Rautjärvi () 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

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

Southern Finland Southern Finland ( fi, Etelä-Suomen lääni, sv, Södra Finlands län) was a province of Finland from 1997 to 2009. It bordered the provinces of Western Finland and Eastern Finland. It also bordered the Gulf of Finland and Russia. History O ...

and is part of the

South Karelia South Karelia ( fi, Etelä-Karjala; sv, Södra Karelen) is a Regions of Finland, region of Finland. It borders the regions of Kymenlaakso, Southern Savonia, South Savo and North Karelia, as well as Russia (Republic of Karelia and Leningrad Obla ...

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

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 . More than half of Rautjärvi's residents live in

Simpele Simpele is a Urban areas in Finland, built-up area and a List of former municipalities of Finland, former municipality of Finland in the South Karelia region, originally in the Viipuri Province and after the Second World War, the Kymi Province. It ...

, the

administrative center An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or ...

of municipality. The neighboring municipalities of Rautjärvi are

Parikkala Parikkala () is a municipality of Finland located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the South Karelia region, from Lappeenranta and from Joensuu. The town center of Parikkala is about from the Russian border. The municipality ...

and

Ruokolahti Ruokolahti (; sv, Ruokolax; literally translated the "Reed Bay") is a municipality of Finland, situated in south-eastern Finland, in the region of South Karelia. Neighbouring municipalities are Imatra, Lappeenranta, Taipalsaari, Puumala, Sulkava, ...

, while to the east is the Russian border. 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 ...

. Rautjärvi is mostly well-known as the birthplace of legendary

sniper A sniper is a military/paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with high-precision r ...

Simo Häyhä Simo Häyhä (; 17December 1905 1April 2002), often referred to by his nickname, The White Death ( fi, Valkoinen kuolema; russian: Белая смерть, Belaya smert’), was a Finnish military sniper in World War II during the 1939–1940 Wi ...

, a hero of the

Winter War The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

History

The municipality of Rautjärvi was founded in the year of 1861. A few years prior in 1859, the Rautjärvi parish had founded an independent church. After the Winter War ended with the signing of the

Moscow Peace Treaty The Moscow Peace Treaty was signed by Finland and the Soviet Union on 12 March 1940, and the ratifications were exchanged on 21 March. It marked the end of the 105-day Winter War, upon which Finland ceded border areas to the Soviet Union. The ...

on March 12, 1940, almost half of Rautjärvi (198.9 km²) was handed over to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

in accordance with the treaty.

Villages

The villages of Rautjärvi are inclusive of: Haakanala, Hallilanmäki, Hiivaniemi, Hinkkala, Hynnilä, Ilmee, Jurvala, Kalpiala, Kekäleniemi, Kokkola, Kopsala, Korjola, Korpijärvi, Lankila, Latvajärvi, Miettilä, Niskapietilä, Partila, Pirhola, Purnujärvi, Rautjärvi, Siisiälä, Simpele, Torsansalo, Uimola, Untamo, Viimola, Vähikkälä

Noteworthy attractions

* Hiitolanjoki, a river that descends from

Lake Ladoga Lake Ladoga (; rus, Ла́дожское о́зеро, r=Ladozhskoye ozero, p=ˈladəʂskəjə ˈozʲɪrə or rus, Ла́дога, r=Ladoga, p=ˈladəɡə, fi, Laatokka arlier in Finnish ''Nevajärvi'' ; vep, Ladog, Ladoganjärv) is a fresh ...

* Haukkavuori, the highest place in South Karelia * Iivanansaari, an island which also serves as the burial place of Jussi Reinikainen * Pirunkirkko, several rock and stone formations * Laiko * Miettilä Historical Reserve Garrison, historic barracks which were constructed in the years of 1881–1883. * Rautjärvi local history exhibition * Kollaa Museum, a museum which documents the

Battle of Kollaa The Battle of Kollaa was fought from December 7, 1939, to March 13, 1940, in Ladoga's Karelia, Finland, as a part of the Soviet-Finnish Winter War. Description and outcome Despite having far fewer troops than the Soviets, the Finnish forces ...

* Niskapietiläntie, a road connecting the villages of Rautjärvi and Miettilä * Rautjärvi church, completed in the year of 1881 * Simpele church, completed in the year of 1933

Notable individuals

* Hannes Pulkkinen, elementary school teacher and a Member of the

Parliament of Finland The Parliament of Finland ( ; ) is the unicameral and supreme legislature of Finland, founded on 9 May 1906. In accordance with the Constitution of Finland, sovereignty belongs to the people, and that power is vested in the Parliament. The ...

Jesse Joronen Jesse Pekka Joronen (born 21 March 1993) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Venezia. He made his senior debut for Finland in 2013. Club career Fulham Born and raised in the small town of Simpele, Rautjärv ...

, professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

for

Serie B The Serie B (), currently named Serie Balkrishna Industries, BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 ...

club

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo. ...

. * Johannes Häyhä, teacher and writer * Jorma Kosunen, Finnish Border Guard colonel and former Frontier school (later the Border and Coast Guard Academy) leader * Jouni Vento, ice hockey player * Karl Henrik Jakob Ignatius, priest and writer *

Lauri Vilkko Lauri Tapani Vilkko (13 August 1925 – 13 October 2017) was a Finnish modern pentathlete who competed in the 1948 Summer Olympics and in the 1952 Summer Olympics. He won a bronze medal in the team event in 1952. He was a military officer who ret ...

, Olympic pentathlete *

Lea Piltti Lea Piltti (1 February 1904 – 5 February 1982) was a Finnish opera singer and voice pedagog, one of the leading coloratura sopranos of the 1930s and 40s, and one of Finland's most successful singers on the international stage. Early life and ...

, opera singer * Martti Siisiäinen, professor and researcher * Matti Mononen, pole vaulter * Olli Pajari, Member of the

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

, notable hero of the

. * Yrjö Roiha, missionary

References

External links

Municipality of Rautjärvi
– Official website Populated places established in 1871 1871 establishments in Finland {{SouthernFinland-geo-stub