Saarijärvi () is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

and

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

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 ...

. 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 . Neighbouring municipalities are

Kannonkoski Kannonkoski 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 . Neighbouring municipalities are Karstula, Kivij� ...

Karstula Karstula is a municipality of Finland founded in 1867. 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 . Neighbouring municipalities are ...

Multia Multia 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. The munic ...

, Soini,

Uurainen Uurainen ( sv, Uurainen, also ) is a municipality of Finland. It 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 . Neighbouring municipalities a ...

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 ...

and

Äänekoski Äänekoski () is a town in Finland. It is located in the Central Finland region, about north of Jyväskylä. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbouring municipalities ...

. 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 ...

. The neighboring municipality of

Pylkönmäki Pylkönmäki is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated to Saarijärvi on 1 January 2009. It is located in the Central Finland region. The municipality had a population of 975 (2006) and covered an area of 392.61 km² of whic ...

was consolidated to Saarijärvi on 1 January 2009. There are all together 241 lakes in Saarijärvi. Biggest lakes are

Pyhäjärvi Pyhäjärvi (1993–1995 ''Pyhäsalmi'') is a town and municipality in the south of Northern Ostrobothnia region, Finland. Pyhäjärvi also borders the Northern Savonia and Central Finland regions. The town belongs to the subregion of Nivala–Ha ...

, Summanen and Lake Saarijärvi. Saarijärvi is the home of ''Bonden Paavo'' ( fi, Saarijärven Paavo) in the poem by Johan Ludvig Runeberg. Juho Hyytiäinen, the great grandfather of

Pamela Anderson Pamela Denise Anderson (born July 1, 1967) is a Canadian-American actress and model. She is best known for her glamour modeling work in ''Playboy'' magazine and for her appearances on the television series ''Baywatch'' (1992–1997). Anders ...

, left the village in 1908 emigrating to the American continent.

History

Saarijärvi has existed since the mid-16th century, when it was a part of the

Rautalampi Rautalampi is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Northern Savonia 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. Neigh ...

parish. Saarijärvi acquired its first church in 1628, which was also when the

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 ...

parish, including Saarijärvi, was separated from Rautalampi. Saarijärvi became a separate parish in 1639 as ''Palvasalmi''. At the time, the parish also included

Kyyjärvi Kyyjärvi (; lit. " adder lake") is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Central Finland region, about northwest of Jyväskylä. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density ...

and a part of

Konginkangas Konginkangas is a settlement and former municipality of Finland in the Central Finland region. It was consolidated with Äänekoski in 1993. The municipality bordered Äänekoski, Saarijärvi, Kannonkoski, Viitasaari, Vesanto, Konnevesi and ...

. The parish was renamed to ''Saarijärvi'' sometime after 1690. Karstula, including Kyyjärvi, was separated in 1887, Konginkangas in 1895 (partially from

Viitasaari Viitasaari is a List of cities and towns in Finland, town and municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the Central Finland regions of Finland, region. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is ...

) and Pylkönmäki in 1914. Saarijärvi became a town in 1986. Pylkönmäki rejoined Saarijärvi in 2009.

Twin towns - sister cities

Saarijärvi is twinned with: * Gran, Norway *

Kungsbacka Kungsbacka () (old da, Kongsbakke) is a locality and the seat of Kungsbacka Municipality in Halland County, Sweden, with 19,057 inhabitants in 2010. It is one of the most affluent parts of Sweden, in part due to its simultaneous proximity to the ...

, Sweden *

Trittau (Amt) Trittau is an ''Amt'' ("collective municipality") in the district of Stormarn, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The seat of the ''Amt'' is in Trittau. Municipalities The ''Amt'' Trittau consists of the following municipalities: Sister cities T ...

, Germany

Transport

Saarijärvi is served by OnniBus.com route Helsinki—Jyväskylä—Kokkola.

People born in Saarijärvi

* Matthias Calonius (1738 – 1817) * Samuli Häkkinen (1857 – 1918) * Otto Stenroth (1861 – 1939) * Adiel Paananen (1897 – 1968) *

Tarmo Manni Tarmo Manni (30 July 1921, in Saarijärvi – 24 September 1999, in Helsinki) was a Finnish actor. He worked for the Finnish National Theatre 41 years of his 44-year career and appeared in 65 films between 1944 and 2000. Manni was known as a fla ...

(1921 – 1999) *

Toivo Hyytiäinen Toivo Armas Hyytiäinen (12 November 1925 in Saarijärvi – 21 October 1978) was a Finnish athlete who competed mainly in the men's javelin throw during his career. He competed for Finland at the 1952 Summer Olympics held in Helsinki ...

(1925 – 1978) *

Kain Tapper Kain Tapper (6 June 1930, in Saarijärvi – 17 August 2004) was a Finnish sculptor. He created works that are "remote", evoking things contemplated from a distance. Even when small, his pieces loom like menhirs, their massiveness imposing an inhu ...

(1930 – 2004)

References

External links

Town of Saarijärvi
– Official website, ''finnish'', ''russian'', ''english'' and ''swedish'' Cities and towns in Finland Populated places established in 1866 1866 establishments in the Russian Empire {{WesternFinland-geo-stub