Saarijärvi () is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

and

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' ...

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, ...

located in the

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 ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

. The municipality has a population of , as of , and covers an area of of which , or 12%, is water. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), 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 geog ...

is . Neighbouring municipalities are

Kannonkoski Kannonkoski is a Finnish municipality located in the Central Finland region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which , or 19%, is water. The population density is . Neighbouring municipalities are Karstula, Kivi ...

, Karstula,

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 , or 11.5%, is water. The population density is . The municipality is unilingually Finni ...

, Soini,

Uurainen 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 , or roughly 6.5%, is water. The population density is . Neighbouring municipali ...

Ähtäri Ähtäri () 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 Seinäjoki ...

and

Äänekoski Äänekoski () is a town in Finland, located in the Central Finland regions of Finland, region, about north of Jyväskylä, the region's capital city. Äänekoski has a population of , as of , and covers an area of of which , or 22%, is water. ...

. The municipality is unilingually Finnish. 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 merged with the Saarijärvi municipality on 1 January 2009. There are 241 lakes in Saarijärvi altogether. The 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–H ...

, Summanen and Lake Saarijärvi. Saarijärvi is the home of the peasant ''Bonden Paavo'' (), who persists through hardship and adversity, in the poem by

Johan Ludvig Runeberg Johan Ludvig Runeberg (; 5 February 1804 – 6 May 1877) was a Finnish priest, lyric and epic poet. He wrote exclusively in Swedish. He is considered a national poet of Finland. He is the author of the lyrics to (''Our Land'', in Finnish) whi ...

. Juho Hyytiäinen, the great grandfather of

Pamela Anderson Pamela Denise Anderson (born July 1, 1967) is a Canadian-American actress, model and media personality. She rose to prominence after being selected as the February 1990 ''Playboy'' Playmate of the Month. She went on to make regular appearan ...

, 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 municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the Northern Savonia regions of Finland, region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is ...

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

Laukaa Laukaa (; ) is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located next to Jyväskylä and is part of the Central Finland regions of Finland, region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water ...

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

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 Finnish town and municipality located in the Central Finland region. It is located between the neighbouring municipalities of Pihtipudas to the north and Äänekoski to the south. The town has a population of () and covers an are ...

) 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 () is a urban areas of Sweden, locality and the seat of Kungsbacka Municipality in Halland County, Sweden, with 19,057 inhabitants in 2010. It is a part of Greater Gothenburg Metropolitan Area. It is one of the most affluent parts of Sw ...

, Sweden * Trittau (Amt), Germany

Transport

Saarijärvi is served by

OnniBus.com OnniBus.com is a Finnish express coach operator. It commenced operating in 2011. History In 2011, OnniBus was founded by Pekka Möttö, Lauri Helke, Petteri Rantala and Pertti Möttö. In May 2014, Brian Souter's Highland Global Transport ...

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 (1921 – 1999) * Toivo Hyytiäinen (1925 – 1978) * Kain Tapper (1930 – 2004) * Jarkko Nikara (born 1986) * Jussi Karvinen (born 1984)

References

External links