Every design for Tornio

At the very top of the Gulf of Bothnia, where the Torne river flows into the sea and the border with Sweden runs through everyday life, lies Tornio. The town pairs with Haparanda on the other side of the river, and together they market themselves as Haparanda-Tornio. The town once stood on the island of Svensarö, but the post-glacial uplift has gradually brought the island ever closer to the Swedish shore.

The old and new parts are tied together by a bridge over the river's main channel, and at the border lies the EU park. Here you also find Aineen taidemuseo, Tornionlaakson museo, which tells the history of the Torne Valley, and the well-known water tower Tornion vesitorni rising above the townscape.

It is Tornionlaakson museo in particular that captures something of what the place means – a sense of belonging to a district that lives on both sides of the river. For anyone wearing Tornio on their chest it is less about a town on the map and more about a piece of their own history.