North Karelia
North Karelia (Finnish: Pohjois-Karjala; Swedish: Norra Karelen) is a region in eastern Finland. It borders the regions of Kainuu, North Savo, South Savo and South Karelia, as well as Russia (Republic of Karelia).
North Karelia Pohjois-Karjalan maakunta landskapet Norra Karelen | |
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Flag Coat of arms | |
North Karelia on a map of Finland | |
Coordinates: 63°00′N 30°00′E | |
Country | Finland |
Historical province | Karelia |
Capital | Joensuu |
Area | |
• Total | 21,584.41 km2 (8,333.79 sq mi) |
Population (2019) | |
• Total | 161,211 |
• Density | 7.5/km2 (19/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
ISO 3166 code | FI-13 |
NUTS | 133 |
Regional bird | Cuckoo |
Regional fish | Lake salmon |
Regional flower | Prickly rose |
Website | pohjois-karjala.fi |
The city of Joensuu is the capital of North Karelia.
North Karelia is renowned among public health officials.[1][2] In the 1960s Finland led industrialized nations in heart disease mortality rates; North Karelia had Finland's highest incidence. In 1972 a long-term project was undertaken which targeted this risk in North Karelia.[3] The resulting improvement in public health is still considered remarkable, a model for the rest of the nation.[4]
Historical province
Municipalities
The region of North Karelia is made up of 12 municipalities, of which five have city status (marked in bold).
Joensuu sub-region:
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Central Karelia sub-region:
Pielinen Karelia sub-region:
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Heraldry
The coat of arms of North Karelia is composed of the arms of Karelia.
Education
Institutions of higher education in North Karelia include:
- University of Eastern Finland
- North Karelia University of Applied Sciences
- Riveria Vocational Education and Training
Politics
Results of the 2019 Finnish parliamentary election in North Karelia:
- Centre Party 24.46%
- Social Democratic Party 21.41%
- Finns Party 18.83%
- Green League 9.93%
- National Coalition Party 9.01%
- Christian Democrats 6.68%
- Left Alliance 5.26%
- Blue Reform 2.24%
- Movement Now 0.96%
- Seven Star Movement 0.21%
- Other parties 1.01%
Image gallery
- Ilomantsi Orthodox Church; North Karelia has percentagewise the most Orthodox Christians in Finland
- Joensuu Town Hall
- Patvinsuo National Park, Lieksa
- The Border-Karelian Bomba House, Nurmes
- Paateri Church, Lieksa
- Lake Kuorinka, Liperi
- The old copper mine in Outokumpu, a town that was built around the mine industry
- Lake Neitijärvi in Lieksa; forested hills and lakes between them are characteristic of North Karelia
- Joensuu Market Place, the urban centre of the region
- Buildings of University of Eastern Finland
- River Pielisjoki and Major Pielisjoki, Joensuu
- Nurmes Evangelical-Lutheran Church
- The modern Evangelical-Lutheran church in Lieksa
- River Lieksanjoki, Lieksa
- Juuka Evangelical-Lutheran Church
- Lake Pyhäselkä, Joensuu
- Finnish Forest Research Institute in Joensuu; an example of modern wooden architecture
- Railway station in Nurmes; an example of Art Nouveau architecture
- A road in Lieksa
- The easternmost place in the European Union, Ilomantsi
- Old preserved wooden houses in Joensuu
- Rural landscape in Valtimo
- Viinijärvi Orthodox Church, Liperi
References
- "The North Karelia Project: 30 years successfully preventing chronic diseases" (PDF). International Diabetes Federation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-08. Retrieved 2012-08-06.
- "Finland's bold push to change the heart health of a nation". Knowable Magazine. 2018.
- Puska, P; Salonen, JT; Nissinen, A; Tuomilehto, J; Vartiainen, E; Korhonen, H; Tanskanen, A; Rönnqvist, P; Koskela, K; Huttunen, J (1983). "Change in risk factors for coronary heart disease during 10 years of a community intervention programme (North Karelia project)". Br Med J (Clin Res Ed). 287 (6408): 1840–4. doi:10.1136/bmj.287.6408.1840. PMC 1550066. PMID 6423038.
After the second world war cardiovascular diseases, predominantly coronary heart disease, became the leading public health problem in most of the industrialised world. Mortality statistics and other studies showed that in the 1960s the highest heart disease mortality rates were observed in Finland, predominantly in men. Within Finland the highest rates were registered in eastern Finland and were particularly high in the county of North Karelia.
- "THE NORTH KARELIA PROJECT: FROM NORTH KARELIA TO NATIONAL ACTION". National Institute for Health and Welfare (Finland). Archived from the original on 2014-07-15. Retrieved 2012-08-05.
In first five years of the North Karelia Project, for example, most of the reduction in cigarette smoking took place in the first year of the programme; most hypertensive individuals who brought their blood pressure under control achieved this by the end of the third year; dietary changes took place gradually over a five-year period; and, as noted earlier, at the end of five years, a net reduction in risk-factor levels was observed. Concerning mortality, CHD incidence and mortality rates started to decline surprisingly quickly after the start of the intervention in North Karelia. In the rest of the country, a similar decline started several years later. Thus a significant net change in favour of North Karelia was observed, especially in 1974 to 1979 (Salonen et al, 1983). Thereafter, although the decline in North Karelia continued, the net decline was gradually reduced. Thus maximal difference in favour of the intervention area was observed some 5-8 years after its start (Puska et al, 1995). For cancer mortality, a net reduction in favour of North Karelia could be observed much later, i.e., 5 to 10 years after the intervention commenced.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to North Karelia. |