Pohjois-Pohjanmaa

Mail from small villages of the Finland's Pohjois-Pohjanmaa region. I've compiled the items under each village's current municipality or city. There have been a lot of changes during the last two decades as cost-efficiency challenges have driven municipalities to merge into bigger units.

Oulu

Pateniemi

Nowadays this former industrial colony is a city quarter of the city of Oulu. Pateniemi initially started to form when a pilgrim by the name of Erkki Taskinen decided to build his house on the coast line in 1610. As the 1700's grew closer and conditions in Finland were gradually getting better the area became known as Taskisenperä and other people settled in the area to strengthen the community of few secluded houses. The area has a very intriguing natural harbour and this prompted a lucrative ship-building industry to be formed there. In 1873 an industrialist G. Bergbom established a steam-powered lumber mill in the area and it consequently boosted the ship-building industry. In the early years of the 20th century the industry boomed and the mill was providing a very good standard of living to it's employees: saunas, good living quarters (some of which are still standing today as a reminder of those days), bakeries, restaurants, health care facilities even with a dedicated doctor, shopping opportunities and even an entire school for the youngsters of the employees. The area bloomed and expanded until the mill stopped it's operations in 1991. 

Today it is called home by over 4000 inhabitants but in the 1930's (the time the letter below was sent) there was probably around 100 households - mostly employees of the mill. The area received it's mail stop in 1.12.1910 and it's own post office in 1.6.1914. As the area grew next to Oulu city, the cancellation was changed to a simple and boring Oulu 80 in 1.1.1971. Below is a registered letter from Pateniemi to Helsinki 26.11.1938. The stamps (2 marks + 2 marks) conveniently cover the letter rate (2 marks) and registration fee (2 marks).

Pudasjärvi