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Ranua
Municipality
Ranuan kunta
Ranua kommun
Ranua Church
Ranua Church
Coat of arms of Ranua
Coat of arms
Location of Ranua in Finland
Location of Ranua in Finland
Country  Finland
Region Lapland
Sub-region Rovaniemi
Charter 1917
Area
 (2018-01-01)
 • Total 3,694.79 km2 (1,426.57 sq mi)
 • Land 3,454.17 km2 (1,333.66 sq mi)
 • Water 241.09 km2 (93.09 sq mi)
Area rank 14th largest in Finland
Population
 (2023-12-31)
 • Total 3,599
 • Rank 202nd largest in Finland
 • Density 1.04/km2 (2.7/sq mi)
Population by native language
 • Finnish 98.1% (official)
 • Swedish 0.2%
 • Others 1.7%
Population by age
 • 0 to 14 17.5%
 • 15 to 64 52.8%
 • 65 or older 29.7%
Time zone UTC+02:00 (EET)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+03:00 (EEST)

Ranua is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Lapland. The municipality has a population of 3,599 (31 December 2023) and covers an area of 3,694.79 square kilometres (1,426.57 sq mi) of which 241.09 km2 (93.09 sq mi) is water. The population density is 1.04 inhabitants per square kilometre (2.7/sq mi).

The municipality is unilingually Finnish.

Geography

Neighbouring municipalities are Ii, Simo, Tervola, Rovaniemi, Posio and Pudasjärvi.

Villages

Villages within the municipality of Ranua are inclusive of:

  • Asmunti
  • Hosio
  • Impiö
  • Kelankylä
  • Kortteenperä
  • Kuha
  • Kuukasjärvi
  • Mauru
  • Nuupas
  • Petäjäjärvi
  • Pohjaslahti–Piittisjärvi
  • Portimo
  • Putkivaara
  • Raiskio
  • Rovastinaho
  • Saariharju
  • Saukkojärvi
  • Sääskilahti
  • Teerivaara
  • Telkkälä
  • Tolja

Nature of Ranua

There are 569 lakes in Ranua. The biggest of them are lake Ranuanjärvi and lake Simojärvi. There are also quite many rapids and natural salmon living in the rapids.

History

Ranua.alueliitokset
The formation of Ranua.

Ranua was originally the name of a farm established in the 18th century. It gets its name from the lake Ranuanjärvi, which was first mentioned in 1553. Its name is likely of Tavastian origin, as ranu- toponyms are rare and mainly found in Tavastia.

The parish of Ranua was formed from parts of Simo, Pudasjärvi and Rovaniemen maalaiskunta in 1899. The area became a separate municipality in 1917. A part of it was given to the newly formed Posio municipality in 1926. It is the only municipality in Lapland where the dialect is a Northern Ostrobothnian one, albeit with some influence from the Kainuu dialects, which are a subset of Savonian dialects.

Tourism

Perhaps the most well known attraction is the Ranua Zoo, the northernmost zoo in the world, which has many arctic animals, including the polar bear, which is the mascot of the zoo. Ranua Zoo is the only place where you can see a living polar bear in Finland.

Other notable attractions within the municipality of Ranua are inclusive of the Saukkojärvi Local History and School Museum located in the village of Saukkojärvi, Finland, the Hillamarkkinat, Poro Island and the Church of Ranua.

Sister cities

  • Japan Iwasaki, Japan (since 1990)

Notable people

  • Eero Lohi (born 1927), modern pentathlete
  • Lauri Impiö (1929–2006), Lutheran clergyman and politician
  • Jouko Kuha (born 1939), long-distance runner
  • Taina Impiö (born 1956), cross country skier
  • Ilkka Koivula (born 1966), actor
  • Kaisa H. Hietala (born 1971), business executive
  • Jenna Pirttijärvi (born 1994), ice hockey player
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