Saarijärvi (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈsɑːriˌjærʋi]) is a town and municipality of Finland located in the Central Finland region. The municipality has a population of 8,837, as of 31 October 2024,[6] and covers an area of 1,422.72 square kilometres (549.32 sq mi) of which 170.8 km2 (65.9 sq mi), or 12%, is water.[1] The population density is 7.06 inhabitants per square kilometre (18.3/sq mi).
Saarijärvi | |
|---|---|
Town | |
| Saarijärven kaupunki Saarijärvi stad | |
 Church of Saarijärvi | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
 Location of Saarijärvi in Finland | |
| Coordinates: 62°42.3′N 025°15.5′E / 62.7050°N 25.2583°E | |
| Country |  Finland |
| Region | Central Finland |
| Sub-region | Saarijärvi-Viitasaari sub-region |
| Charter | 1866 |
| City rights | 1986 |
| Government | |
| • Town manager | Satu Autiosalo |
| Area (2018-01-01)[1] | |
• Total | 1,422.72 km2 (549.32 sq mi) |
| • Land | 1,251.76 km2 (483.31 sq mi) |
| • Water | 170.8 km2 (65.9 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 58th largest in Finland |
| Population (2024-10-31)[2] | |
• Total | 8,837 |
| • Rank | 112th largest in Finland |
| • Density | 7.06/km2 (18.3/sq mi) |
| Population by native language | |
| • Finnish | 98.3% (official) |
| • Swedish | 0.1% |
| • Others | 1.6% |
| Population by age | |
| • 0 to 14 | 13.8% |
| • 15 to 64 | 53.2% |
| • 65 or older | 33% |
| Time zone | UTC+02:00 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+03:00 (EEST) |
| Website | saarijarvi |
Neighbouring municipalities are Kannonkoski, Karstula, Multia, Soini, Uurainen, Ähtäri and Äänekoski.
The municipality is unilingually Finnish. The neighboring municipality of Pylkönmäki was merged with the Saarijärvi municipality on 1 January 2009.
There are all together 241 lakes in Saarijärvi. The biggest lakes are Pyhäjärvi, Summanen and Lake Saarijärvi.[7]
Saarijärvi is the home of Bonden Paavo (Finnish: Saarijärven Paavo) in the poem by Johan Ludvig Runeberg. Juho Hyytiäinen, the great grandfather of Pamela Anderson, left the village in 1908 emigrating to the American continent.
History
editSaarijärvi has existed since the mid-16th century, when it was a part of the Rautalampi parish. Saarijärvi acquired its first church in 1628, which was also when the Laukaa parish, including Saarijärvi, was separated from Rautalampi. Saarijärvi became a separate parish in 1639 as Palvasalmi. At the time, the parish also included Karstula, Kyyjärvi, Pylkönmäki and a part of Konginkangas. The parish was renamed to Saarijärvi sometime after 1690.
Karstula, including Kyyjärvi, was separated in 1887, Konginkangas in 1895 (partially from Viitasaari) and Pylkönmäki in 1914. Saarijärvi became a town in 1986. Pylkönmäki rejoined Saarijärvi in 2009.
Twin towns - sister cities
editSaarijärvi is twinned with:[9]
Gran, Norway
Kungsbacka, Sweden
Trittau (Amt), Germany
Transport
editSaarijärvi is served by OnniBus.com route Helsinki—Jyväskylä—Kokkola.
People born in Saarijärvi
edit- Matthias Calonius (1738 – 1817)
- Samuli Häkkinen (1857 – 1918)
- Otto Stenroth (1861 – 1939)
- Adiel Paananen (1897 – 1968)
- Tarmo Manni (1921 – 1999)
- Toivo Hyytiäinen (1925 – 1978)
- Kain Tapper (1930 – 2004)
- Jarkko Nikara (born 1986)
- Jussi Karvinen (born 1984)
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Area of Finnish Municipalities 1.1.2018" (PDF). National Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
- ^ "Finland's preliminary population figure was 5,635,560 at the end of October 2024". Population structure. Statistics Finland. 2024-11-19. ISSN 1797-5395. Retrieved 2024-11-22.
- ^ "Population growth biggest in nearly 70 years". Population structure. Statistics Finland. 2024-04-26. ISSN 1797-5395. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
- ^ "Population according to age (1-year) and sex by area and the regional division of each statistical reference year, 2003–2020". StatFin. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
- ^ a b "Luettelo kuntien ja seurakuntien tuloveroprosenteista vuonna 2023". Tax Administration of Finland. 14 November 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
- ^ "Population by municipality as of 31 December 2006". Population Information System (in Finnish and Swedish). Population Register Center of Finland. Retrieved 2 May 2010.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Saarijärvi (kunta)". Järviwiki. Finland's Environmental Administration. 2012. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
- ^ "SuomalainenPaikannimikirja_e-kirja_kuvallinen.pdf" (PDF). kaino.kotus.fi (in Finnish). p. 395. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
- ^ "Saarijärven kaupungin ystävyyskunnat". saarijarvi.fi (in Finnish). Saarijärvi. Retrieved 2019-12-08.
External links
edit
Media related to Saarijärvi at Wikimedia Commons
- Town of Saarijärvi – Official website (in Finnish)
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