Hyrynsalmi | Exploring Finland
Hyrynsalmi is a municipality and locality in the Kainuu Region in Northern Finland. It is an unilingual municipality with Finnish as its main language. The urban settlement of around 1200 inhabitants lies along the southern shores of the lake Hyrynjärvi, with the smaller lake Salmijarvi just to the east. Hyrynsalmi is probably best known for being the host of the annual world championship in Swamp Football. A quite muddy version of football (or soccer) that has its origins in Finland. In addition, the municipality marks the southernmost reindeer herding area in Finland.
A Short History of Hyrynsalmi
The area has been inhabited since the stone age. The first known permanent settlement of the area dates back to the 1595. The area was at the time settled by people from Savonia. The settlers actually arrived already in the 1550s, but the original settlement was destroyed by the Russians. The main livelihood in the area consisted of agriculture and reindeer herding.
First the area belonged to the Liminka Parish and later the Paltamo Parish. It wasn’t until in 1786 that Hyrynsalmi Parish was established. The local church was completed the same year. The parish population remained small up until the 19th century. It would reach its peak in the 1960s.
The municipality played its part in the Second World War. The German Wehrmacht built the railway between Hyrynsalmi and Kuusamo during the Continuation War in 1942 to 1944. The railway was mostly built by prisoners-of-war and was destroyed by retreating German soldiers at the end of the war. Much of the remaining material was handed over to the Soviet Union as part of the peace treaty.
Things to Do and See
The main attraction of Hyrynsalmi is probably the swamp football and then especially the annual world championships. The championship is arranged in Vuorisuo, a place to the southeast of the locality. There is also Ukkohalla to the northwest, a ski resort and home to what might be the northernmost cable wakeboarding park in the world.
When it comes to the center of Hyrynsalmi it is a fairly quiet place with a few small businesses. Nature is, however, never far away. The forest is literally almost reaching the center of the locality. During the summer you can swim in the nearby lake and wintertime offers plenty of winter sports in the area.
How to Get to Hyrynsalmi
- Flights: The nearest airport is Kajaani Airport (KAJ) to the southwest. It is a regional airport with regular flights to Helsinki.
- Car: Hyrynsalmi lies along European Route E63, between Suomussalmi and Kajaani.
- Train: There are no longer any passenger trains to Hyrynsalmi.
The driving distance from 5 major Finnish cities, according to Google Maps:
- Helsinki – 629 kilometers (7 h 20 min)
- Turku – 692 kilometers (8 h)
- Vaasa – 437 kilometers (5 h 10 min)
- Oulu – 178 kilometers (2 h 20 min)
- Joensuu – 284 kilometers (3 h 20 min)
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