Lapua

This article is about the town in Finland. For the arms manufacturer, see Nammo. For the village in Åland, see Lappo, Åland.

Lapua Lappo
Town
Lapuan kaupunki Lappo stad
Lapua Cathedral
Coat of arms
Location of Lapua in Finland
Coordinates: 62°58.2′N 023°00.5′E
Country	Finland
Region	South Ostrobothnia
Sub-region	Seinäjoki sub-region
Charter	1865
Market town	1964
City rights	1977
Government
• Town manager	Satu Kankare
Area  (2018-01-01)
• Total	751.82 km2 (290.28 sq mi)
• Land	737.16 km2 (284.62 sq mi)
• Water	13.67 km2 (5.28 sq mi)
• Rank	115th largest in Finland
Population  (2024-10-31)
• Total	14,033
• Rank	79th largest in Finland
• Density	19.04/km2 (49.3/sq mi)
Population by native language
• Finnish	95.9% (official)
• Swedish	0.2%
• Others	3.9%
Population by age
• 0 to 14	17.8%
• 15 to 64	57.6%
• 65 or older	24.6%
Time zone	UTC+02:00 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Website	lapua.fi/en/

Icon of the Lapua Movement, based on the coat of arms of Lapua.

Illustration in Finland framstäldt i teckningar edited by Zacharias Topelius and published 1845-1852.

Lapua (Finnish: [ˈlɑpuɑ]; Swedish: Lappo) is a town and municipality of Finland.

It is located next to the Lapua River in the region of South Ostrobothnia. The town has a population of 14,033 (31 October 2024) and covers an area of 751.82 square kilometres (290.28 sq mi) of which 13.67 km² (5.28 sq mi) is water. The population density is 19.04 inhabitants per square kilometre (49.3/sq mi). The municipality is unilingually Finnish.

History

In the early 14th century, permanent settlement began to spread to the Lapuanjoki Valley. Residents came from, among other areas, the settlement center of Suur-Sastamala in Upper Satakunta, which had good land and water connections to the north. The focus of Ostrobothnia's settlement was initially on the lower reaches of the Kyrönjoki River. The proximity to the sea of the Kvarken area, which is rich in natural resources, was especially attractive. Lapua at that time had some Sámi people who considered the region their wilderness area. The name Lapuan was probably given by the coastal Swedes precisely because of the Sámi, then called Lapps, who lived in the area.

The Battle of Lapua was fought between Swedish and Russian forces near the outskirts of the town on 14 July 1808 as part of the Finnish War.

Lapua is the seat of the Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of Lapua. The Lapua Cathedral, designed by Carl Ludvig Engel, was built in 1827.

Lapua Movement

Main article: Lapua Movement

In 1929 the anti-communist Lapua Movement was founded and named after the town. The Lapua Movement was a powerful force in Lapua. They organized large rallies and marches in the town center, drawing huge crowds of supporters. Some of the movement's leaders, like Vihtori Kosola and Vilho Annala, were based in Lapua. On 30 October 1930, the Lapua March was hosted, where thousands of their paramilitary members marched through Lapua to protest against leftist threats and government policies they opposed. The Lapua movement was criminalized in 1932, and would be succeeded by the Patriotic People's Movement.

Lapua State Cartridge Factory

Lapua is also home to a large ammunition factory, which commenced operations in 1927 as the State Cartridge Factory. This factory was the primary supplier of ammunition to the Finnish Army during the Winter War and World War II. An explosion occurred in a warehouse of this factory on 13 April 1976, resulting in the deaths of 40 employees. After the explosion, the factory was relocated 6 kilometres (4 mi) away from the town centre and continues production today as Nammo Lapua, part of the Nordic Ammunition Group (Nammo). The original site of the factory and the surviving buildings are now an arts centre, a library and a theater.

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Finland

Twin towns — Sister cities

Lapua is twinned with:

• Hagfors, Sweden
• Hohenlockstedt, Germany
• Lantana, Florida, United States
• Rakvere, Estonia
• Kiskőrös, Hungary

Notable people

• Juho Annala
• Vilho Annala
• Johannes Gabriel Granö
• Anneli Jäätteenmäki
• Vihtori Kosola
• Teemu Mäki
• Esko Nikkari
• Jutta Urpilainen
• Jukka Haapalainen

See also

• Lapua Movement
• .338 Lapua Magnum
• Finnish national road 19
• Blue Highway, an international tourist route

External links

Media related to Lapua at Wikimedia Commons

• Town of Lapua – Official website
• History of Nammo Lapua Oy at lapua.com
• Lapua WebCam provided by Media-Wolf
• Vanhan Paukun Festivaali Music Festival at the Cultural Center Vanha Paukku.