The Finnish national road 23 ( fi, Valtatie 23, sv, Riksväg 23) is a

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...

between

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

and

Eastern Finland Eastern Finland ( fi, Itä-Suomen lääni, sv, Östra Finlands län) was a province of Finland from 1997 to 2009. It bordered the provinces of Oulu, Western Finland and Southern Finland. It also bordered Russia to the east. History On Septemb ...

that runs between the cities of

Pori ) , website www.pori.fi Pori (; sv, Björneborg ) is a city and municipality on the west coast of Finland. The city is located some from the Gulf of Bothnia, on the estuary of the Kokemäki River, west of Tampere, north of Turku and north-w ...

and

Joensuu Joensuu (; krl, Jovensuu; ) is a city and municipality in North Karelia, Finland, located on the northern shore of Lake Pyhäselkä (northern part of Lake Saimaa) at the mouth of the Pielinen River (''Pielisjoki''). It was founded in 1848. Th ...

via

Jyväskylä Jyväskylä () is a city and municipality in Finland in the western part of the Finnish Lakeland. It is located about 150 km north-east from Tampere, the third largest city in Finland; and about 270 km north from Helsinki, the capital of ...

. The length of the road is . The road is also called the Finnish Lake Road ( fi, Järvi-Suomen tie, sv, Insjöfinlands vägen), as it runs through the

Finnish Lakeland Finnish Lakeland or Finnish lake district ( fi, Järvi-Suomi, "Lake Finland", sv, Insjöfinland) is the largest of the four landscape regions into which the geography of Finland is divided. The hilly, forest-covered landscape of the lake plate ...

area in the central hinterland of the country. The road is almost entirely two-lane, except for the

motorway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...

section shared with Highways 4, 9 and 13 in the

Jyväskylä sub-region Jyväskylä () is a city and municipality in Finland in the western part of the Finnish Lakeland. It is located about 150 km north-east from Tampere, the third largest city in Finland; and about 270 km north from Helsinki, the capital of ...

, the short four-lane section located in the center of

Varkaus Varkaus (before year 1929 ''Warkaus'') is a Middle- Savonian industrial town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Northern Savonia region, between city of Kuopio and town of Savonlinna. T ...

and the motorway section common to Highway 9 in Joensuu. The road has been built over decades in several different parts, and its quality varies significantly. For most of the current highway route, the road was completely absent before the main sections were built mainly in the 1960s and 1970s. Highway 23 road came at the turn of the 1970s and 1980s.

Route

The road passes through the following municipalities, localities in brackets:

Pomarkku Pomarkku ( sv, Påmark) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Satakunta region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality is unilingually Finnish. ...

–

Kankaanpää Kankaanpää () is a town and municipality of Finland. Kankaanpää was founded in 1865, became a township in 1967 and finally a town in 1972. It is located in the crossroads of Hämeenkangas and Pohjankangas ridges. It belongs to the region of Sa ...

–

Jämijärvi Jämijärvi is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Satakunta region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The mu ...

–

Parkano Parkano is a town and municipality in Finland. It is located north of Tampere in the Pirkanmaa region. The population of Parkano is () and the municipality covers an area of of which is inland water (). The population density is . The munici ...

–

Ikaalinen Ikaalinen (; sv, Ikalis) is a town and municipality of Finland. It is part of the Pirkanmaa region, located northwest of Tampere. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The munici ...

–Parkano (again)–

Kihniö Kihniö is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the region of Pirkanmaa. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality is unilingually Finnish. Polit ...

–

Virrat Virrat (; sv, Virdois) is a town and municipality of Finland. It is part of the Pirkanmaa region, and it is located north of Tampere and west of Jyväskylä. The distance between Virrat and Helsinki is . The town has a population of ...

–

Keuruu Keuruu (; sv, Keuru) is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Central Finland region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The popul ...

–

Petäjävesi Petäjävesi (; lit. "pine water") is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the provinces of Finland, province of Western Finland, next to the city of Jyväskylä, and is part of the Central Finland regions of Finla ...

–

Laukaa Laukaa (; sv, Laukas) is a municipality of Finland. It is located next to Jyväskylä and is part of the Central Finland region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The ...

–

Hankasalmi Hankasalmi is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Central Finland region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality is unilingually Finnish. Han ...

–

Pieksämäki Pieksämäki () is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the Southern Savonia region, about north of Mikkeli, east of Jyväskylä and south of Kuopio. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The ...

–

Joroinen Joroinen is a municipality in the North Savo region of Finland. It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Northern Savonia sub-region. The municipality has a population of approximately 4,626 people and covers an area of 9 ...

–Pieksämäki (again)–Joroinen (again)–Pieksämäki (again)–Joroinen (again)–

–

Leppävirta Leppävirta () is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Northern Savonia region, south of Kuopio along the Finnish national road 5. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population densit ...

–

Heinävesi Heinävesi () is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the North Karelia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbouring municipalities are Savonlinna, Varka ...

–Leppävirta (again)–Heinävesi (again)–

Liperi Liperi ( sv, Libelits) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the North Karelia region. Liperi is a community of () with the growth rate of 83 newcomers in 11 months in 2007. The population density is . The municipality covers an area of ...

–

Sources

* * * *

References

External links

* {{Highways in Finland Roads in Finland Transport in Jyväskylä

Route

See also

Sources

References

External links