Salla

Salla (former name Kuolajärvi until 1936) is a municipality of Finland and is located in Lapland. The municipality has a population of 4,970 and covers an area of 5,878 km² of which 134.85 km² is water. The population density is 0.8 inhabitants per km².

Soviet troops invaded Finland at Salla during the Winter War but were stopped by the Finnish Army (see Battle of Salla). Parts of the municipality were ceded to the Soviet Union after the war. The ceded part is sometimes called "Old Salla" or "Vanha Salla". During the Continuation War the old town of Salla was on the Soviet side of the border. The German XXXVI Corps attacked the Soviet positions in an operation code-named "Polarfuchs". With the help of the Finnish 6th Division it managed to occupy all of the ceded territories. At the end of the war the German troops were pushed out of Lapland by Finnish troops in the so called Lapland War.

Salla is the terminus of a freight-only VR railway line from Kemijärvi. In 2006 VR announced proposals to close the line. [http://www.kotimaki.com/rautatie/news/v2006.htm] The line formerly extended beyond Salla into Russia.

Villages in the area ceded to the Soviet Union

# Korja (Korya)
# Kuolajärvi (Kuoloyarvi)
# Kurtti
# Lampela
# Sallansuu
# Sovajärvi
# Tuutijärvi
# Vuorijärvi (Vuoriyarvi)