Kärsämäki
Kärsämäki (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈkærsæˌmæki]; literally meaning "snout hill") is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Oulu and is part of the Northern Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of 2,441 (31 December 2023) and covers an area of 700.91 square kilometres (270.62 sq mi) of which 6.06 km2 (2.34 sq mi) is water. The population density is 3.5 inhabitants per square kilometre (9.1/sq mi). Kärsämäki is a significant road junction where Highway 4 (Helsinki–Oulu–Utsjoki) and Highway 28 (Kokkola–Kajaani) intersect and where Highway 58 leading to Kangasala begins. The distance to the regional capital Oulu is 123 kilometres (76 mi).
Kärsämäki | |
|---|---|
Municipality | |
| Kärsämäen kunta Kärsämäki kommun | |
Kärsämäki Church (Paanukirkko) | |
|
Coat of arms | |
Location of Kärsämäki in Finland | |
| Coordinates: 63°58.5′N 025°45.5′E | |
| Country | Finland |
| Region | North Ostrobothnia |
| Sub-region | Nivala–Haapajärvi |
| Charter | 1869 |
| Government | |
| • Town manager | Riitta Hokkanen |
| Area (2018-01-01) | |
| • Total | 700.91 km2 (270.62 sq mi) |
| • Land | 696.5 km2 (268.9 sq mi) |
| • Water | 6.06 km2 (2.34 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 121st largest in Finland |
| Population (2023-12-31) | |
| • Total | 2,441 |
| • Rank | 238th largest in Finland |
| • Density | 3.5/km2 (9/sq mi) |
| Population by native language | |
| • Finnish | 98.7% (official) |
| • Swedish | 0.1% |
| • Others | 1.2% |
| Population by age | |
| • 0 to 14 | 17.7% |
| • 15 to 64 | 53.9% |
| • 65 or older | 28.4% |
| Time zone | UTC+02:00 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+03:00 (EEST) |
| Website | karsamaki |
Neighbour municipalities are Haapajärvi, Haapavesi, Pyhäjärvi, Pyhäntä and Siikalatva. The previous neighboring municipality was Piippola, which was merged with the municipality of Siikalatva in 2009. The municipality is unilingually Finnish.
The explanation of the coat of arms of the municipality of Kärsämäki is "in the silver field the terrace and the boat, both blue, seven red fire tabs rise from the boat." The subject of the coat of arms refers to the name of the village of Venetpalo, which in turn comes from the tribal battles with the Tavastians. The village is told by the Tavastians shout ”Veneet palaa!” (lit. "Boats are burning!") according to local villagers set fire to the raiding boats on fire. The coat of arms was designed by Gustaf von Numers and approved by the Kärsämäki Municipal Council at its meeting on June 23, 1964. The coat of arms was approved for use by the Ministry of the Interior on October 5 of the same year.