Kauhajoki is a town and municipality of 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...

. The city is unilingually Finnish

Finnish language

Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...

.

It is located in 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 :...

 and is part of the Southern Ostrobothnia

Southern Ostrobothnia

Southern Ostrobothnia is one of the 20 regions of Finland.Seinäjoki is the regional centre and by far the largest city in the area.- Historical provinces :For History, Geography and Culture see: Ostrobothnia- Municipalities :...

 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,...

. The population of Kauhajoki is and the municipality covers an area of km2 of which km2 is inland water . The population density is PD/km2.

History

Permanent settlement in the Kauhajoki area began in the 16th century and in 1584 chapel was built in Kauhajoki.

During the Winter War

Winter War

The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939 – three months after the start of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland – and ended on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty...

 between 1939–1940, Kauhajoki hosted the Finnish parliament

Parliament of Finland

The Eduskunta , is the parliament of Finland. The unicameral parliament has 200 members and meets in the Parliament House in Helsinki. The latest election to the parliament took place on April 17, 2011.- Constitution :...

.

2008 vocational college shooting

On 23 September 2008, a school shooting at a vocational college in the city left 11 dead, including the gunman, and another woman wounded.

Sports

Some internationally successful Kauhajokian sports figures include:

• Jouko Salomäki
  Jouko Salomäki
  Jouko Johannes Salomäki is a Finnish wrestler and Olympic champion in Greco-Roman wrestling. He was nicknamed "Jokke" during his career....
  
  , the 1984 Olympic
  1984 Summer Olympics
  The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...
  
   Champion in Greco-Roman wrestling
  Greco-Roman wrestling
  Greco-Roman wrestling is a style of wrestling that is practised worldwide. It was contested at the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and has been included in every edition of the summer Olympics held since 1908. Two wrestlers are scored for their performance in three two-minute periods, which can...
  
  , was born in Kauhajoki.
• Kaarlo Maaninka
  Kaarlo Maaninka
  Kaarlo Hannes Maaninka is a former Finnish long distance runner who won a silver medal in the 10,000 metres and a bronze medal in the 5,000 metres at the 1980 Moscow Olympics.- Records :* 1 500 m: 3.46,80...
  
  , the 1980 Olympic
  1980 Summer Olympics
  The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Moscow in the Soviet Union. In addition, the yachting events were held in Tallinn, and some of the preliminary matches and the quarter-finals of the football tournament...
  
   silver and bronze medalist in long distance running, lives in Kauhajoki. He also represented the town's sports club Kauhajoen Karhu during his career.
• Vesa Hietalahti
  Vesa Hietalahti
  Vesa Hietalahti is a former Finnish biathlete-References:*...
  
  , the 2003 World Championship silver medalist in biathlon, was born and lives in Kauhajoki. He also represented the town's sports club Kauhajoen Karhu throughout his career.
• Heli Koivula Kruger, the 2002 European Championship
  2002 European Championships in Athletics
  The 18th European Athletics Championships were held from 6 August to 11 August 2002 in the Olympic Stadium of Munich, Germany.-Track:1994 |1998 |2002 |2006 |2010 |...
  
   silver medalist in triple jump, was born in Kauhajoki. She also represented the town's sports club Kauhajoen Karhu throughout her career.
• Jani Haapamäki
  Jani Haapamäki
  Jani Haapamäki is a Finnish wrestler. He won a gold medal at the 2009 European Wrestling Championships in Greco-Roman wrestling.-References:...
  
  , the 2009 European Champion in Greco-Roman wrestling, was born in Kauhajoki. He also represents the town's sports club Kauhajoen Karhu.

Kauhajoki is also known about basketball club Kauhajoen Karhu

Kauhajoen Karhu

Kauhajoen Karhu is a Finnish basketball team from Kauhajoki. The team plays in Korisliiga, the highest tier of Finnish basketball....

, which plays in the Finnish first-tier league Korisliiga

Korisliiga

Korisliiga is the top league of basketball in Finland, comprising the top 12 teams of the country. In current format each team plays all other teams twice in the regular season, both at home and away...

.

External links

• Town of Kauhajoki – official site