Haparanda

Haparanda (, meaning aspen + river bank) is a locality and the seat of Haparanda Municipality in Norrbotten County, Sweden with 4,778 inhabitants in 2005. It is adjacent to Tornio, Finland. Haparanda has a population of approximately 4,800 (and an area 3.94 km²) of out of a municipal total of 10,200 inhabitants.

Haparanda is, despite its small population, for historical reasons often still referred to as a city. Statistics Sweden, however, only counts localities with more than 10,000 inhabitants as cities.

The municipality itself, on the other hand, uses the term (City of Haparanda) not only for the town itself, but for its whole territory (927 km²). At 24° 8' E, Haparanda is Sweden's easternmost settlement.

History

When Sweden lost Finland in 1809, the border was drawn along the Rivers Tornio and Muonio. The town of Tornio, located on the island Suensaari in the river delta became part of the Grand Duchy of Finland within the Russian Empire as czar Alexander I insisted. (Finland declared independence in 1917).

At that time the town of Tornio was dominated by Swedish-speaking merchants and crafters, forming a linguistic island surrounded by Finns on the country side. After the war many of the Swedes started to develop the small village Haaparanta across the border instead, eventually leaving Tornio unilingually Finnish. Haparanda was made a market town (köping) in 1821 and received its city...
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