Pihlajavesi (historically also known as Pihlainen) is a town and a former

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 ...

, which in 1969 was merged into the municipality 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 ...

, located in the

Central Finland Central Finland ( fi, Keski-Suomi; sv, Mellersta 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, No ...

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 ...

Geography

Pihlajavesi borders

Ähtäri Ähtäri ( sv, Etseri) is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the South Ostrobothnia region. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Ähtäri is located southeast of ...

Vilppula Vilppula was a former municipality of Finland. Neighbouring Mänttä was merged into it on 1 January 2009 to form the municipality of Mänttä-Vilppula. The municipality was unilingually Finnish. It was located in the province of Western Finlan ...

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 () and c ...

and

Pohjaslahti Pohjaslahti is a village and former municipality of Finland at the time of its existence in the Häme Province, now in the Pirkanmaa region. It was divided between Vilppula and Virrat in 1973. Pohjaslahti was the last rural municipality to be ...

, and before the municipality merger also bordered Keuruu. At the time of the merger, the population of Pihlajavesi was over 1,700 people, but this has since then decreased to under 500, although in the summer months the number increases significantly due to holiday-makers and owners of summer residences. The eponymous Lake Pihlajavesi is located within the municipality, and connects via Lake

Tarjanne Tarjanne (also Tarjannevesi) is a medium-sized lake in Finland. It is situated in the municipalities of Ruovesi, Virrat and Mänttä-Vilppula in the Pirkanmaa region in western Finland. The lake is part of the Kokemäenjoki basin. The main inflow ...

to the

Kokemäenjoki The Kokemäenjoki ("Kokemäki River", sv, Kumo älv) is a river in southwestern Finland. Geography The river originates at Lake Liekovesi in the Pirkanmaa region, and flows to the Gulf of Bothnia at Pori in the Satakunta region. Primary tribu ...

basin, which drains into the

Bothnian Sea The Bothnian Sea ( sv, Bottenhavet; fi, Selkämeri) links the Bothnian Bay (also called the Bay of Bothnia) with the Baltic proper. Kvarken is situated between the two. Together, the Bothnian Sea and Bay make up a larger geographical entity, t ...

History

Pihlajavesi has existed at least since the early 17th century. Its name is derived from the nearby lake's name, which literally means "rowan water". The rowan (''pihlaja'') is an uncommon tree in the area, which is most likely why this name was chosen for the lake. The settlement was initially a part of the

Ruovesi Ruovesi is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Pirkanmaa region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbouring municipalities are Juupajoki, Mänttä-Vilpp ...

parish until

was separated from it in the 1630s. Under Keuruu, Pihlajavesi gained chapel rights in 1831. It became a separate parish and municipality in 1910, remaining separate until 1969.

Amenities

There are two

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

churches in Pihlajavesi. The old church, designed by

Matti Åkerblom Matti Åkerblom ( Pärnä; 18 July 1740, Eräjärvi — 10 June 1819, Orivesi) was a notable Finnish church designer and builder of the late 18th century, who also held the office of the regional master builder of the Province of Tavastia. Å ...

and built in the early 1780s, is located in the forest outside the main populated areas, and is often referred to as the ''Erämaakirkko'' ( 'Wilderness church'). It has been designated and protected by the

Finnish Heritage Agency The Finnish Heritage Agency ( fi, Museovirasto, sv, Museiverket), previously known in English as the National Board of Antiquities, preserves Finland's material cultural heritage: collects, studies and distributes knowledge of it. The agency is a ...

as a nationally important built cultural environment (''Valtakunnallisesti merkittävä rakennettu kulttuuriympäristö''). The new church, designed by

Ernst Lohrmann Ernst Bernhard Lohrmann (30 June 1803 — 17 June 1870) was a German-Finnish architect born and educated in Germany but practising mainly in the Grand Duchy of Finland, where he is known especially as a designer of public buildings and more tha ...

and built in 1869–1871, is nowadays the main operational church of the parish. There is a primary school in Pihlajavesi, but for secondary education pupils to travel to the centre of Keuruu. For passenger traffic, Pihlajavesi is served by the Pihlajavesi station on the

Haapamäki–Seinäjoki railway The Haapamäki–Seinäjoki railway is a railway running between the Haapamäki railway station and the Seinäjoki railway station in Finland. It is part of the historical Tampere–Vaasa railway; its other segments as known today include Tampere� ...

line.

Notable people

Notable people originating from Pihlajavesi include: *

Anton Collin Anton Johannes Collin (12 October 1891 – 31 May 1973) was a Finnish cross country skier and road cyclist. He won the 50 km event at the 1922 Holmenkollen ski festival, becoming the first non-Norwegian to win at Holmenkollen. At the 1924 W ...

, cross-country skier * Väinö Kallio, member of parliament *, member of parliament * A. V. Koskimies, linguist and writer *

Heikki Nurmio Heikki Nurmio (1887-1947) was a Finnish jäger and writer. He is remembered for writing the lyrics for "Jääkärien marssi" (''Jäger March'') composed by Jean Sibelius in 1917. Heikki Nurmio joined the 27th Jäger Battalion in 1916 in German ...

, soldier and writer * Matti Raivio, cross-country skier

References

{{Portal, Finland Populated places in Finland Keuruu