Location on Finnish map

Tornio (Swedish: Torneå) is a municipality in Lapland, Finland. The municipality has a population of 22,198 (2003) and covers an area of 1,227.09 km² of which 43.85 km² is water. The population density is 18.8 inhabitants per km². It borders to the Swedish municipality of Haparanda (Finnish: Haaparanta). The municipality is unilingually Finnish. Image File history File links Tornio_coat_of_arms. ... Image File history File links Tornio_Suomen_maakuntakartalla. ... Image File history File links Tornio_Suomen_maakuntakartalla. ... The municipalities (kunta in Finnish, kommun in Swedish) represent the local level of administration in Finland and act as the fundamental administrative units of the country. ... The Province of Lapland is one of the Provinces of Finland, and a part of the larger geographical area of Lapland, which spans over four countries. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Haparanda is a Municipality in Norrbotten County, in northern Sweden. ...

History

The delta of the Tornio river has been inhabited since the end of the last ice age, and there are currently (1995) 16 group-dwelling places (boplatsvallar) known in the area, similar to those found in Vuollerim (ca 6000-5000 BC). The Swedish part of the region is not far from the currently (2004) known oldest stationary dwelling place found in Scandinavia. The theory that this region was unhabited and "colonised" from Viking Age onward is nowadays abandoned. Variations in CO2, temperature and dust from the Vostok ice core over the last 400 000 years For the animated movie, see Ice Age (movie). ... The Viking Age is the name of the period between 793 and 1066 AD in Scandinavia and Britain, following the Germanic Iron Age (and the Vendel Age in Sweden). ...

Until the 19th century, individuals speaking Kemi Sami inhabited the area, a languge similar to Finnish although categorised as part of the Eastern Sami group. Kemi Sami is a Sami language that was originally spoken in the southernmost district of Finnish Lapland as far south as the Sami siidas around Kuusamo. ...

Tornio was named after the river Tornio; (North Sami) Duortnosjávri, presumably from (Finnish) Tornionjärvi, tornio, "tower-y".

Torneå (se: "Torne river") got its town charter from the King of Sweden in 1621 and was officially founded on the island of Suensaari (fi: "Wolf Island", probably named after one of the main landowners of the past). The charter was in recognition of Tornio being the hub of all trade in Lapland throughout the 16th century. It was the largest merchant town in the North at the time and for some years ranked as the richest town in the Swedish realm. Despite the lively trade with Lapland and overseas, the number of inhabitants in the town remained stable at little over 500 persons for hundreds of years. Events February 9 - Gregory XV is elected pope. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ...

The spire of the church of Tornio was one of the landmarks used by de Maupertuis in his measurements. The church was constructed in 1686 by Matti Joosepinpoika Härmä. The stack of the church is the oldest one found in North Europe, built in 1688.

During the 18th century Tornio was visited by several expeditions from Central Europe who came to discover the Arctic. The most notable expedition (1736-1737) was led by a member of the Academie Française, Pierre Louis Moreau de Maupertuis, who came to do measurements along the Tornio river so as to prove that the earth is flattened towards the poles. Image File history File links Tornio_church_2000. ... Image File history File links Tornio_church_2000. ... Pierre Louis Maupertuis, here wearing lapmudes or a fur coat from his Lapland expedition. ... (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... The red line indicates the 10°C isotherm in July, commonly used to define the Arctic region border Satellite image of the Arctic surface The Arctic is the area around the Earths North Pole, opposite the Antarctican area around the South Pole. ... Events January 26 - Stanislaus I of Poland abdicates his throne. ... Events 12 February — The San Carlo, the oldest working opera house in Europe, is inaugurated. ... The Académie française, or French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. ... Pierre Louis Maupertuis, here wearing lapmudes or a fur coat from his Lapland expedition. ...

The Lapland trade on which Tornio depended started to decline in the 18th century and the Tornio harbour had to be moved downriver twice due to the rising of the land (post-glacial rebound), which made the river too shallow for navigation. However, the greatest blow to the wealth of the town came in the last war between Sweden and Russia in 1808, which saw the Russians capture and annex Finland. The border was drawn through the deepest channel of the Muonio and Tornio rivers, splitting Lapland in two parts, hurting the trade. Tornio town ended up on the Russian side of the border on special insistence by the Russian czar. The Swedes developed the village of Haaparanta (present day Haparanda) on their side of the border, to balance the loss of Tornio. Changes in the elevation of Lake Superior due to glaciation and post-glacial rebound Post-glacial rebound (sometimes called continental rebound, isostatic rebound or isostatic adjustment) is the rise of land masses that were depressed by the huge weight of ice sheets during the last ice age, through a process... 1808 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Muonio is a municipality of Finland. ... Haparanda is a Municipality in Norrbotten County, in northern Sweden. ...

During the Russian period Tornio was a sleepy garrison town. Trade only livened up during the Crimean War and the First World War, when Tornio became an important border crossing for goods and people. During the First World War Tornio and Haparanda had the only rail link to connect the Russians to their Western allies. Combatants United Kingdom France Ottoman Empire Kingdom of Sardinia Russian Empire Casualties 17,500 British 90,000 French 35,000 Turkish 2,050 Sardinian killed, wounded and died of disease 256,000 killed, wounded and died of disease The Crimean War lasted from 1854 until 1 April 1856 and was... Combatants Allied Powers: British Empire France Italy Russia United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary Bulgaria Germany Ottoman Empire Commanders Ferdinand Foch Georges Clemenceau Joseph Joffre Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna Armando Diaz Nicholas II Aleksei Brusilov Herbert Henry Asquith Douglas Haig John Jellicoe Woodrow Wilson John Pershing Wilhelm II Paul...

After the independence of Finland in 1917 Tornio lost its garrison and saw further decline although its population increased steadily. The town played no role of importance in the Finnish Civil War, but was the scene of some fierce street fighting at the onset of the Lapland War between Finland and Nazi-Germany. The quick liberation of the town by the Finnish forces, probably saved it from being burned down like so many other towns in Lapland. As a result the beautiful wooden church from 1686 can still be admired today. 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... Combatants Whites: White Guards, German Empire, Swedish volunteers Reds: Red Guards, Bolshevist Russia Commanders Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim Ali Aaltonen, Eero Haapalainen, Eino Rahja, Kullervo Manner Strength 80,000-90,000 Finns, 550 Swedish volunteers, 13,000 Germans[1] 80,000-90,000 Finns, 4,000-10,000 Russians[1... Combatants Germany Finland Commanders Lothar Rendulic Hjalmar Siilasvuo Strength 200,000 60,000 Casualties 950 killed 2,000 wounded 1,300 captured 774 killed 3,000 wounded 262 missing The Lapland War is a name used for the hostilities between Finland and Germany between September 1944 and April 1945. ... Motto: (English: One people, one empire, one leader. ... The battle of Tornio October 1 - October 8, 1944 was the first major engagement between Nazi Germany and Finland in the Lapland War; although hostilities had already begun elswere (see Tanne Ost). ... Events The League of Augsburg is founded. ...

After World War II, the town created new employment with the success of the local brewery Lapin Kulta and the stainless steel factory Outokumpu. Tourism based on the border has been a growing industry too. Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead... Lapin Kulta (fi: Gold of Lapland) is the name of a beer brewery in Tornio Finland and also the name of its product, Finlands most popular lager. ... Outokumpu is a group of companies headquartered in Espoo, Finland, aimed at stainless steel and technology. ...

Tornio and Haparanda have a history as twin cities, and are set to merge under the name EuroCity. A new city centre is under construction on the old border and many municipal services are shared. The towns also have a common golf course, situated astride the border. Twin cities are two towns or cities that are geographically close to each other and may seem to form a single unit, often referred to collectively. ... EuroCity, abbreviated EC, denotes a train service within the European inter-city rail network. ... Greg Norman on the 18th tee at St Andrews. ...

See also: Övertorneå (Sweden) ...

External links

• Official website of Tornio

Coordinates: 65°50′N 24°11′E Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...