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Salo, Finland

Coordinates: 60°23′10″N 023°07′30″E / 60.38611°N 23.12500°E / 60.38611; 23.12500
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This article is about a town in Finland. For other uses, see Salo (disambiguation).

Salo
City
Salon kaupunki
Salo stad
Salo town centre by night
Salo town centre by night
Coat of arms of Salo
Coat of arms
Location of Salo in Finland
Location of Salo in Finland
Coordinates: 60°23′10″N 023°07′30″E / 60.38611°N 23.12500°E / 60.38611; 23.12500
CountryFinland
RegionSouthwest Finland
Sub-regionSalo
Market town1887
City rights1960
Government
 • City managerAnna-Kristiina Korhonen
Area
 (2018-01-01)[1]
 • City
2,168.30 km2 (837.19 sq mi)
 • Land1,987.44 km2 (767.35 sq mi)
 • Water181.78 km2 (70.19 sq mi)
 • Rank30th largest in Finland
Population
 (2024-10-31)[2]
 • City
50,890
 • Rank20th largest in Finland
 • Density25.61/km2 (66.3/sq mi)
 • Metro
64,650
Population by native language
[3]
 • Finnish90.5% (official)
 • Swedish1.2%
 • Others8.4%
Population by age
[4]
 • 0 to 1414%
 • 15 to 6458.2%
 • 65 or older27.8%
Time zoneUTC+02:00 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+03:00 (EEST)
ClimateDfb
Websitesalo.fi/en/

Salo (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈsɑlo]) is a town in Finland, located in the southwestern interior of the country. The population of Salo is approximately 51,000, while the sub-region has a population of approximately 59,000. It is the 20th most populous municipality in Finland, and the 24th most populous urban area in the country.

Salo is located in the Southwest Finland. Salo covers an area of 2,168.30 square kilometres (837.19 sq mi) of which 181.78 km2 (70.19 sq mi) is water.[1] The population density is 25.61/km2 (66.3/sq mi). The municipality is unilingually Finnish.

The name Salo means woodland, backwoods, but also a wooded island in Finnish. It is believed that Salo originally referred to an island located south of the current town over a thousand years ago, which is now a hill due to post-glacial rebound, and not even close to the sea today.[6]

Salo is a small city located between the capital Helsinki (114 kilometres (71 mi) away) and the provincial capital Turku (52 kilometres (32 mi) away). The city's proximity to these larger cities has contributed to the growth of Salo's business sector. Additionally, farming plays a significant role in the area. Salo shares borders with Koski Tl, Lohja, Kimitoön, Marttila, Paimio, Raseborg, Sauvo and Somero. Salo is also twinned with Saint Anthony Village in Minnesota.

Salo was previously recognised for its significant consumer electronics and mobile phone industry. Nokia, and briefly Microsoft Mobile, operated a manufacturing plant in the town. However, the plant was closed in 2015, resulting in high unemployment rates.

Salo is the birthplace of the former president of Finland Sauli Niinistö.

History

[edit]

Salo has existed as a centre of rural commerce since at least the 16th century, emerging in the location where the Great Coastal Road,[7] the important East-West road, crossed River Salo; the river provided the fairway to the sea. In 1887 Salo officially became a market town and, in the beginning of 1891, an independent Municipality.[8] The area of the municipality was initially very small, only 0.65 km2. In 1932 it grew to 18 km2 when areas from neighbouring Uskela and Halikko were annexed to Salo. Eventually Salo became a town in 1960. The municipality of Uskela was consolidated with Salo 1967. The municipalities of Halikko, Kiikala, Kisko, Kuusjoki, Muurla, Perniö, Pertteli, Suomusjärvi and Särkisalo were consolidated with Salo in the beginning of 2009. Salo is also a popular last name in Finland.

Climate

[edit]
Climate data for Salo Kärkkä (elevation 47 m) 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1959– present
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 8.9
(48.0) 		9.2
(48.6) 		16.4
(61.5) 		23.8
(74.8) 		29.6
(85.3) 		31.9
(89.4) 		33.2
(91.8) 		32.5
(90.5) 		27.5
(81.5) 		18.5
(65.3) 		14.0
(57.2) 		10.8
(51.4) 		33.2
(91.8)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) −1.0
(30.2) 		−1.3
(29.7) 		2.9
(37.2) 		9.8
(49.6) 		16.3
(61.3) 		20.2
(68.4) 		23.0
(73.4) 		21.4
(70.5) 		16.0
(60.8) 		9.1
(48.4) 		3.9
(39.0) 		0.9
(33.6) 		10.1
(50.2)
Daily mean °C (°F) −3.8
(25.2) 		−4.5
(23.9) 		−1.3
(29.7) 		4.5
(40.1) 		10.5
(50.9) 		15.0
(59.0) 		17.8
(64.0) 		16.2
(61.2) 		11.2
(52.2) 		5.7
(42.3) 		1.6
(34.9) 		−1.4
(29.5) 		6.0
(42.8)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −7.0
(19.4) 		−8.0
(17.6) 		−5.2
(22.6) 		−0.2
(31.6) 		4.7
(40.5) 		9.6
(49.3) 		12.6
(54.7) 		11.3
(52.3) 		7.2
(45.0) 		2.6
(36.7) 		−0.8
(30.6) 		−4.2
(24.4) 		1.9
(35.4)
Record low °C (°F) −36.6
(−33.9) 		−37.5
(−35.5) 		−32.5
(−26.5) 		−21.5
(−6.7) 		−6.9
(19.6) 		−0.9
(30.4) 		2.0
(35.6) 		0.1
(32.2) 		−7.9
(17.8) 		−16.5
(2.3) 		−22.6
(−8.7) 		−34.1
(−29.4) 		−37.5
(−35.5)
Source 1: FMI temperature normals for Finland 1991–2020[9]
Source 2: Record highs and lows 1959– present[10]

Demographics

[edit]

Population

[edit]

The city of Salo has 50,890 inhabitants, making it the 20th most populous municipality in Finland. The Salo region has a population of 59,329. In Salo, 8.6% of the population has a foreign background, which is slightly below the national average.[11]

Population size of Salo (and merged municipalities) 1990–2020[12]
Year Population
1990
49,834
1995
50,922
2000
52,604
2005
53,672
2010
55,235
2015
53,890
2020
51,562

Languages

[edit]

Population by mother tongue (2023)[11]

  Finnish (90.5%)
  Russian (1.8%)
  Estonian (1.4%)
  Ukrainian (1.2%)
  Swedish (1.2%)
  Kurdish (0.6%)
  Albanian (0.4%)
  Other (3.0%)

Salo is a monolingual Finnish-speaking municipality. The majority of the population – 46,239 people or 90.5% – speak Finnish as their first language. In Salo, 588 people, or 1.2% of the population, speak Swedish.[11] 8.4% of the population of Salo have a mother tongue other than Finnish or Swedish.[11] As English and Swedish are compulsory school subjects, functional Bilingualism or Trilingualism acquired through language studies is not uncommon.

At least 30 different languages are spoken in Salo. The most common foreign languages are Russian (1.8%), Estonian (1.4%), Ukrainian (1.2%) and Kurdish (0.6%).[11]

Immigration

[edit]
Population by country of birth (2022)[12]
Nationality Population %
Finland 47,428 93.1
Soviet Union 748 1.5
Estonia 590 1.2
Sweden 223 0.4
Iraq 198 0.4
Russia 133 0.3
Thailand 121 0.2
Latvia 111 0.2
Yugoslavia 106 0.2
China 98 0.2
Ukraine 96 0.2
Other 1,081 2.1

As of 2023, there were 4,401 persons with a migrant background living in Salo, or 8.6% of the population.[note 1] The number of residents who were born abroad was 4,107, or 8.0% of the population. The number of persons with foreign citizenship living in Salo was 3,055.[11] Most foreign-born citizens came from the former Soviet Union, Estonia, Sweden and Iraq.[12]

The relative share of immigrants in Salo's population is slightly below the national average. However, the city's new residents are increasingly of foreign origin. This will increase the proportion of foreign residents in the coming years.

Religion

[edit]

In 2023, the Evangelical Lutheran Church was the largest religious group with 70.4% of the population of Salo. Other religious groups accounted for 1.8% of the population. 27.8% of the population had no religious affiliation.[14]

Industry

[edit]

Salo was well known in Finland and around the world for its large mobile phone factory operated by Nokia. Nokia first started producing mobile phones in Salo in 1981. A new plant, 15,000 square metres, opened in June 1995. By this time 1,200 people were employed there, and it exported products to 70 countries as of 1995.[15] As of 2008, 5,000 people were employed at the plant.[16]

In 2012 amid heavy financial losses, Nokia laid off a third of Salo's 3,500 workforce and gradually shifted manufacturing to Asia. It had a negative impact on the town with unemployment rising. In 2010 Nokia accounted for 95% of the town's corporate tax income, amounting to €60 million, but this dropped to just €14 million by 2012.[17] By the end of the year Salo no longer produced hardware and became a research and development centre.

After the centre was in the hands of Microsoft Mobile, layoffs continued and eventually in June 2015 Microsoft announced the closure of the plant, putting the jobs of the 1,100 employees at risk. By this time Salo's unemployment rate was 15%, and the layoffs could push that further to 20%. Solidarity was expressed by some Finnish politicians after Salo's decline, which also came amid Finland's slow post-2008 crisis economy.[18]

Sports

[edit]

The city is home to the professional basketball team Salon Vilpas Vikings, which plays in the Finish 1st Division Korisliiga. It plays its home games in the Salohalli. The most important orienteering club is Angelniemen Ankkuri, which organizes the Halikko relay every autumn.

Transportation

[edit]
VR Class Vr1 steam locomotive no. 656 "Kana" ("Hen") on a turntable outside Salo Art Museum

European route E18 runs through Salo, passing the city center a few kilometers North, but the national road 52 between Raseborg and Somero goes through the city center. The "Coastal Railway" from Helsinki to Turku and further to Turku Harbour crosses the town center; all InterCity trains and most of the high-speed Pendolino trains stop at Salo railway station. The closest airports are Turku Airport (limited number of domestic and international flights) and Helsinki-Vantaa Airport.

Regional road 110 (Old Turku Road) in the village of Kitula

In 2016, the city of Salo signed a letter of intent with Los Angeles-based company Virgin Hyperloop One to launch a project to build a 50 km long Hyperloop tube between Salo and Turku.[19]

Events

[edit]

In recent years, the town of Salo has become known for the popular Kurpitsaviikot ("Pumpkin Weeks"), which are organized in Halikko in every autumn.[20] At the local field, thousands of different sizes pumpkins and carved jack-o'-lanterns are presented to Tourists.[21][22][23][24] The event celebrating Halloween culture has gathered audiences from all over Finland, from Hanko to Ivalo,[25][21][22] and for example, the event organized in 2020 had as many as 100,000 visitors.[26] The event has also been noticed abroad, all the way to North America.[27]

International relations

[edit]
Main article: List of twin towns and sister cities in Finland

Twin towns – eleven cities

[edit]

Salo has eight Sister cities:[28]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Statistics Finland classifies a person as having a "foreign background" if both parents or the only known parent were born abroad.[13]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Area of Finnish Municipalities 1.1.2018" (PDF). National Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  2. ^ "Finland's preliminary population figure was 5,635,560 at the end of October 2024". Population structure. Statistics Finland. 19 November 2024. ISSN 1797-5395. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  3. ^ "Population growth biggest in nearly 70 years". Population structure. Statistics Finland. 26 April 2024. ISSN 1797-5395. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  4. ^ "Population according to age (1-year) and sex by area and the regional division of each statistical reference year, 2003–2020". StatFin. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Luettelo kuntien ja seurakuntien tuloveroprosenteista vuonna 2023". Tax Administration of Finland. 14 November 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  6. ^ Paikkala, Sirkka (19 June 2018). "Etunimien ajankuva". Virittäjä. 122 (2). doi:10.23982/vir.68985. ISSN 2242-8828.
  7. ^ Forbes, Elizabeth (2001). Salminen, Matti. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.41977.
  8. ^ Alifrosti, Kari (1996). "Salon ja Uskelan historia 1869–1990", Salon Kaupunki. ISBN 951-96152-1-0.
  9. ^ "FMI normals 1991–2020". fmi.fi. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  10. ^ "FMI open data". FMI. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  11. ^ a b c d e f "Population growth biggest in nearly 70 years". Population structure. Statistics Finland. 26 April 2024. ISSN 1797-5395. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  12. ^ a b c "Number of foreign-language speakers grew by nearly 38,000 persons". Statistics Finland. 31 May 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  13. ^ "Persons with foreign background". Statistics Finland. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  14. ^ Key figures on population by region, 1990–2023 Statistics Finland
  15. ^ "Nokia's New Mobile Phones Factory Opened in Salo – Nokia". Nokia. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  16. ^ "Lines go silent in Finnish town of Salo as Microsoft shuts Nokia phone". Uk.reuters.com. Archived from the original on 24 December 2015. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  17. ^ "Nokia layoffs have big impact on small town in Finland". Theverge.com. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  18. ^ "Microsoft has crushed the economic hopes of Finland's Salo as it closes its Nokia plant and jeopardises 1,100 jobs". Uk.businessinsider.com. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  19. ^ "Hyperloop between Finland, Sweden would cost €19bn". www.helsinkitimes.fi. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  20. ^ "Kurpitsaviikot". Facebook. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  21. ^ a b Halonen, Antti (16 October 2020). "Halikkolaista peltoa valaisee tuhat upeaa kurpitsalyhtyä: "Piristystä pimenevään syksyyn"". Iltalehti (in Finnish). Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  22. ^ a b Vilen, Janica (22 October 2020). "Halikko muuttui halloween-kyläksi". Haloo maaseutu (in Finnish). Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  23. ^ Kauppinen, Kari (27 October 2019). "Upea näky: Yli 500 kurpitsaa hohtaa pellolla – "Salo taitaa olla nyt Suomen amerikkalaisin kaupunki"". Iltalehti (in Finnish). Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  24. ^ Filppu, Minna (11 October 2022). ""Aivan absurdi paikka!" – helsinkiläiset taivastelivat kurpitsajuhlia Salossa Rannikon pellon reunassa". Salon Seudun Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  25. ^ Rosvall, Minna (12 October 2022). "Salon kurpitsapuistossa väkeä jo Hangosta Ivaloon – ukrainalaisten koristelemat kurpitsat ihastuttavat". Yle (in Finnish). Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  26. ^ Rosvall, Minna (13 October 2021). "Kurpitsat hehkuvat läpi yön halikkolaisella pellolla – someilmiö kiinnosti viime vuonna 100 000 kävijää". Yle (in Finnish). Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  27. ^ Naakka, Anna-Maija (13 October 2021). "Pellolle ilmestyi karmivankaunis näky, joka hämmästyttää ulkomailla asti: "On villinnyt koko Salon"". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  28. ^ "Kahdenkeskiset kaupunkisuhteet" (in Finnish). City of Salo. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
[edit]
  • Wooden Salo Church
    Wooden Salo Church
  • Municipal library. The new library building has been designed to fit in the environment of old wooden houses.
    Municipal library. The new library building has been designed to fit in the environment of old wooden houses.
  • Salo River at night
    Salo River at night
  • Lake Lahnajärvi in the former Suomusjärvi municipality in Salo.
    Lake Lahnajärvi in the former Suomusjärvi municipality in Salo.
  • Microsoft premises in Salo.
    Microsoft premises in Salo.
  • Apartment building along Turuntie.
    Apartment building along Turuntie.
  • Art gallery in the old locomotive shed.
    Art gallery in the old locomotive shed.
  • Nokia building in Salo in 2002
    Nokia building in Salo in 2002
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Salo.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Salo.
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