Sonkajärvi

Sonkajärvi is a municipality of Finland.

Sonkajärvi
Municipality
Sonkajärven kunta
Sonkajärvi kommun
Sonkajärvi town hall
Location of Sonkajärvi in Finland
Coordinates: 63°40′N 27°31′E
Country Finland
RegionNorthern Savonia
Sub-regionUpper Savonia
Charter1922
Government
  Municipal managerSimo Mäkinen
Area
 (2018-01-01)[1]
  Total1,576.78 km2 (608.80 sq mi)
  Land1,465.91 km2 (565.99 sq mi)
  Water110.86 km2 (42.80 sq mi)
  Rank44th largest in Finland
Population
 (2021-12-31)[2]
  Total3,776
  Rank200th largest in Finland
  Density2.58/km2 (6.7/sq mi)
Population by native language
  Finnish99.6% (official)
  Swedish0.1%
  Others0.4%
Population by age
  0 to 1412.2%
  15 to 6453.4%
  65 or older34.5%
Time zoneUTC+02:00 (EET)
  Summer (DST)UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Municipal tax rate[5]21.25%
Websitewww.sonkajarvi.fi

It is located in Northern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of 3,776 (31 December 2021)[2] and covers an area of 1,576.78 square kilometres (608.80 sq mi) of which 110.86 km2 (42.80 sq mi) is water.[1] The population density is 2.58 inhabitants per square kilometre (6.7/sq mi).

The municipality is unilingually Finnish.

The municipality was founded in 1922. Before it Sonkajärvi was a part of Iisalmen maalaiskunta.

Geography

Neighbouring municipalities are Iisalmi, Kajaani, Lapinlahti, Rautavaara, Sotkamo and Vieremä.

There are 204 lakes in the area of Sonkajärvi. Biggest of them are Laakajärvi, Sälevä and Kiltuanjärvi.[6]

Wife carrying competition

Sonkajärvi has gained a worldwide fame for the alternative sport of wife-carrying (Finnish: akankanto or eukonkanto). The first Wife Carrying World Championship dates to 1994, but the creation of the contest, apart from its humorous aspects, has deep roots in the local history. In the late 19th century there was in the area a brigand called Rosvo-Ronkainen, who is said to have accepted in his troops only those men who proved their worth on a challenging track. In those days, it was also a common practice to steal women from the neighbouring villages.

In the Wife Carrying competition each team has one male and one female member, the objective being for the male to carry the female through a special obstacle track. The basic rules are that the woman must be over 17 years of age and have a weight of at least 49 kilograms (108 lb). If she is below that weight, she must be burdened with such a heavy rucksack so that the total weight to be carried by the man is at least 49 kilograms. The only equipment allowed is a belt worn by the carrier. The track in Sonkanjärvi used annually for the World Championship is 253.5 metres (832 ft) long.

Nature

There are unique nature sights in the municipality of Sonkajärvi, for example the northernmost in Finland reliably confirmed habitats of wild small-leaved lime (Tilia cordata) in the vicinity of the lake of Kangaslampi, 63° 45′ N and near the hill of Salmisenmäki, 63° 43′ 42" N.[7][8][9]

Notable people

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

References

Media related to Sonkajärvi at Wikimedia Commons

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