Salla

Sister cities

• Båtsfjord Municipality
• Wildau
• Arjeplog Municipality
• Kovdor

History

Salla is in the Eastern Lapland and as a border area was affected by the Second World War. Red Army troops invaded Finland at Salla during the Winter War but were stopped by the Finnish Army. Parts of the municipality were ceded to the Soviet Union after the war. The ceded part is sometimes called "Old Salla" or Vanha Salla. During the Continuation War the old town of Salla was on the Soviet side of the border. The German XXXVI Corps attacked the Soviet positions in an operation code-named Polarfuchs. With the help of the Finnish 6th Division it managed to occupy all of the ceded territories. At the end of the war the German troops were pushed out of Lapland by Finnish troops in the Lapland War. The following villages were ceded to the Soviet Union: Alakurtti, Korja (Korya), Kuolajärvi (Kuoloyarvi), Lampela, Sallansuu, Yläkurtti (Yulyakurtti), Sovajärvi (Sovayarvi), Tuutijärvi (Tuutiyarvi) and Vuorijärvi (Vuoriyarvi). In January 2021, the mayor of Salla, Erkki Parkkinen, launched a bid to host the 2032 Summer Olympics to raise awareness of climate change and highlight the threat the climate crisis poses to Salla and its ecosystem, which is dependent on low temperatures for most of the year.

Geography

Neighbour municipalities are Kemijärvi, Kuusamo, Pelkosenniemi, Posio and Savukoski. Salla has a subarctic climate (Dfc). Summer days are mild with about 1/3 of all days experiencing precipitation with nights tending to be cool. Winters are very long, cold, snowy, and extremely cloudy, lasting from the beginning of October through April, with mid-winter thaws being rare, and cold snaps relatively common. Spring and Autumn tend to be cool, not very variable, and short, lasting only a couple weeks to a few weeks in length. The low temperature record of Salla is -50,4 °C (-58,7 °F), which was recorded in Naruskajärvi in 1985. It was also the record of Finland until 1999. On 28 January 1999, the unofficial record of Finland, -54,3 °C (-65,7 °F), was recorded in Naruska.

Most-observed species

• Willow Warbler

  Phylloscopus trochilus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  417
• Brambling

  Fringilla montifringilla Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  267
• Eurasian Siskin

  Spinus spinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  213
• European Pied Flycatcher

  Ficedula hypoleuca (Pallas, 1764) · Aves
  164
• Common Redstart

  Phoenicurus phoenicurus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  131
• Song Thrush

  Turdus philomelos C.L.Brehm, 1831 · Aves
  114
• Redwing

  Turdus iliacus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  105
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  95