Kuusamo

Until the 17th century the Kuusamo area was home to semi-nomadic Sámi, who wintered in villages at Maanselkä and Kitka, moved to the rivers and lakes for fishing in spring and summer, and hunted reindeer, bears and beavers in autumn, trading furs with Finns on the Gulf of Bothnia and Karelians on the White Sea. Sweden's rule was limited to collecting taxes, and Russia taxed the same land. In 1673 the Swedish crown offered settlers in Lapland fifteen years free of tax, and farmers from Savo and Kainuu moved in, clearing forest by slash-and-burn. Within a few decades the Sámi had been assimilated or pushed out, and by 1718 only two Sámi families remained.

The parish grew through the 18th century on farming, cattle and reindeer, though famine in 1803 and smallpox the following year cut its numbers. Forestry brought workers from the late 19th century, but independence in 1917 closed the Russian border and cut off the timber routes to the White Sea. In the Moscow Peace of 1940 Finland lost about 1,650 square kilometres of eastern Kuusamo, and its 2,100 people were resettled elsewhere in the municipality.

In autumn 1944 German troops retreating north through Kuusamo destroyed most of its settlements, largely by burning, and Soviet troops then briefly occupied the area; accounts differ over who burned the village itself. Kuusamo was rebuilt between 1945 and 1952. The first ski run on Rukatunturi opened in 1954, and the growth of Ruka turned the farming parish into a tourist centre; Kuusamo became a town in 2000.

Kuusamo is visited for its nature rather than its buildings: because the centre was destroyed in the war and rebuilt quickly and economically, it has little old architecture, but its cultural life is lively for a place its size. The Kuusamo Hall, opened in 1996, hosts concerts, theatre and exhibitions, and the town has a centre devoted to nature photography and an annual nature photography festival in September.

Winter sport gives Kuusamo an international profile. Ruka hosted the 2005 Freestyle Skiing World Championships, and since 2002 the Ruka Nordic weekend in late November has opened the World Cup season in ski jumping and Nordic combined, with cross-country races alongside. The ski stadium has a large jumping hill, lit trails and a biathlon range.

The people of Kuusamo speak an eastern Finnish dialect, unlike the western dialects of Lapland, because their ancestors came up the lake routes from Savo and Kainuu. The church bells carry a wartime story: hidden in the cemetery by German soldiers in 1944, they were thought lost until the former regimental commander returned in 1959 and showed where they lay. Reindeer herding and the summer cottage remain part of local life.

The municipality had about 14,800 inhabitants at the end of 2025, nearly two-thirds of them in the town itself, spread over almost 5,800 square kilometres of forest, hills and 166 lakes. The population peaked at nearly 21,000 in the late 1960s and has fallen since, as young people leave for the cities, and the population is ageing.

Tourism is now the largest industry, bringing around a million visitors a year and providing about 17 per cent of full-time jobs in 2024. Forestry and wood processing employ over 1,000 people, and dairy farming, small industry and reindeer husbandry — some 10,000 semi-domesticated reindeer graze the municipality — continue. Kuusamo has around 7,500 summer cottages, more than any other Finnish municipality, and holidaymakers from the cities are an important source of income.

Life follows the snow, which can cover the ground for up to 200 days a year. Winter means skiing, snowmobiles and short, dim days; summer brings anglers, canoeists and hikers to the rivers and the national park, and a brief spell of near-midnight sun. Without the railway, the car and the coach to Oulu are the links to the rest of Finland.

Kuusamo's food comes from its forests, lakes and herds. Reindeer from the local herds is the signature meat, most often as poronkäristys, sautéed reindeer: the meat is sliced thinly while still frozen, fried in fat, seasoned with black pepper and salt, and simmered with a little water, cream or beer until tender, then served with mashed potato. Milk and meat production remain important on the local farms.

Leipäjuusto, the fresh "bread cheese" with a squeaky texture traditionally made from cow's colostrum, comes originally from Southern Ostrobothnia, Northern Finland and Kainuu, and is often served with cloudberry jam and coffee. Lohikeitto, salmon soup with cream, is one of the most popular salmon dishes in Finland, and in summer Kuusamo is a popular destination for fishing.

Berries are gathered everywhere: bilberries and lingonberries grow in almost every part of Finland, while cloudberries, lakka, grow in more limited areas. Restaurants in the town and at Ruka serve these northern flavours alongside everyday Finnish lunches.