The cornerstone of unity

29 TORNIO HAPARANDA TWIN CITY
“A border is not a barrier but a possibility.” Councillor of Education Yrjö Alamäki’s words have guided the twin city 
project between the Finnish city of Tornio (Torneå in Swedish) and the neighbouring Swedish city of Haparanda 
(Haaparanta in Finnish). A common history and crossborder family ties have naturally helped to dissolve the 
mental division, and, indeed, major barriers are generally only in our minds, not in the real world. And if there are 
true barriers, they must be removed. Working on this operational principle, Tornio and Haaparanta will once again 
become a single urban centre as if there is no official border between them. 
The city of Tornio, which is situated at the head of the Gulf of Bothnia, was a city in the Swedish-Finnish empire 
from 1621 until 1809, when the Hamina Peace Treaty between Sweden and Russia “divided the Tornio Valley in a 
most unnatural manner between two states”, as the governor of Northern Ostrobothnia, Ragnar Lassinantti, a true 
veteran of this regional cooperation, has stated. It took several decades before the city of Haparanda was founded 
in 1842 in territory that had earlier been part of the city of Tornio, which remained on the Swedish side of ther 
border. 
Tornio-
Haparanda’s regional importance to Finland has been emphasised in times of crisis. During the First 
World War an air bridge was build between the towns to secure a supply passage between Finland and Sweden, 
and the region also provided important secret routes to Germany during the Jaeger movement. The road to 
Sweden also became familiar to thousands of Finnish refugees who had to take saunas (innovation no. 91) in 
Haparanda to get rid of their lice during the Second World War. 
The post-war decades saw a shopping boom in Haparanda, as Finns raced over to Sweden for cheaper 
coffee and other groceries, and then, after the Finnish markka was greatly devalued in 1967, the direction of flow 
was reversed as Swedes charged to Tornio for cheaper meat. 
Permanent municipal cooperation started in the late 1960s with the joint use of the new Haparanda public 
swimming pool, and a common wastewater treatment station and dumping ground were constructed in 
Haparanda and Tornio respectively at the beginning of the 1970s.
In the late 1970s the municipalities also made an agreement that permitted children to attend school in either 
country. This was contrary to the existing legislation, but it had been agreed with the Ministry of Education that 
they would turn a blind eye. In the mid-1980s the extensive cooperation was greatly intensified as a result of the 
foundation of Provincia Bothniensis. Honorary consuls were also appointed in both Stockholm and Helsinki. In 
addition to the executive committee, the province has permanent cooperation bodies in all central administrative 
fields. 
Councillor of Education Yrjö Alamäki (Tornio) and his Swedish counterpart Bengt Westman (Haparanda) 
invented the idea of their “own province”, which was governed by the president of the executive committee. 
Honorary consuls were also appointed in both Stockholm and Helsinki. In addition to the executive committee, 
the province has permanent cooperation bodies in all central administrative fields. 
Cooperation was then intensified in various sectors. Currently e.g. all sport facilities are in joint use, the 
district heating system has been combined, and all major cultural events are organised together. The towns 
have a joint comprehensive elementary and middle school which specialises in languages, an upper secondary 
school in Tornio which specialises in European affairs, and a joint tourist information centre, among other things. 
Tornio also played all its Finnish ice hockey league games on Haparanda’s artificial ice and won several Finnish 
championships there. Now the towns have a joint team that plays in the Swedish league. 
Finland’s and Sweden’s membership in the European Union made it possible to plan a joint city centre on the 
border. The project however met with resistance in Haparanda, so a referendum on the issue was held during 

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the municipal elections. The border plan was narrowly rejected, but when Haparanda subsequently won the 
competition for the location of a new Ikea store on the border, all resistance disappeared and the project got off 
the ground on both sides 
of the border. Financial support from the EU’s programme Interreg Europe for 
infrastructure construction has been crucial for the success of this project.
Roads, parks, dwellings, commercial business areas and hotels have been built and new ones are being 
planned. The Tornio side has become the site of the largest shopping centre in northern Finland with shops 
under one roof. On the Swedish side, a market area has been built which was opened by Princess Victoria in 
2011 and is named after her. 
Apart from the Ikea and Ikano that are already on the Swedish side of the border, a huge amount of business 
premises have also been built nearby. In 2017, a new large business district will open in Haparanda that will 
include a large hotel and premises for an upper secondary school. The joint transportation centre (for trains, 
buses, and taxis) was completed a few years ago. It is here where tens of thousands of asylum seekers arrived 
in 2015. 
The area has become a shopping mecca for all the Arctic areas of the Nordic countries. A big building boom 
is under way and it looks like the original planned building time of 20
–30 years will be halved. Belief in the future 
is stronger than ever and people are returning to their home towns. The change in atmosphere has been 
astonishing. 
Tornio and Haparanda are thus on their way to at least physical reunification. This shows that ideas and 
visions can come true if we have faith in them and choose the right moment to implement them.
Hannes Manninen 
– Mayor of Tornio 1973–1995,
Minister of Regional and Municipal Affairs 2003
–2007,
Member of Parliament 1995
–2011