Jyväskylä () is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

and the regional capital of

Central Finland Central Finland (; ) is a Regions of Finland, region ( / ) in Finland. It borders the regions of Päijät-Häme, Pirkanmaa, South Ostrobothnia, Central Ostrobothnia, North Ostrobothnia, Northern Savonia, North Savo, and Southern Savonia, South S ...

. It is located in the

Finnish Lakeland Finnish Lakeland or the Finnish lake district ( , "Lake Finland", ) is a large landscape region in central eastern Finland. The hilly, forest-covered landscape of Lakeland Finland's lake plateau is dominated by drumlins and by long sinuous es ...

. The population of Jyväskylä is approximately , while the

sub-region A subregion is a part of a larger geographical region or continent. Cardinal directions are commonly used to define subregions. There are many criteria for creating systems of subregions; this article is focusing on the United Nations geoscheme ...

has a population of approximately . It is Finland's most populous

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

, and fifth most populous

urban area An urban area is a human settlement with a high population density and an infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas originate through urbanization, and researchers categorize them as cities, towns, conurbations or suburbs. In urbani ...

. Jyväskylä is located about northeast of

Tampere Tampere is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Pirkanmaa. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Tampere is approximately , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately . It is the most populous mu ...

, the third largest city in Finland; and about north of

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

, the national capital. The

Jyväskylä sub-region Jyväskylä sub-region is a subdivision of Central Finland and one of the sub-regions of Finland since 2009. It covers the area around the city of Jyväskylä. The Jyväskylä region has a population of , making it the sixth largest region in Fi ...

includes Jyväskylä,

Hankasalmi Hankasalmi is a municipality of Finland, 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. Hankasal ...

, Laukaa,

Muurame Muurame is a Municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland, located south-west of Jyväskylä, the regional capital of Central Finland. Muurame itself is located between two lakes, Lake Päijänne and Lake Muuratjärvi. These two lakes are c ...

, Petäjävesi, Toivakka, and Uurainen. Other neighbouring municipalities of Jyväskylä are

Joutsa Joutsa is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the provinces of Finland, province of Western Finland and is part of the Central Finland regions of Finland, region. Jyväskylä is located about north of the Jouts ...

, Jämsä and Luhanka. Jyväskylä is the largest city in the Central Finland and Finnish Lakeland region. Jyväskylä was one of the fastest growing cities in Finland during the 20th century; in 1940, there were only 8,000 inhabitants in Jyväskylä. Elias Lönnrot, the author of the Finnish national epic, the '' Kalevala'', nicknamed the city "the

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

of Finland". This nickname refers to Jyväskylä's important role as an educational centre. The works of the famous Finnish architect

Alvar Aalto Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto (; 3 February 1898 – 11 May 1976) was a Finnish architect and designer. His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles and glassware, as well as sculptures and paintings. He never regarded himself as an artist, see ...

can be seen throughout the city. The city hosts the Rally Finland, which is part of the

World Rally Championship The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is an international rallying series owned and governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA. Inaugurated in 1973, it is the oldest FIA world championship after Formula One. E ...

. The annual Jyväskylä Arts Festival is also held in the city.

Etymology

The second part of the city's name, ''kylä'', means village. The first part of the city's name, ''jyväs-'', looks like the stem of an adjective ''*jyvänen'', derived from ''jyvä'', "grain" (compare

Wiktionary Wiktionary (, ; , ; rhyming with "dictionary") is a multilingual, web-based project to create a free content dictionary of terms (including words, phrases, proverbs, linguistic reconstructions, etc.) in all natural languages and in a number o ...

). Alternatively, it has been associated with ''

Taxus ''Taxus'' is a genus of coniferous trees or shrubs known as yews in the family Taxaceae. Yews occur around the globe in temperate zones of the northern hemisphere, northernmost in Norway and southernmost in the South Celebes. Some populations ex ...

'', a genus of yews, and the

Old Prussian Old Prussian is an extinct West Baltic language belonging to the Baltic branch of the Indo-European languages, which was once spoken by the Old Prussians, the Baltic peoples of the Prussian region. The language is called Old Prussian to av ...

word ''juwis''. It has also been speculated that the word ''jyväs'' refers to the sun's reflection of the surface of the water. Erkki Fredrikson, the curator of the Museum of Central Finland, put forward a theory related to the name, that the origin word for the city's name was ''syväs'' and not ''jyväs'', and that the name was once derived from ''Jyväsjoki'' (literally the "grain river"), which, according to Fredrikson's assumption, was actually called ''Syväsjoki'' (literally the "deep river"). However, the name Jyväsjoki was registered in 1506 for the region's first known resident, Heikki Ihanninpoika Jyväsjoki. His house was located at the mouth of the Äijälänjoki River, which in Fredrikson's opinion also supports the Syväsjoki theory. The village, known at the beginning as Jyväsjoki village, gradually transformed into Jyväskylä.

History

In the Jyväskylä region, there are archeological findings from the

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...

. According to the oldest available taxation documents (''maakirja''), there were seven estates on the Jyväskylä region in 1539. One of them, the estate of Mattila, alone possessed the areas stretching from the village of Keljo to the villages of Vesanka and Palokka. The oldest estate in Jyväskylä continuously held by the same family is the estate of Lahti, which emerged when the estate of Mattila was split between two brothers in 1600. The history of the Lahti family and estate have had a significant impact on the development of Jyväskylä region. Lahdenrinne, in the south-west corner of Jyväsjärvi lake, belongs to the old heartland of the estate of Lahti. The name Jyväskylä was mentioned in 1575 as ''Jyueskylä''. Its name is derived from the lake Jyväsjärvi. A shorter form of the name, ''Jyväs'' (written ''Jyuexe'') was mentioned slightly earlier in 1565 and again (this time written ''Jyues'') in 1570. The City of Jyväskylä was founded on 22 March 1837, when Emperor of Russia and

Grand Duke of Finland The Grand Duke of Finland, alternatively the Grand Prince of Finland after 1802, was, from around 1580 to 1809, a title in use by most Swedish monarchs. Between 1809 and 1917, it was included in the title of the emperor of Russia, who was also t ...

Nicholas I of Russia Nicholas I, group=pron (Russian language, Russian: Николай I Павлович; – ) was Emperor of Russia, List of rulers of Partitioned Poland#Kings of the Kingdom of Poland, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 18 ...

, signed the charter of the city and the infrastructure was essentially built from scratch; before that, Jyväskylä was a village belonging to the larger

rural municipality A rural municipality is a classification of municipality, a type of local government, found in several countries. These include: * Rural municipality (Canada), Rural municipalities in Canada, a Lists of municipalities in Canada, type of municipa ...

of Laukaa, being the largest village of the whole parish. At the times Finnish military battalion Suomen kaarti participated under his rule in military operations against the Polish

November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31) (), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in Russian Partition, the heartland of Partitions of Poland, partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. ...

and later in Hungary, Turkey and Bessarabia (today Moldova). While

abolished many autonomous areas, it has been argued, that the loyalty of Finnish military influenced his approach towards Finnish autonomy. The original town was built between Lake Jyväsjärvi (which is connected to Lake Päijänne) and the Jyväskylä ridge (Harju), and consisted of most of the current grid-style city centre. The establishment of schools in the 1850s and '60s proved to be the most significant step in regards to the later development of Jyväskylä. The first three Finnish-speaking schools in the world were founded in Jyväskylä, the lycée in 1858, the teachers’ college in 1863, and the girls’ school in 1864. Well-trained teaching staff and pupils from different parts of the country changed the atmosphere of Jyväskylä irrevocably. In the early 20th century, the town expanded several times. Most of today's Jyväskylä was built after the

Continuation War The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet–Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union during World War II. It began with a Finnish declaration of war on 25 June 1941 and ended on 19 ...

, when evacuees from ceded territories were settled in the city, and housing was badly needed. During the 21st century Jyväskylä has grown fast – by over 1,000 inhabitants every year. Säynätsalo was consolidated with Jyväskylä in 1993, and Jyväskylän maalaiskunta and Korpilahti, for their part, on January 1, 2009.

Geography

Jyväskylä is located on the northern coast of Lake Päijänne, north-east of

, south-west of

Kuopio Kuopio ( , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Savo. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Kuopio is approximately , while the Kuopio sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately . It is the mos ...

and north of

. The hilly and forested terrain in Jyväskylä is surrounded by hundreds of lakes. To reach Jyväskylä from the east, one needs to go through or pass the hill Kanavuori, which used to host a military depot full of ammunition and armaments. Jyväskylä is located in the

. There are 328 lakes in the city, and lakes and rivers constitute 20,1% () of the total area of the city. The city's largest lakes are Päijänne, Leppävesi, Tuomiojärvi, Palokkajärvi, Luonetjärvi, and Alvajärvi-Korttajärvi. The city center is located on the shores of a small Jyväsjärvi. Jyväsjärvi_view_from_Kuokkala_bridge.jpg, View over lake Jyväsjärvi from Kuokkala bridge Jyväsjärvi_in_winter.jpg, Frozen lake Jyväsjärvi in winter Lake_Päijänne_view_from_Säynätsalo.jpg, Northern lake Päijänne near Säynätsalo Channel_between_lakes_Jyväsjärvi_and_Päijänne.jpg, Channel connecting lakes Jyväsjärvi and Päijänne Vaajavirta_Naissaari.jpg, View on Vaajavirta river from Naissaari island Tuomiojärvi_Jyväskylä.jpg, Lake Tuomiojärvi Tourujoki_summer.jpg, Tourujoki in summertime Tourujoki_winter.jpg, Tourujoki in wintertime The landscape in Jyväskylä is hilly, forested and full of waters. The architect

compared the hilly landscape of Jyväskylä to Toscana in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

: ''"The slope of Jyväskylä ridge is almost like the mountain vineyards of

Fiesole Fiesole () is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region of Tuscany, on a scenic height above Florence, 5 km (3 miles) northeast of that city. It has structures dating to Etruscan and Roman times. ...

"''.

Climate

The defined climate is subarctic continental (

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Dfc''). Because of its northern location, winters are long, snowy, cold, and dark. During midwinter, the city receives daylight for only around five hours. Summers are mild, with the average daily maximum temperature being in July. During the summer, Jyväskylä experiences long daylight and white nights i.e. midnight

twilight Twilight is daylight illumination produced by diffuse sky radiation when the Sun is below the horizon as sunlight from the upper atmosphere is scattered in a way that illuminates both the Earth's lower atmosphere and also the Earth's surf ...

Demographics

Population

The city of Jyväskylä has inhabitants, making it the most populous municipality in Finland. The Jyväskylä region has a population of , making it the sixth largest region in Finland after

Turku Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Aura River (Finland), River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while t ...

Oulu Oulu ( , ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Ostrobothnia. It is located on the northwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Oulujoki, River Oulu. The population of Oulu is approximately , while the Oulu sub-regio ...

and

Lahti Lahti (; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Päijät-Häme. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Lahti is approximately , while the Lahti sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately . It is the mo ...

. Jyväskylä is home to 3% of Finland's population. 8% of the population has a foreign background, which is lower than in the major Finnish cities of

Espoo Espoo (, ; ) is a city in Finland. It is located to the west of the capital, Helsinki, in southern Uusimaa. The population is approximately . It is the most populous Municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland. Espoo is part of the Helsi ...

Vantaa Vantaa (; , ) is a city in Finland. It is located to the north of the capital, Helsinki, in southern Uusimaa. The population of Vantaa is approximately . It is the most populous municipality in Finland. Vantaa is part of the Helsinki Metropoli ...

. Jyväskylä was the fastest growing Finnish city in the 20th century. The population has continued to grow rapidly in the 21st century.

Languages

Jyväskylä is the third largest monolingual Finnish-speaking municipality in Finland after Tampere and Oulu. , the majority of the population, persons (), spoke Finnish as their first language. In addition, the number of Swedish speakers was persons () of the population. Foreign languages were spoken by of the population. As English and Swedish are compulsory school subjects, functional bilingualism or trilingualism acquired through language studies is not uncommon. At least 100 different languages are spoken in Jyväskylä. The most widely spoken foreign languages are Russian (1.3%), Ukrainian (0.7%), English (0.5%), Farsi (0.5%),

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

(0.4%), Chinese (0.3%) and Kurdish (0.3%).

Immigration

, 11,469 people with a foreign background lived in Jyväskylä, representing 8% of the population. There are 11,572 residents who were born abroad, which makes up 8% of the population. The number of foreign citizens in Jyväskylä is 7,836. The relative share of immigrants in Jyväskylä's population is below the national average. Nevertheless, the city's new residents are increasingly of foreign origin. This will increase the proportion of foreign residents in the coming years.

Religion

In 2023, the Evangelical Lutheran Church was the largest religious group with 62.1% of the population of Jyväskylä. Other religious groups accounted for 3.1% of the population. 34.8% of the population had no religious affiliation.

Military

Jyväskylä hosts the headquarters of the Finnish Air Force, in

Tikkakoski Tikkakoski is an urban area (a '' taajama'') and a district of Jyväskylä, Finland, about north of the city center. Before 2009, Tikkakoski was part of Jyväskylän maalaiskunta. Having originally been part of Tikka-Mannila, Tikkakoski beg ...

. As a central location, it has traditionally been important base for military operations. Jyväskylä became known as major firearms manufacturer (

) during the world wars, producing machine guns and ammunition. According to reporting in ''

Helsingin Sanomat , abbreviated ''HS'' and colloquially known as , is the largest subscription newspaper in Finland and the Nordic countries, owned by Sanoma. Except after certain holidays, it is published daily. Its name derives from that of the Finnish capital ...

'', since the 1990s Jyväskylä has served as a

signals intelligence Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is the act and field of intelligence-gathering by interception of ''signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly u ...

collection site, primarily targeting military maneuvers around St. Petersburg.

Economy

Because of excellent connections, Jyväskylä was a busy marketplace even before the first permanent settlements were founded in the current city centre. The establishment of Finland's first three Finnish-speaking schools: the lycée in 1858, the teachers’ college in 1863, and the girls’ school in 1864 proved to be the most significant steps in regards to later development of Jyväskylä. Educational services became the heart of the economic growth of the city. In 1912 Wilhelm Schauman founded a

plywood Plywood is a composite material manufactured from thin layers, or "plies", of wood veneer that have been stacked and glued together. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured boards, which include plywood, medium-density fibreboa ...

mill on the shores of Jyväsjärvi. Schaumans plywood factory soon became the country's largest producer of plywood. Soon other kinds of forest based businesses opened factories and premises in the city. Thus,

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

, pulp, and

paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, Textile, rags, poaceae, grasses, Feces#Other uses, herbivore dung, or other vegetable sources in water. Once the water is dra ...

became the second stronghold of the economy in Jyväskylä. Later, the high quality education and paper machinery industry tempted information technology businesses to settle in the city. Nowadays, the main sources of subsistence in Jyväskylä are educational and health care services, paper machinery production, information technology, and

renewable energy Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...

. The most important private employers are paper machinery producer Metso ltd., retail trade company Keskimaa Cooperative Society, real estate service company ISS, and wind turbine gear manufacturer Moventas. The biggest public employers are the City of Jyväskylä, the Central Finland Health Care District, the

University of Jyväskylä A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". U ...

, and the

Air Force Academy An air force academy or air academy is a national institution that provides initial officer training, possibly including undergraduate level education, to air force officer cadets who are preparing to be commissioned officers in a national air forc ...

. , only 1% of the labor force works on the primary sector, 21% on the secondary sector, and 78% on the

service sector The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the ...

of the economy. In April 2012, the unemployment rate in Jyväskylä was 12.2%, which was higher than average in Finland (9.8% in 1/2012). As of July 2012, there are about 61,000 jobs in Jyväskylä. The average income per income earner was €24,380 in 2010. In 2011, Jyväskylä topped in an image evaluation study among businesses. The city reached the highest score of large Finnish cities in the study, succeeding especially in the availability of skilled work force, on commercial services, on transport connections, and on geographical location. The

Gross domestic product Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the total market value of all the final goods and services produced and rendered in a specific time period by a country or countries. GDP is often used to measure the economic performanc ...

per capita in the city of Jyväskylä was €33,688 in 2005. The self-sufficiency in workplaces exceeded 100% in the city, raising the GDP per capita higher than the national average. The GDP per capita of the whole Jyväskylä region was €28,718 in 2007. The regional GDP per capita is lower than the Finnish national average, mainly due to high number of students and a relatively high unemployment rate.

Culture

Museums

The

Alvar Aalto Museum The Alvar Aalto Museum is a Finland, Finnish museum operating in two cities, Jyväskylä and Helsinki, in two locations each, dedicated to architect and designer Alvar Aalto. All four locations are open to the public. They are: *The Alvar Aalto ...

and the Museum of Central Finland form a center of culture in the immediate vicinity of the historical campus of the

. Both museums are designed by functionalist

. The Alvar Aalto Museum displays the artist's most important work and design. The Museum of Central Finland specializes in cultural history. It serves both as the town museum of Jyväskylä and the provincial museum of Central Finland. In summer 2015 Alvar Aalto Foundation and the city of Jyväskylä launched an architect competition to connect the two museums. One of architect Aalto's most significant works, Säynätsalo Town Hall, is located in Säynätsalo island. The city hosts the Craft Museum of Finland, which presents a range of different handicraft techniques from across the country, as well as a centre dedicated to the conservation of textiles that serves private customers, museums and organisations. The National Costume Center of Finland forms a part of the museum. The Aviation Museum of Central Finland near the Jyväskylä Airport in Tikkakoski exhibits the aviation history of Finland. The

Museum is specialized in the history of the university and diversity of nature in Central Finland. Jyväskylä Art Museum, located the city centre is the regional art museum of Central Finland. In collaboration with the Centre for Creative Photography, the Jyväskylä Art Museum maintains The Ratamo Printmaking and Photography Centre. This centre consists of the Galleria Ratamo along with a printmaking workshop, photography studio and artist workspaces all situated in Jyväskylä's former roundhouse. In addition, historical churches in the city are open for public, most notables of them being the Taulumäki Church and the Jyväskylä City Church.

Theaters

The biggest theater in the city is the Jyväskylä City Theatre, designed by Alvar Aalto. It stands right in the center of the city. In addition to the City Theatre, more than dozen amateur drama companies serve audiences of all ages. The most popular theatres include: * Huoneteatteri (The Room Theatre), Sammonkatu 4 * Jyväskylä University Student Theatre, Student Union Building, Keskussairaalantie 2 * Jyväskylän kansannäyttämö, Sammonkatu 7 * AdAstra Theatre, Koskenharjuntie 8 * Teatterikone, Köhniönkatu 31 * Jyväskylän teatteriyhdistys Kulissi, Siltakatu 25 * Improvisaatioteatteri Ässiä Hatusta, University Campus, Student Union Building, Keskussairaalantie 2

Music

In the 2010s, Jyväskylä earned a reputation as one of the most productive and high-quality

rap music Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing ...

centers, and Jyväskylä has been titled in the media as the "capital of Finnish rap". Gettomasa, among others, are rap artists from Jyväskylä who deserved their encouragement.

Annual events

* Arctic and Fabulous Film Festival offers different forms and genres of Nordic film in the middle of most freezing winter season in February. * Jyväskylä City's Birthday Week (last week of March) offers a number of concerts, theatre, exhibitions and debates around the city. * Jyrock in April is an indie and alternative rock and pop festival. * Lutakko liekeissä in August is a rock festival held in rock club Tanssisali Lutakko. * Yläkaupungin Yö in May is one of the biggest annual street festivals of the city. * Sataman Yö is an annual pop music festival organised one week before the midsummer in the harbour of Jyväskylä. * Jyväskylä Arts Festival in the middle of July accommodates musicians, bands, contemporary circus, comedians, mimes, physical theatre, storytellers and film makers. It is one of the most well known festivals in Finland. * Neste Oil Rally Finland in the end of July is the biggest annually organised event in Nordic countries and a part of the WRC World Rally Championships. * Athenis Finlandiae organised in August is a cultural festival combining elements from ancient history, arts and science. * Finlandia Marathon in the beginning of September is a marathon festival designed for everybody from a top athlete to an amateur jogger. Time of Dance – the largest annual festival of Finnish contemporary dance is taking place in the end of September. * The International Print Triennial Graphica Creativa is organised every three years since 1975. It was the very first international graphic art exhibition in Finland. The latest triennial was organised in 2012.

Sports

The

is the only university in Northern Europe with a faculty of sports. The faculty has been a key player to develop a strong sports culture in the city, which is why Jyväskylä is also dubbed the "capital of Finnish sport". The city hosts the Secto Rally Finland (formerly known as the 1000 Lakes Rally). It is the biggest annually organised public event in the

Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; ) are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe, as well as the Arctic Ocean, Arctic and Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic oceans. It includes the sovereign states of Denm ...

, gathering over 500,000 spectators every year. The rally has been held since 1951, first as a national competition, then from 1959 on as a European Rally Championship event and since the introduction of the

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

, as Finland's WRC event. Ice hockey venue Synergia-areena, Hippos Finnish baseball stadium, swimming hall AaltoAlvari, and many other primary sport venues of the city are located in Hippos, two kilometres () away from the city centre. The Matti Nykänen ski jumping hill is located next to the Laajavuori ski resort just few kilometres west from the city centre. The main football stadium lies on the slopes of Harju just next to the city centre. The Killeri hippodrome on the western parts of the city serves different horse racing competitions. At winter time, amateur ice skaters can practice their skills in Viitaniemi or on the lake Jyväsjärvi, which has a long ice skating track. The inventor of Finnish national sport

pesäpallo Pesäpallo (; ; , colloquially known in Finnish as pesis and also referred to as Finnish baseball) is a fast-moving bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport that is often referred to as the national sport of Finland and has some presence in other ...

, Lauri "Tahko" Pihkala, studied and lived in Jyväskylä. The Upper secondary school of Jyväskylän Lyseo hosted the historic event of first pesäpallo match in world in September 1920. Sports teams from Jyväskylä include: * JYP plays in the top-tier Finnish men's

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

league, SM-liiga. The team was the 2009 and 2012 Finnish Champion. The team also won the European Trophy in 2013 and the European Champions Hockey League tournament in 2018. * JYP Naiset is a three-time Finnish Champion of the Naisten Liiga, the top-tier Finnish women's ice hockey league. As of 2021, the team plays in the second-tier Naisten Mestis. * JyPK (Jyväskylän Pallokerho) plays in the Kansallinen Liiga, the premier division of Finnish women's

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

. * FC Vaajakoski plays in

Kakkonen Kakkonen or II divisioona is the fourth level in the league system of Finnish football and comprises 36 Finnish football teams. Until the end of 2023, ''Kakkonen'' was the third-highest level in Finland, but after the creation of new second-t ...

, the third tier of the men's Finnish football league system. * FC Blackbird and Jyväskylän Jalkapalloklubi (JJK Jyväskylä) play in Kolmonen, the fourth tier of the men's Finnish football league system. JJK played in the premier division

Veikkausliiga Veikkausliiga () is a professional association football league in Finland and the highest level of the Finnish football league system. The league comprises the top 12 clubs of the country. Its main sponsor is the Finnish national betting agenc ...

in 2017. *

Jyväskylän Seudun Palloseura Jyväskylän Seudun Palloseura (abbreviated JPS) is a sports club from Jyväskylä, Finland. The club was formed in 1962 and their home ground is at the Vehkalammen kenttä. The men's football team currently plays in the Kolmonen (Third Divisi ...

(JPS) plays in the highest

bandy Bandy is a winter sport and ball sport played by two team sport, teams wearing Ice skates#Bandy skates, ice skates on a large ice surface (either indoors or outdoors) while using sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal. The playin ...

division, Bandyliiga, and won the Finnish Championship for the first time in 2019. Their home arena is the Vehkalammen kenttä. * Jyväskylä Track and Field Club (JKU) is one of the leading

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

clubs in Finland. * Jyväskylän Kiri is the most successful men's

team in history. Currently they play in the top division

Superpesis The Superpesis is the highest level of the Finnish pesäpallo league system. Contested by 13 clubs in men's league and 12 clubs in women's league, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Ykköspesis. Seasons usually run from ...

. * Jyväskylän Saukot plays in the Finnish men's women's

water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...

top division. * Kampuksen Dynamo (KaDy) plays

futsal Futsal is a variant of association football played between two teams of five players each on a court smaller than a football pitch. Its rules are based on the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game of association football, and i ...

in the Finnish top league. * Kirittäret holds fourteen Finnish Championships in women's

and plays in the

. * Jyväskylän seudun Jaguaarit plays in the Finnish third-tier

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

league, the Amerikkalaisen jalkapallon II-divisioona (2nd Division). * Happee plays in the top-tier Finnish

floorball Floorball (also known by other names) is a sport played with five players and a goalkeeper in each team. It is played indoors with sticks and a hollow plastic ball with holes. Matches are played in three periods. The sport of bandy also playe ...

leagues, the men's F-liiga and women's F-liiga. Men's Finnish Championship in 2014. * Hongikon Nuorisoseuran Urheilijat (HoNsU) plays basketball in the Naisten Korisliiga, the top-tier women's league, and the men's Koripallon I-divisioona, the second-tier men's league. * Jyväskylä Freestyle Club is the main

freestyle skiing Freestyle skiing is a skiing discipline comprising aerials, Mogul Skiing, moguls, Ski Cross, cross, Half-pipe skiing, half-pipe, slopestyle and big air as part of the Freestyle skiing at the Winter Olympics, Winter Olympics. It can consist of a ...

club. * Jyväskylä Ski Club (JHS) is one of the most well known

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing whereby skiers traverse snow-covered terrain without use of ski lifts or other assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreational activity; however, some still use it as a m ...

ski jumping Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the final ...

alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel Ski binding, bindings, unlike other types of skiing (Cross-country skiing, cross-country, Telemark skiing, Telemark, or ski jumping) ...

snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralym ...

Nordic combined Nordic combined is a winter sport in which athletes compete in cross-country skiing (sport), cross-country skiing and ski jumping. The Nordic combined at the Winter Olympics has been held since the first 1924 Winter Olympics, Winter Olympics in ...

, and

biathlon The biathlon is a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. It is treated as a race, with contestants skiing through a cross-country trail whose distance is divided into shooting rounds. The shooting rounds are not ti ...

clubs in Finland. * Meloiloa Canoe Club plays

canoe polo Canoe polo, also known as kayak polo or polo (to players and fans), is one of the competitive disciplines of kayaking. It incorporates ball-handling skills into a contact team game, wherein group tactics and positional play are as important as in ...

and practices

whitewater slalom Canoe slalom (previously known as whitewater slalom) is a competitive sport with the aim to navigate a Spraydeck, decked canoe or kayak through a course of hanging downstream or upstream gates on Whitewater, river rapids in the fastest time pos ...

canoe racing A canoe is a lightweight, narrow watercraft, water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using paddles. In British English, the term ' ...

, wildwater canoeing and marathon kayaking. * Jyväskylä Rugby Club plays

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

(rugby) in the Finnish Championship League; former national champions. * Jyväskylän Fight Club is the city's most successful

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...

and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu academy. * Jigotai is the largest martial arts club in Central Finland (

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...

kickboxing Kickboxing ( ) is a full-contact hybrid Martial arts, martial art and Boxing (disambiguation), boxing type based on punch (combat), punching and kicking. Kickboxing originated in the 1950s to 1970s. The fight takes place in a boxing ring, norma ...

tai chi is a Chinese martial art. Initially developed for combat and self-defense, for most practitioners it has evolved into a sport and form of exercise. As an exercise, tai chi is performed as gentle, low-impact movement in which practitioners ...

aikido Aikido ( , , , ) is a gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art which is split into many different styles including Iwama Ryu, Iwama Shin Shin Aiki Shuren Kai, Shodokan Aikido, Yoshinkan, Renshinkai, Aikikai, and Ki Aikido. Aikido is now practic ...

, taido, etc.) * Mukwan is a well-known

Taekwondo Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In ad ...

and

club in Jyväskylä since 1984. * Liikunnan Riemu plays

in the Finnish top league, the Futsal-Liiga, since 2013. * Jyväskylän Liitokiekkoilijat Ry (JyLi Ry) competes in

Ultimate Ultimate or Ultimates may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums *Ultimate (Bryan Adams album), ''Ultimate'' (Bryan Adams album) *Ultimate (Jolin Tsai album), ''Ultimate'' (Jolin Tsai album) *Ultimate (Pet Shop Boys album), ''Ult ...

, Disc golf and other disc sports. * Jaguars Spirit Athletes (JSA) is the primary

cheerleading Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense Physical exercise, physical activity. It can be performed to motivate s ...

club. * Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, the official

Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...

world rally team run by 4-time world champion and Jyväskylä native Tommi Mäkinen. The city hosted the 2006 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship for Women Division B.

Government

The city council of Jyväskylä is the main decision-making body at the local level. Its 75 members are elected every fourth year in municipal elections. The city council elects the mayor. The current mayor is Timo Koivisto.

Seat distribution in the city council

The prevalence of the social democratic party can be explained in part by the Vaajakoski, a major industrial center historically that is currently part of Jyväskylä, and its heritage of industrial workers voting social democrats. Jyväskylä was the only place during the 2017 municipal elections where the Green League was the largest party.

Administrative division

The city of Jyväskylä is divided into fourteen wards (; ), which are further divided into 89

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

s. The ward division does not always follow district boundaries. Lutakko

The following is a listing of the 14 wards of Jyväskylä by population, as of November 2010 # Kantakaupunki (city centre), population 25,149 # Kuokkala, population 16,904 # Vaajakoski-Jyskä, population 14,588 # Palokka-Puuppola, population 14,395 # Kypärämäki-Kortepohja, population 10,537 # Huhtasuo, population 8,691 # Keltinmäki-Myllyjärvi, population 7,524 # Keljo, population 5,494 # Halssila, population 5,479 # Tikkakoski-Nyrölä, population 5,401 # Korpilahti, population 4,993 # Lohikoski-Seppälänkangas, population 4,650 # Säynätsalo, population 3,340 # Kuohu-Vesanka, population 2,118

Former city managers

* Varma T. Suosalmi 1930–1935 * Arvo Haapasalo 1935–1955 * Jorma Tuominen 1955–1959 * Veli Järvinen 1959–1974 * Jaakko Loven 1975–1994 * Pekka Kettunen 1994–2004 * Markku Andersson 2004–2015

Cityscape

Jyväskylä was founded in the northern end of the lake Päijänne at the crossroads of three major waterways. Lakes control the cityscape. The city

grid plan In urban planning, the grid plan, grid street plan, or gridiron plan is a type of city plan in which streets run at right angles to each other, forming a grid. Two inherent characteristics of the grid plan, frequent intersections and orthogon ...

from 1833 by Jacob Leonard Boringh can be well recognised in the city center. Nevertheless, due to very rapid population growth, the cityscape has gone through one of the most massive changes in all of Finland. Nowadays, Jyväskylä is a city of modern architecture. The city has more buildings designed by one of the best known international functionalist architects

than any other city in the world. The establishment of schools in the 1850s and 1860s proved to be the most important step from the point of view of the later development of Jyväskylä. The headquarters of the

are considered to be Aalto's masterpieces. Later, a modern architect Arto Sipinen, a pupil of Aalto, has influenced the cityscape since the 1970s by designing most of the new university buildings in the city. The outskirts of the city are mainly populated by student apartments and single-family houses. Some of the most important buildings, like Säynätsalo Town Hall, designed by Aalto are located outside the city centre in Säynätsalo and Muuratsalo. Consolidated areas Korpilahti, Jyväskylän maalaiskunta, Säynätsalo and also western parts of Jyväskylä are mainly countryside dominated by hilly forests and lakes. Schauman Mansion, a historic red-brick castle-like building, adds to Jyväskylä’s architectural heritage. Originally built in the early 20th century as the headquarters for the Schauman plywood factory, it now serves as a landmark of the city’s industrial past. Located near Lutakko, the building stands in contrast to Jyväskylä’s modern skyline, reflecting the city’s blend of old and new architecture.

Transport

Jyväskylä railway station is served by VR direct trains to

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 ...

Vaasa Vaasa (; , ), formerly (1855-1917) known as Nikolaistad (; ),Jyväskylä Airport is situated in

, about north of Jyväskylä. It has regular direct flights to

Helsinki Airport Helsinki-Vantaa Airport (, ) , or simply Helsinki Airport, is the main international airport serving Helsinki, the capital of Finland, as well as its surrounding Helsinki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the Uusimaa region in Finland. ...

. The airport serves also as a military and charter airport. The city is on crossroads of many main roads of Finland. Highway 4 ( E75) passes the city from south to north, and Highway 9 ( E63) from southeast to northwest. Highway 23 between

Pori Pori (; ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Satakunta. It is located on the west coast of the country, on the Gulf of Bothnia. The population of Pori is approximately , while the Pori sub-region, sub-region has a population of a ...

and

Joensuu Joensuu (; ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Karelia. It is located in the eastern interior of the country and in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Joensuu is approximately , while the sub-region has a population ...

also runs through Jyväskylä. Jyväskylä harbour is home to many passenger ships operating on lake Päijänne. During summer time, there are direct ship connections to

, Jämsä, Suolahti, Viitasaari, and some other cities. The public transportation system of Jyväskylä is managed by the city under the Linkki brand and operated under contract to the city by various operators. It is based on bus lines.

Education

Jyväskylä is a traditional centre of education. Including school children, and the students in high schools, vocational schools, the university of applied sciences, and the universities, the number of students and pupils in the city reaches 45,000, boosting Jyväskylä's reputation as a "student city". Over 30% of the city population are students. A number of firsts in Finnish education have taken place in Jyväskylä: * Jyväskylä Lyceum (Finnish: ''Jyväskylän Lyseon lukio'') is the world's first junior secondary school with Finnish as the language of instruction. It started its first term on 1 October 1858 and turned 160 years old in 2018. Lyceum still exists and is one of the three upper secondary schools in the city. * The first Finnish-medium teacher training college (1863) * The first Finnish-medium school for girls (1864) * Finland's first Summer University (1912) Due to this, among other things, the city has earned the nickname ''Athens of Finland''. The teacher training college later evolved into the College of Education (1934) and further into the multidisciplinary

(1966). The

is one of the most popular universities in Finland. Almost 16,000 students are enrolled to study for a bachelor's or master's degree, and the university also offers PhD programs in most of its subjects. Historically, the university has excelled in the study of education, but in the last few decades it has also gained respect in the sciences. It is the only university in Finland offering university-level education in sports, training sports teachers and coaches. Today the university offers also Cyber Security degrees, in close co-operation with the

Finnish Defence Forces The Finnish Defence Forces (FDF) (; ) are the military of Finland. The Finnish Defence Forces consist of the Finnish Army, the Finnish Navy, and the Finnish Air Force. In wartime, the Finnish Border Guard becomes part of the Finnish Defence For ...

. According to the

Ministry of Employment and the Economy The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment (TEM, , ) is one of the ministries of the Finnish Government. The ministry implements industry, labor, and local development policies. There are two ministerial portfolios located within the minis ...

the city has been acknowledged in 2013 as the Cyber Security City, providing a portfolio of Cyber Security related studies and activities. JAMK University of Applied Sciences has 8.000 students. It has four different units: School of Business and Services Management, School of Health and Social Studies, School of Technology and Teacher Education College. HUMAK University of Applied Sciences educates cultural management in Jyväskylä.

Notable people

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities — Friendship cities

Jyväskylä is a member city of Eurotowns network and is twinned with:

Notes

References

External links

*
City of Jyväskylä
– International version of the official website
Map of JyväskyläRegion of Jyväskylä Tourist Information
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jyvaskyla Grand Duchy of Finland Populated lakeshore places in Finland Inland port cities and towns in Finland Rally Finland Municipalities of Central Finland Populated places established in 1837 1837 establishments in Finland