Mäntyharju (, literally 'Pine Ridge') is a

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

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. It is located in the

Southern Savonia South Savo (or Southern Savonia; fi, Etelä-Savo; sv, Södra Savolax) is a region in the south-east of Finland. It borders the regions of North Savo, North Karelia, South Karelia, Kymenlaakso, Päijät-Häme, and Central Finland. The total are ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The coastline is almost . The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

is 6.2 inhabitants per km². Neighbouring municipalities:

Heinola Heinola () is a town and a municipality of inhabitants () located in the eastern part of the Päijänne Tavastia region, Finland, near the borders of the South Savonia region and the Kymenlaakso region. It is the third largest municipality in ...

Hirvensalmi Hirvensalmi is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Southern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbour municipalities: Joutsa, Kangasniem ...

Kouvola Kouvola () is a cities of Finland, city and Municipalities of Finland, municipality in southeastern Finland. It is located along the Kymijoki, Kymijoki River in the Regions of Finland, region of Kymenlaakso, kilometers east of Lahti, west of Lapp ...

Mikkeli Mikkeli (; sv, S:t Michel; la, Michaelia) is a town and municipality in Finland. It is located in what used to be the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Etelä-Savo region. The municipality has a population of () (around 34,000 i ...

Pertunmaa Pertunmaa () is a municipality of Finland located in the Southern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbour municipalities are Hartola, Heinola, Hirv ...

and

Savitaipale Savitaipale (; literally translated the "clay passage") is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the South Karelia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The ...

. The summer houses or

cottages A cottage, during Feudalism in England, England's feudal period, was the holding by a cottager (known as a Cotter (farmer), cotter or ''bordar'') of a small house with enough garden to feed a family and in return for the cottage, the cottager ...

located in the countryside are part of the

culture of Finland The culture of Finland combines indigenous heritage, as represented for example by the country's national languages Finnish (a Uralic language) and Swedish (a Germanic language), the sauna, with common Nordic and European cultural aspects. Be ...

where most Finnish families spend their summer holidays. Mäntyharju is the municipality which has the fifth most summer houses in Finland.Statistics Finland
/ref> Some of the reasons for Mäntyharju's popularity involve its many pure

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

s and a relatively short distance to the Finnish capital

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

of approximately 200 kilometres by car. The municipality also has a direct, high-speed train connection to the capital area. Because of the many summer houses, the population of Mäntyharju more than triples during the most popular summer holiday times. Art Centre Salmela in Mäntyharju hosts one of Finland's largest cultural events in July–August. The municipality is unilingually

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

Notable people

Antti Häkkänen Antti Edvard Häkkänen (born 16 January 1985 in Mäntyharju, Finland) is a Finnish politician, representing the National Coalition Party. He has served as a Member of Parliament since 2015. From 2017 to 2019, Häkkänen served as Minister of Just ...

(b. 1985), former Minister of Justice of Finland 2017-2019 *

Antti Jaatinen Antti Jaatinen (born 24 September 1987) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing for Jukurit of the Finnish Liiga The SM-liiga (marketed as just Liiga from 2013 on), (Finnish for ''League'') colloquially called the Fi ...

(b. 1987), ice hockey player *

Sami Savio Sami Juhani Savio (born 23 September 1975 in Mäntyharju) is a Finnish politician currently serving in the Parliament of Finland for the Finns Party at the Pirkanmaa Pirkanmaa (; sv, Birkaland; la, Birkaria, link=no), also known as ''Tamper ...

- (b. 1975) Politician *

Edward Vesala Edward Vesala (15 February 1945 – 4 December 1999), born Martti Vesala, was a Finnish avant-garde jazz drummer. Career Born in Mäntyharju, he began playing jazz and rock in the 1960s, in such bands as Blues Section and Apollo. In the 1970 ...

(1945–1999), Finnish avant-garde jazz composer, bandleader and drummer.

References

External links

Municipality of Mäntyharju
– Official site {{DEFAULTSORT:Mantyharju Populated places established in 1595