Haapajärvi is in the Southern Oulu region.

Understand

The village of Haapajärvi was first documented in 1547. As with Northern Ostrobothnia in general, tar production was an important industry for several centuries. Back then the waterways were used to ship the tar to the coast and onwards to customers along the coast. The railway arrived in 1925 and greatly accelerated the development of the village. Haapajärvi received city rights in 1977, and today it's a town of about 6800 inhabitants. Two famous inhabitants are the first president of Finland, K.J. Ståhlberg, and the late Nordic skiing Olympic medalist Mika Myllylä.

Get in

By train

Local train services between Iisalmi and Ylivieska (at each of the major north-south railways) stop at Haapajärvi.

By car

Highways 27 and 58 meet in Haapajärvi. The former comes in from Nivala in the west (providing access from Oulu or Kokkola), and Pyhäjärvi on Highway 4 and Iisalmi on Highway 5 in the east.

By bus

There are bus connections from nearby towns, such as Nivala, Kärsämäki, Pyhäjärvi and Ylivieska.

See

Haapajärvi Church

• 1 Haapajärvi Church. A quite large yellow wooden church, this is Haapajärvi's main landmark, right next to the eponymous lake. (updated Aug 2023)
• 2 Childhood home of Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg (Ståhlbergin lapsuudenkotimuseo), Ronkaalankuja 4. Finland's first president (serving 1919-25) lived for some of his childhood in the town's clergy house, as his father worked as a priest in Haapajärvi. Today the house is a museum. (updated Aug 2023)
• 3 Mika Myllylä's medals. The medals of one of the most successful cross-country skiers in the 1990s, Mika Myllylä, are on display in the town hall. (updated Aug 2023)
• 4 Tynnyrikoski rapids and Lohijoki gorge, Pitkänkankaantie 391 (Pitkäharju, 10 km south-east from Haapajärvi centre). About 8,000 years ago lake Päijänne flew north-west into the Bothnian Bay through the river Kalajoki. Lohijoki gorge is an ancient river bed, reminiscent of the much larger river that once flowed on the site. For the same reason, at many sites in Haapajärvi the riverbanks are surprisingly tall. The gorge and Tynnyrinkoski rapids are inside a nature reserve (Lohijoen lehtojensuojelualue), so fishing is forbidden and pets must be kept on a leash all the time. Nature trail. There is a lean-to shelter by the trail, which leads downstream to an information board and the Tynnyrikoski rapids (updated Mar 2021)

Eat

• 1 Ravintola Harun, Hiljalankatu 9. Pizza and kebab place. (updated Aug 2023)

• 2 ABC, Puistokatu 40. Service station with a restaurant and a Kotipizza pizzeria. (updated Aug 2023)

Sleep

• 1 Bed & Breakfast Neiti Möller, Puistokatu 55, ☏ +358 40 5168196, asiakaspalvelu@neitimoller.fi. Bed and breakfast with two rooms. (updated Aug 2023)