Larsmo
Encyclopedia
Larsmo is a municipality of Finland
, located in the Ostrobothnia
region
of the province
of Western Finland
.
"Larsmo" is also the name of one of the villages in the municipality of Larsmo. The municipality is unilingually Swedish
and is consisting of an archipelago
of about 360 islands and numerous skerries
. The length of the coastline is about 500 kilometres (310.7 mi). Lake Larsmo (), which is Finland's largest artificial fresh water
lake is also located in the municipality.
The municipality has a population of and covers an area of km2 of which km2 is water. The population density
is PD/km2.
. Today the municipality consists of more than 360 islands.
The administrative municipality Larsmo was founded in 1867, having previously belonged to the parish
of Pedersöre
. Hunting
, fishing
and agriculture
used to be important sources of income. However, industry and service have now taken over since the changes of agriculture nowadays require larger farms to be profitable. The businesses are mainly influenced by the strong traditions of craft
ing or boat building
.
The municipality came to play an interesting role in the Finnish independence-movement. During the dark autumn night of December 6, 1905, the steamer S/S John Grafton
sailed into the Larsmo archipelago with its cargo of weapons, meant to be used for the independence movement in Finland and the revolutionary attempts in Russia. The cargo was unloaded and transported away with the help of the local population. However, the ship ran aground when the ship was heading out to sea. The crew decided to blow up the ship before the Russian guards would find it. The crew fled to Sweden with some smaller sailing vessels and the ship was blown up on December 8. News about the mystical ship spread around the world, and were mentioned in i.e. The Times
, Deutsche Tageblatt and the Daily Mail
. This incident is often counted as the first attempt for a free Finland and to obtain independence from Russia. S/S Equity, another ship, loaded with weapons, also unloaded its cargo in the Larsmo archipelago, and a memorial plate is now in place at the Tolvmangrundet island.
in Larsmo:
, the world's leading constructor of high-tech sailing yachts in carbon fiber, as well as Bella boats.
There are two museums in the municipality. The previously mentioned Bjärgas hembygdsgård is displaying how the rural society was in the 1930s and also how a countryside shop looked like in the 1950s. The Bosund boat and fishing museum (Bosund båt- och fiskemuseum) displays older boats and fishing and hunting equipment. The exhibit Terra Mare at Köpmanholmen shows how post-glacial rebound
has affected the coastal landscape.
The two libraries in Holm and in Bosund are serving the inhabitants of the municipality. Further there are two more school libraries, one in Risö and one in Näs.
Larsmo is located between two cities Jakobstad
in the south, and Kokkola
in the north. The lively trafficked "Seven Bridge's Road" () is going through Larsmo and is connecting the municipality with the main land. The road's official designation is Regional Road 749.
Buses
The Haldin & Rose bus company has a number of lines going through the municipality.
Railroad
There is no railroad in the municipality. The closest stops are located in Bennäs
or Kokkola
.
Airports
The closest airports are Kokkola-Pietarsaari Airport, which is about 30 kilometre from Holm, and the Vaasa Airport
, which lies about 120 km (74.6 mi) away. There is also a small field for ultra-light aircraft in Bosund.
Ferries
The closest ferry route to Sweden is RG Line
from Vaasa
in Finland
to Umeå
in Sweden
. Jakob Lines
, which went from Jakobstad and Kokkola ceased their activities in 1999.
The winter sports are concentrated to Holm where there are 5.5 km of skiing paths as well as facilities for biathlon
. Ice hockey rinks are located in Risö, Holm, Näs and Bosund.
There are nine un-supervised beaches in the municipality: Vikarholmen, Assarskär, Fagernäs, Kackur, Sonamo, Köpmanholmen, Annäsgrundet, Svennasminne och Brännbacka. Most of them have dressing rooms, toilets and life saving equipment.
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, located in the Ostrobothnia
Ostrobothnia (region)
Ostrobothnia is a region of Finland. It is located in Western Finland. It borders the regions Central Ostrobothnia, Southern Ostrobothnia, and Satakunta and is one of the four regions making up the historical province of Ostrobothnia....
region
Regions of Finland
Finland consists of 19 regions called in Finnish and in Swedish. The regions are governed by regional councils, which serve as forums of cooperation for the municipalities of a region. The main tasks of the regions are regional planning and development of enterprise and education. In addition,...
of the province
Provinces of Finland
The state of Finland consisted of six provinces between the years 1997 and 2009. The provincial authority was part of the central government's executive branch, not directly elected. The system was created in 1634, and its makeup was changed drastically in 1997, when the number of the provinces...
of Western Finland
Western Finland
Western Finland was a province of Finland from 1997 to 2010. It bordered the provinces of Oulu, Eastern Finland and Southern Finland. It also bordered the Gulf of Bothnia towards Åland.- History :...
.
"Larsmo" is also the name of one of the villages in the municipality of Larsmo. The municipality is unilingually Swedish
Finland-Swedish
Finland Swedish is a general term for the closely related cluster of dialects of Swedish spoken in Finland by Swedish-speaking Finns as their mother tongue...
and is consisting of an archipelago
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
of about 360 islands and numerous skerries
Skerry
A skerry is a small rocky island, usually defined to be too small for habitation. It may simply be a rocky reef. A skerry can also be called a low sea stack....
. The length of the coastline is about 500 kilometres (310.7 mi). Lake Larsmo (), which is Finland's largest artificial fresh water
Fresh Water
Fresh Water is the debut album by Australian rock and blues singer Alison McCallum, released in 1972. Rare for an Australian artist at the time, it came in a gatefold sleeve...
lake is also located in the municipality.
The municipality has a population of and covers an area of km2 of which km2 is water. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
is PD/km2.
History
The land, which was to become Larsmo rose from the sea some 2,000 years ago, due to post-glacial reboundPost-glacial rebound
Post-glacial rebound is the rise of land masses that were depressed by the huge weight of ice sheets during the last glacial period, through a process known as isostasy...
. Today the municipality consists of more than 360 islands.
The administrative municipality Larsmo was founded in 1867, having previously belonged to the parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
of Pedersöre
Pedersöre
Pedersöre is a municipality of Finland. Its seat is in Bennäs .It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of ofwhich...
. Hunting
Hunting
Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...
, fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
and agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
used to be important sources of income. However, industry and service have now taken over since the changes of agriculture nowadays require larger farms to be profitable. The businesses are mainly influenced by the strong traditions of craft
Craft
A craft is a branch of a profession that requires some particular kind of skilled work. In historical sense, particularly as pertinent to the Medieval history and earlier, the term is usually applied towards people occupied in small-scale production of goods.-Development from the past until...
ing or boat building
Boat building
Boat building, one of the oldest branches of engineering, is concerned with constructing the hulls of boats and, for sailboats, the masts, spars and rigging.-Parts:* Bow - the front and generally sharp end of the hull...
.
The municipality came to play an interesting role in the Finnish independence-movement. During the dark autumn night of December 6, 1905, the steamer S/S John Grafton
S/S John Grafton
S/S John Grafton was a steamboat which was used in an unsuccessful attempt to smuggle large quantities of arms for the Finnish resistance to the Imperial Russian regime in 1905. The matter later came to be known as the "Grafton Affair"....
sailed into the Larsmo archipelago with its cargo of weapons, meant to be used for the independence movement in Finland and the revolutionary attempts in Russia. The cargo was unloaded and transported away with the help of the local population. However, the ship ran aground when the ship was heading out to sea. The crew decided to blow up the ship before the Russian guards would find it. The crew fled to Sweden with some smaller sailing vessels and the ship was blown up on December 8. News about the mystical ship spread around the world, and were mentioned in i.e. The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, Deutsche Tageblatt and the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
. This incident is often counted as the first attempt for a free Finland and to obtain independence from Russia. S/S Equity, another ship, loaded with weapons, also unloaded its cargo in the Larsmo archipelago, and a memorial plate is now in place at the Tolvmangrundet island.
Coat-of-arms
The municipal coat-of-arms was officially approved in 1952. It has been designed by Gustav von Numers and depicts a two-masted skötbåt in silver on a blue shield (a is a traditional fishing vessel which could be sailed or rowed). The coat-of-arms symolizes the boatbuilding and fishing traditions in the municipality.Settlements
The two largest islands are called Larsmo and Eugmo, and these two islands also make up the two administrative villages of the municipality. Larger settlements are Risö häll, Holm, Eugmo and Bosund. The church village is called Fagernäs and is located on the Larsmo island.Politics
Results of the Finnish parliamentary election, 2011Finnish parliamentary election, 2011
An election to the Eduskunta was held on 17 April 2011 after the termination of the previous parliamentary term. Advance voting, which included voting by Finnish expatriates, was held between 6 and 12 April with a turnout of 31.2%....
in Larsmo:
- Christian DemocratsChristian Democrats (Finland)The Christian Democrats is a Christian democratic political party in Finland. Formerly known as the Finnish Christian League , the Christian Democrats have six seats in the Finnish Parliament and one in the European Parliament.The party was founded in 1958, chiefly from the Christian faction of...
42.7% - Swedish People's Party 37.3%
- Social Democratic Party 13.8%
- True FinnsTrue FinnsTrue Finns or The Finns is a populist and nationalist political party in Finland, founded in 1995 following the dissolution of the Finnish Rural Party. The head of the movement is Timo Soini. In the 2011 Finnish parliamentary election, The party won 19.1% of votes, becoming the third largest party...
2.8% - National Coalition Party 0.9%
- Centre PartyCentre Party (Finland)The Centre Party is a centrist and Nordic agrarian political party in Finland. It is one of the four largest political parties in the country, along with the Social Democratic Party , the National Coalition Party and the True Finns , and currently has 35 seats in the Finnish Parliament...
0.8% - Left AllianceLeft Alliance (Finland)The Left Alliance is a left-wing political party in Finland. It was founded on the basis of the Finnish People's Democratic League and the Communist Party of Finland in 1990....
0.8% - Green LeagueGreen LeagueThe Green League is a centrist green liberal political party in Finland. It has ten seats in the Finnish Parliament and two in the European Parliament. The current chairperson is Ville Niinistö....
0.4%
Business
The municipality has always been connected to ship building and still is. Among the more famous ones are Baltic YachtsBaltic Yachts
Baltic Yachts is a company which constructs sailing yachts. It is located in the municipality of Larsmo in Finland, where it also is the largest employer....
, the world's leading constructor of high-tech sailing yachts in carbon fiber, as well as Bella boats.
Culture
A number of cultural events are held every summer in the municipality. A small jazz festival, called Föusjazz ("barn jazz") is arranged every summer at the stone barn in Fagernäs. Many famous jazz artists have appeared at the festival. Many events are also held at Köpmanholmen and at Bjärgas hembygdsgård. A fish market is held every summer at the fishing harbour in Bosund.There are two museums in the municipality. The previously mentioned Bjärgas hembygdsgård is displaying how the rural society was in the 1930s and also how a countryside shop looked like in the 1950s. The Bosund boat and fishing museum (Bosund båt- och fiskemuseum) displays older boats and fishing and hunting equipment. The exhibit Terra Mare at Köpmanholmen shows how post-glacial rebound
Post-glacial rebound
Post-glacial rebound is the rise of land masses that were depressed by the huge weight of ice sheets during the last glacial period, through a process known as isostasy...
has affected the coastal landscape.
The two libraries in Holm and in Bosund are serving the inhabitants of the municipality. Further there are two more school libraries, one in Risö and one in Näs.
Communications
RoadsLarsmo is located between two cities Jakobstad
Jakobstad
Jakobstad is a town and municipality in Ostrobothnia, Finland. The town has a population of and covers a land area of . The population density is .- History :...
in the south, and Kokkola
Kokkola
Kokkola is a town and municipality of Finland.The town is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Central Ostrobothnia region. The town has a population of and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is...
in the north. The lively trafficked "Seven Bridge's Road" () is going through Larsmo and is connecting the municipality with the main land. The road's official designation is Regional Road 749.
Buses
The Haldin & Rose bus company has a number of lines going through the municipality.
Railroad
There is no railroad in the municipality. The closest stops are located in Bennäs
Bennäs
Bennäs is a village and railway station in the municipality of Pedersöre, Finland. It is the administrative center of the municipality, but the biggest population center is Kållby. The village be located in by the side of Ostrobothnia Railway Line. The railway station operates among other things...
or Kokkola
Kokkola
Kokkola is a town and municipality of Finland.The town is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Central Ostrobothnia region. The town has a population of and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is...
.
Airports
The closest airports are Kokkola-Pietarsaari Airport, which is about 30 kilometre from Holm, and the Vaasa Airport
Vaasa Airport
Vaasa Airport is located in Vaasa, Finland, about south-east of Vaasa city centre. It is the 6th biggest airport in Finland in terms of passengers. In 2010, about 288,000 passengers traveled via the airport. In 2005, and again in 2008, Vaasa Airport was chosen as the Airport of the Year in...
, which lies about 120 km (74.6 mi) away. There is also a small field for ultra-light aircraft in Bosund.
Ferries
The closest ferry route to Sweden is RG Line
RG Line
RG Line Oy Ab is a Finnish shipping company founded in 2001 that operates a ferry line between Vaasa, Finland and Umeå, Sweden.The company was founded in 2001 by well known Rabbe Grönblom, just months after Silja Line had put their traffic on Kvarken / Merenkurkku to an end because of a decision in...
from Vaasa
Vaasa
Vaasa is a city on the west coast of Finland. It received its charter in 1606, during the reign of Charles IX of Sweden and is named after the Royal House of Vasa...
in Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
to Umeå
Umeå
- Transport :The road infrastructure in Umeå is well-developed, with two European highways passing through the city. About 4 km from the city centre is the Umeå City Airport...
in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. Jakob Lines
Jakob Lines
Jakob Lines was a ferry operator based in Jakobstad , Finland. The company was established in 1969 by the city of Jakobstad. It operated routes between Jakobstad and Kokkola in Finland, and Skellefteå, Umeå, and Örnsköldsvik in Sweden....
, which went from Jakobstad and Kokkola ceased their activities in 1999.
Recreation
There are a lot of paved pedestrian roads in the municipality. There are walking paths of different lengths in Holm (8 and 13 km), as well as in Fagernäs (5 km), Bosund (8 km) and on Öuran (5.7 km).The winter sports are concentrated to Holm where there are 5.5 km of skiing paths as well as facilities for biathlon
Biathlon
Biathlon is a term used to describe any sporting event made up of two disciplines. However, biathlon usually refers specifically to the winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting...
. Ice hockey rinks are located in Risö, Holm, Näs and Bosund.
There are nine un-supervised beaches in the municipality: Vikarholmen, Assarskär, Fagernäs, Kackur, Sonamo, Köpmanholmen, Annäsgrundet, Svennasminne och Brännbacka. Most of them have dressing rooms, toilets and life saving equipment.
Sports
The soccer club Larsmo bollklubb was founded in 1952 and is currently playing in Division 4, where they usually are located among the top teams. The ice hockey team IF Pucken is currently playing in Division 3.Attractions
- The archipelago
- Larsmo church, which was constructed in 1787, and designed by Jakob Rijf.
- The Grafton monumentS/S John GraftonS/S John Grafton was a steamboat which was used in an unsuccessful attempt to smuggle large quantities of arms for the Finnish resistance to the Imperial Russian regime in 1905. The matter later came to be known as the "Grafton Affair"....
- KöpmanholmenKöpmanholmenKöpmanholmen is a locality situated in Örnsköldsvik Municipality, Västernorrland County, Sweden with 1,267 inhabitants in 2005.- References :...