Salla

This article is about the municipality in Finland. For other uses, see Salla (disambiguation).

Salla
Municipality
Sallan kunta
Salla church Salla church
Coat of arms
Location of Salla in Finland Location of Salla in Finland
Country	Finland
Region	Lapland
Sub-region	Eastern Lapland sub-region
Charter	1857
Government
• Municipal manager	Kari Väyrynen
Area (2011-01-01)
• Total	5,872.21 km2 (2,267.27 sq mi)
• Land	5,729.48 km2 (2,212.16 sq mi)
• Water	142.73 km2 (55.11 sq mi)
Area rank	7th largest in Finland
Population (2016-03-31)
• Total	3,705
• Rank	211th largest in Finland
• Density	0.65/km2 (1.7/sq mi)
Population by native language
• Finnish	98.9% (official)
• Swedish	0.1%
• Sami	0.1%
• Others	0.9%
Population by age
• 0 to 14	11%
• 15 to 64	61.3%
• 65 or older	27.7%
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Municipal tax rate	19.5%
Website	www.salla.fi

Salla (Kuolajärvi until 1936) is a municipality of Finland, located in Lapland. The municipality has a population of 3,705 (31 March 2016) and covers an area of 5,872.21 square kilometres (2,267.27 sq mi) of which 142.73 km² (55.11 sq mi) is water. The population density is 0.65 inhabitants per square kilometre (1.7/sq mi). Neighbour municipalities are Kemijärvi, Kuusamo, Pelkosenniemi, Posio and Savukoski. The nearby settlement of Sallatunturi is home to the Salla Ski Resort.

History

Salla is in the Eastern Lapland and as a border area was affected by the Second World War. Red Army troops invaded Finland at Salla during the Winter War but were stopped by the Finnish Army (see Battle of Salla). Parts of the municipality were ceded to the Soviet Union after the war. The ceded part is sometimes called "Old Salla" or Vanha Salla. During the Continuation War the old town of Salla was on the Soviet side of the border. The German XXXVI Corps attacked the Soviet positions in an operation code-named Polarfuchs. With the help of the Finnish 6th Division it managed to occupy all of the ceded territories. At the end of the war the German troops were pushed out of Lapland by Finnish troops in the Lapland War.

The following villages were ceded to the Soviet Union: Alakurtti, Korja (Korya), Kuolajärvi (Kuoloyarvi), Lampela, Sallansuu, Yläkurtti (Yulyakurtti), Sovajärvi (Sovayarvi), Tuutijärvi (Tuutiyarvi) and Vuorijärvi (Vuoriyarvi).

Communications

Salla is the terminus of a freight-only railway line from Kemijärvi. In 2006, the Finnish Rail Administration announced proposals to close the line. The line formerly extended beyond Salla into Russia.

Historical places

Name	Place	Description	WGS 84
The evangelic-Lutheran church of Salla
The Paikanselkä memorial area	Paikanselkä	The Winter War front line 13 March 1940, when war ended. Located where the commander of the Swedish voluntary troops, lieutenant colonel Magnus Dyrssen fell on 1 March 1940.
The Salpa Line

Gallery

• Salpalinja aholanvaara1.jpg

  The Salpa Line anti-tank obstacles in Aholanvaara

• Salpalinja aholanvaara2.jpg

  The Salpa Line anti-tank obstacles in Aholanvaara

External links

Media related to at Wikimedia Commons

• Municipality of Salla – Official website