Kestilä

Kestilä [ kɛstilæ ] is a former municipality with around 1,600 inhabitants in the north of Finland. The beginning of 2009, it merged with the municipalities Piippola, Pulkkila and Rantsila the new community Siikalatva.

Kestilä is located on the middle reaches of the river Siikajoki halfway around 90 per km between the cities of Oulu and Kajaani.

Since 1845 Kestilä is an independent evangelical church; the wooden church in the village was built in 1855. The municipality consists Kestilä since 1867 and next to the village church Kestilä includes the towns of Hyvölänranta, Mäläskä, Järvikylä, Leiviskänranta, Pihkala and Väyrylänsaari.

A large part of the municipal area is occupied by pine forests and swamps, on both sides of the river also farming is operated. The Siikajoki flows through the municipal area in a wide arc and ends in the southwest of the community in the reservoir Uljuan tekojärvi; the dam is located as well as the majority of the lake in the area of the neighboring community Pulkkila.

Had the community in 1950 about 4,000 inhabitants, now there are only about 1,600. Many families migrated from the structurally weak and relatively remote part to Sweden or in Finnish population centers. Largest Employers today are the local administration, the open prison Kestilä as well as agriculture and forestry.

Significant sons Kestiläs are the opera singers Raimo Laukka, the harmonica player Jarmo Tinkala and Marko Lämsä, which was named in 2006 to the Finnish tango king.