Haapajärvi is a town and municipality of Finland.

It is located in the province of Oulu and is part of the Northern Ostrobothnia region. The town has a population of ()

The men of Jämsä held hunting grounds in the area; opposed to the settlement on their lands, men from Jämsä attacked the Savonian settlements of the Kalajoki and Pyhäjoki valleys in 1551. The settlers soon notified the king of Sweden (Gustav Vasa), who forbade the Tavastians from disturbing the new settlements, however also stating that the Tavastians were allowed to settle on their own hunting grounds as well.

A chapel was built in the village of Olkkola for the Laestadian community in the 1920s, however it has never been officially designated as a church or a chapel. Olkkola was a chapel community from 1927 to 1978. The speedway track has held the final of the Finnish Individual Speedway Championship on five occasions from 2008 to 2023.

Notable people

  • Petri Tapio Mattson (born 1973), Finnish violinist and ensemble director
  • Johan Gabriel Ståhlberg (1832–1873), Finnish priest and father of President K. J. Ståhlberg

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File:KunnalliskotiHaapajarvi.jpeg|A "municipal home" (kunnaliskoti) for those unable to provide themselves in Haapajärvi in pre-war Finland

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See also

  • Finnish national road 58

References

  • Town of Haapajärvi – Official website