lakes and for the rest extensively forested, providing a home to abundant wild life that includes [[brown bear]]s, [[wolves]] and [[Finnish forest reindeer]].
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has set Kuhmo as a part of Eastern Finland´s stable bear population area. According to the plan, the population density of bears in this area will be maintained higher than in the rest of the country. The wolf population is also dense by comparison to the rest of the country. In consequence, the number of reindeer has decreased lately.
The topography is made up of low hills, of which the most significant are near the [[Russia]]n frontier on the eastern side.   To the south, Kuhmo is bordered by [[North Karelia]].
Several nature reserves have been founded in Kuhmo for the protection of the frontier wilderness.  [[Metsähallitus|Forest administration]] maintains several hiking routes on the reserves and almost all are accessible to the public.
=== Districts and villages ===
[[File:Poste frontière russe près de Vartius, finlande.jpg|thumb|[[Finland–Russia border|Russian border]]'s checkpoint in Vartius, Kuhmo]]
'''Districts:'''
{{Div col|colwidth=26em}}
* Akonlahti
* Hankaranta
* Jaurakko
* Kalevala
* Kanninlampi
* Kantola
* Keitaala
* Kontio
* Korkeamäki
* Kuhmoniemi
* Levälahti
* Pajakka
* Piilola
* Saarikoski
* Sormula
* Suvanto
{{Div col end}}
'''Villages:'''
{{Div col|colwidth=16em}}
* Haukela
* Hietaperä
* Härmänkylä
* Hukkajärvi
* Iivantiira
* Jonkeri
* Juonto
* Juttua
* Jyrkkä
* Jämäs
* Kalliojoki
* Katerma
* Kattilakoski
* Kiekinkoski
* Kivikiekki
* Korpisalmi
* Kuumu
* Kuusamonkylä
* Lammasperä
* Lauvuskylä
* Lentiira
* Lentua
* Niemiskylä
* Niva
* Saunajärvi
* Timoniemi
* Rasti
* Seilonen
* Sylväjä
* Vartius
* Vepsä
* Vieksi
* Viiksimo
* Vuosanka
* Ypykkävaara
{{Div col end}}
==== Rimpi ====
Rimpi is a former village near the Russian border, nowadays officially a part of Vartius. Traditionally inhabited by [[Karelians|Karelian]] [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox Christians]], Rimpi was one of three Karelian-speaking villages in Kainuu, the other two being Kuivajärvi and Hietajärvi in [[Suomussalmi]]. The village was destroyed in the [[Winter War]] and later rebuilt, however Finnish authorities did not allow the inhabitants to build Karelian-type houses. By the early 1980s, it no longer had permanent inhabitants. New people moved there permanently in 1991.
Rimpi was home to Eljas Ahtonen, who was the model for [[Väinämöinen]] in [[Akseli Gallen-Kallela|Akseli Gallen-Kallela's]] painting ''Aino-taru''. <ref>{{Cite web|title=Rimpi|url=https://asp.juminkeko.fi/viena//rimpi.html#|access-date=August 16, 2022|website=asp.juminkeko.fi|language=fi}}</ref>
==Culture==
Kuhmo is well known for its [[Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival]] which is held annually. The festival was founded in 1970 by cellist Seppo Kimanen and a small group of friends. A book on this subject was published in 2006.<ref name="subrenat2006">Listen, there's music from the forest: a short presentation of the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival", in English and French, by [[Jean-Jacques Subrenat]], {{ISBN|978-952-92-0564-6}}.</ref>
==Sights==
[[File:Kuhmo-talo.jpg|thumb|The Kuhmo Arts Centre]]
[[File:Talvisotamuseo.jpg|thumb|The [[Winter War]] Museum (''Talvisotamuseo'')]]
*Kuhmo Arts Centre
*Kalevala Village
*[[Juminkeko Foundation|Juminkeko]] – The Information Center for the Kalevala and Karelian Culture.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.juminkeko.fi/en/ |title=Juminkeko – The Information Center for the Kalevala and Karelian Culture |publisher=Juminkeko.fi |access-date=2014-08-23}}</ref>
*[[Petola Visitor Centre]]
==Notable people==
* [[Johan Gabriel Ståhlberg]] (1832–1873), Finnish priest and father of President [[K. J. Ståhlberg]]{{citation needed|date=May 2024}}
==International relations==
{{Main|List of twin towns and sister cities in Finland}}
===Twin towns — Sister cities===
Kuhmo is [[town twinning|twinned]] with:
*{{flagicon|Russia}} [[Kostamus]], Russia
*{{flagicon|Hungary}} [[Oroszlány]], Hungary
*{{flagicon|Sweden}} [[Robertsfors]], Sweden
*{{flagicon|Slovakia}} [[Šaľa]], Slovakia
==See also==
* [[Kostomuksha]]
* [[Lieksa]]
* [[Reboly]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
{{commons category-inline|Kuhmo}}
{{wikivoyage-inline|Kuhmo}}
*{{Official website|URL=https://www.kuhmo.fi/ }}
*[https://kuhmofestival.fi/ Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival]
*[https://www.kuhmonet.fi/ Many links and much information about Kuhmo's services]
{{Geographic location
| Centre = Kuhmo
| N  = [[Suomussalmi]]
| NE = {{Flagicon|RUS}} [[Kostomuksha]]
| E  = {{Flagicon|RUS}} {{Ill|Ledmozerskoye|ru|Ледмозерское сельское поселение}}<br/>{{Flagicon|RUS}} {{Ill|Rebolskoye|ru|Ребольское сельское поселение}}
| S  = [[Lieksa]] ([[North Karelia]])
| SW = [[Nurmes]] ([[North Karelia]])
| W  = [[Ristijärvi]]<br/>[[Sotkamo]]
| NW = [[Hyrynsalmi]]
}}
{{Kainuu}}
{{authority control}}
[[Category:Kuhmo| ]]
[[Category:Cities and towns in Finland]]
[[Category:Municipalities of Kainuu]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1865]]
[[Category:1865 establishments in Finland]]