Haparanda
Encyclopedia
Haparanda is a locality
and the seat of Haparanda Municipality
in Norrbotten County
, Sweden
with 4,778 inhabitants in 2005. It is adjacent to Tornio
, Finland
. Haparanda has a population of approximately 4,800 (and an area 3.94 km²) of out of a municipal total of 10,200 inhabitants.
Haparanda is, despite its small population, for historical reasons often still referred to as a city. Statistics Sweden, however, only counts localities with more than 10,000 inhabitants as cities.
The municipality itself, on the other hand, uses the term (City of Haparanda) not only for the town itself, but for its whole territory (927 km2). At 24° 8' E, Haparanda is Sweden's easternmost settlement.
to Russia in 1809, the border was drawn along the Rivers Tornio
and Muonio
. The town of Tornio
, located on the island Suensaari in the river delta became part of the Grand Duchy of Finland
within the Russian Empire
as demanded by czar Alexander I
. (Finland declared independence in 1917).
At that time the town of Tornio was dominated by Swedish-speaking merchants and craftsmen, forming a linguistic island
in a Finnish-speaking countryside. After the war many of the Swedes started to develop the small village Haaparanta across the border instead (Haparanda and Tornio are within walking distance), eventually leaving Tornio unilingually Finnish. Haparanda was made a market town (köping
) in 1821 and received its city charter in 1842.
Into the early twentieth century Haparanda enjoyed commercial and political significance out of proportion to its size because of its position at the mouth of the Torne river at the head of the Gulf of Bothnia
. Timber and furs from across northern Scandinavia and Russia arrived by water for shipping on to the rest of the world via the Baltic. Arctic and Antarctic expeditions of the 19th and 20th centuries, including that of Admiral Peary of the US, wore furs supplied by Hermansson's, whose shop still stands in Haparanda.
division in Sweden, Elitserien
. Haparanda hosted matches in the 2001 World Bandy Championship.
Other sports clubs located in Haparanda include:
and Finnish
. Today the two towns are closely interconnected economically and socially; they constitute a transborder conurbation marketed as "EuroCity". Since Sweden and Finland are in different time zones, Haparanda is one hour behind Tornio. This allows a unique spectacle on New Years Eve, when people can welcome in the new year twice. Since 2005 the cities have rebranded themselves as "Haparanda-Tornio" in Sweden, and "Tornio-Haparanda" in Finland.
Haparanda has a railway station, but the line is now only used for freight. The station buildings are used by a youth club, and occasionally for concerts. They include what were originally customs and border control posts. This was the only route open between Russia and Germany in World War I
, and during World War II
many of the approximately 80,000 Finnish children evacuated to Sweden entered the country here.
Haparanda is connected to the Swedish national network by the Haparandabanan (Haparanda railway). The bridge between Haparanda and Tornio is the only direct connection between the Swedish and Finnish rail systems. The two networks use different track gauges, requiring all freight wagons crossing the border to have their cargo reloaded. There is a dual gauge
track between Haparanda and Tornio.
retail store opened 15 November 2006 in a new commercial enterprise zone at the Haparanda-Tornio border, and is the northernmost IKEA store in the world. Though goods are priced in Swedish kronor only, instore signage is in both Swedish and Finnish. This single store attracts a claimed two million visitors every year, and has triggered "piggy-back" development of other large-scale retail outlets and a prototypical US-style shopping mall on the site. Although shops in Haparanda itself accept euros and Swedish kronor, many have closed in the face of competition from the out of town development.
Notable buildings besides the rail station (1918) include the Stadshotell (hotel and former town hall) of 1900, which has a first floor stateroom with magnificent chandeliers of Orrefors glass, and the landmark pepperpot-shaped watertower http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/89/Haparanda.jpg/347px-Haparanda.jpg, erected in 1920. It no longer provides all the town's water, only the communal hot water supply. Haparanda's uncompromisingly modern church is by Bengt Larsson of the ELLT studio, and dates from 1967, its predecessor being destroyed by fire in 1964.
Urban areas in Sweden
Urban area is a common English translation of the Swedish term tätort. The official term in English, used by Statistics Sweden, is, however, locality. There are 1,940 localities in Sweden . They could be compared with census-designated places in the United States.A tätort in Sweden has a minimum of...
and the seat of Haparanda Municipality
Haparanda Municipality
Haparanda Municipality is a municipality in Norrbotten County in northern Sweden. Its seat is located in Haparanda .In 1967 the "City of Haparanda" was merged with the rural municipalities Karl Gustav and Nedertorneå. Since 1971 Haparanda, like all other municipalities of Sweden, is a municipality...
in Norrbotten County
Norrbotten County
Norrbotten County is the northernmost county or län of Sweden. It borders Västerbotten County to the southwest, the Gulf of Bothnia to the southeast. It also borders the counties of Nordland and Troms in Norway to the northwest, and Lapland Province in Finland to the northeast.The name...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
with 4,778 inhabitants in 2005. It is adjacent to Tornio
Tornio
Tornio is a town and municipality in Lapland, Finland. The municipality covers an area of of which is water. The population density is , with a total population of . It borders to the Swedish municipality of Haparanda...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
. Haparanda has a population of approximately 4,800 (and an area 3.94 km²) of out of a municipal total of 10,200 inhabitants.
Haparanda is, despite its small population, for historical reasons often still referred to as a city. Statistics Sweden, however, only counts localities with more than 10,000 inhabitants as cities.
The municipality itself, on the other hand, uses the term (City of Haparanda) not only for the town itself, but for its whole territory (927 km2). At 24° 8' E, Haparanda is Sweden's easternmost settlement.
History
When Sweden ceded FinlandFinnish War
The Finnish War was fought between Sweden and the Russian Empire from February 1808 to September 1809. As a result of the war, the eastern third of Sweden was established as the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland within the Russian Empire...
to Russia in 1809, the border was drawn along the Rivers Tornio
Torne River
The Torne River , is a river in northern Sweden and Finland. Approximately half of the river's length is a part of the border between these two countries. It rises at Lake Torne near the border with Norway and flows generally southeast for a distance of into the Gulf of Bothnia...
and Muonio
Muonio River
The Muonio River is a river of northern Finland and Sweden. It is a tributary of the Torne River. Together the two rivers form the national border between Finland and Sweden. The river is 230 kilometres long....
. The town of Tornio
Tornio
Tornio is a town and municipality in Lapland, Finland. The municipality covers an area of of which is water. The population density is , with a total population of . It borders to the Swedish municipality of Haparanda...
, located on the island Suensaari in the river delta became part of the Grand Duchy of Finland
Grand Duchy of Finland
The Grand Duchy of Finland was the predecessor state of modern Finland. It existed 1809–1917 as part of the Russian Empire and was ruled by the Russian czar as Grand Prince.- History :...
within the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
as demanded by czar Alexander I
Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I of Russia , served as Emperor of Russia from 23 March 1801 to 1 December 1825 and the first Russian King of Poland from 1815 to 1825. He was also the first Russian Grand Duke of Finland and Lithuania....
. (Finland declared independence in 1917).
At that time the town of Tornio was dominated by Swedish-speaking merchants and craftsmen, forming a linguistic island
Language-island
A language island is an exclave of a language that is completely surrounded by another language.Examples of language islands:* Saterland* Brussels* Islenos* Palenquero* Alghero* Swabian Turkey* Upper HarzSee also:*Enclave and exclave...
in a Finnish-speaking countryside. After the war many of the Swedes started to develop the small village Haaparanta across the border instead (Haparanda and Tornio are within walking distance), eventually leaving Tornio unilingually Finnish. Haparanda was made a market town (köping
Köping
This article deals with the Swedish denomination for a market town. For the city, see Köping, Sweden. For the municipality, see Köping Municipality....
) in 1821 and received its city charter in 1842.
Into the early twentieth century Haparanda enjoyed commercial and political significance out of proportion to its size because of its position at the mouth of the Torne river at the head of the Gulf of Bothnia
Gulf of Bothnia
The Gulf of Bothnia is the northernmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It is situated between Finland's west coast and Sweden's east coast. In the south of the gulf lie the Åland Islands, between the Sea of Åland and the Archipelago Sea.-Name:...
. Timber and furs from across northern Scandinavia and Russia arrived by water for shipping on to the rest of the world via the Baltic. Arctic and Antarctic expeditions of the 19th and 20th centuries, including that of Admiral Peary of the US, wore furs supplied by Hermansson's, whose shop still stands in Haparanda.
Sports
Haparanda/Tornio play in the highest bandyBandy
Bandy is a team winter sport played on ice, in which skaters use sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal.The rules of the game have many similarities to those of association football: the game is played on a rectangle of ice the same size as a football field. Each team has 11 players,...
division in Sweden, Elitserien
Elitserien (bandy)
The Elitserien is since the 2007–08 season the highest bandy league in Sweden. It consist of 14 teams. The season ends with a final on Studenternas IP in Uppsala. From 2013 the final will be played in Swedbank Arena, Solna....
. Haparanda hosted matches in the 2001 World Bandy Championship.
Other sports clubs located in Haparanda include:
- Haparanda FFHaparanda FFHaparanda FF is a sapmi football club located in Haparanda. -Background:Haparanda FF currently plays in Division 4 Norrbotten Norra which is the sixth tier of Swedish football. They play their home matches at the Gränsvallen in Haparanda....
The impact of the Border
Relations between the neighbouring towns have always been friendly. A large portion of Haparanda's population speak both SwedishSwedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
and Finnish
Finnish language
Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...
. Today the two towns are closely interconnected economically and socially; they constitute a transborder conurbation marketed as "EuroCity". Since Sweden and Finland are in different time zones, Haparanda is one hour behind Tornio. This allows a unique spectacle on New Years Eve, when people can welcome in the new year twice. Since 2005 the cities have rebranded themselves as "Haparanda-Tornio" in Sweden, and "Tornio-Haparanda" in Finland.
Haparanda has a railway station, but the line is now only used for freight. The station buildings are used by a youth club, and occasionally for concerts. They include what were originally customs and border control posts. This was the only route open between Russia and Germany in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, and during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
many of the approximately 80,000 Finnish children evacuated to Sweden entered the country here.
Rail gauge
Dual gauge
A dual-gauge or mixed-gauge railway has railway track that allows trains of different gauges to use the same track. Generally, a dual-gauge railway consists of three rails, rather than the standard two rails. The two outer rails give the wider gauge, while one of the outer rails and the inner rail...
track between Haparanda and Tornio.
Buildings
An IKEAIKEA
IKEA is a privately held, international home products company that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture such as beds and desks, appliances and home accessories. The company is the world's largest furniture retailer...
retail store opened 15 November 2006 in a new commercial enterprise zone at the Haparanda-Tornio border, and is the northernmost IKEA store in the world. Though goods are priced in Swedish kronor only, instore signage is in both Swedish and Finnish. This single store attracts a claimed two million visitors every year, and has triggered "piggy-back" development of other large-scale retail outlets and a prototypical US-style shopping mall on the site. Although shops in Haparanda itself accept euros and Swedish kronor, many have closed in the face of competition from the out of town development.
Notable buildings besides the rail station (1918) include the Stadshotell (hotel and former town hall) of 1900, which has a first floor stateroom with magnificent chandeliers of Orrefors glass, and the landmark pepperpot-shaped watertower http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/89/Haparanda.jpg/347px-Haparanda.jpg, erected in 1920. It no longer provides all the town's water, only the communal hot water supply. Haparanda's uncompromisingly modern church is by Bengt Larsson of the ELLT studio, and dates from 1967, its predecessor being destroyed by fire in 1964.
