Sysmä () 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 situated in the

Päijät-Häme Päijät-Häme () is a region in Southern Finland south of the lake Päijänne. It borders the regions of Uusimaa, Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme), Pirkanmaa, Central Finland, South Savo and Kymenlaakso. The biggest city in the region is Laht ...

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

Asikkala Asikkala () is a municipality of Finland. Its seat is in Vääksy, at the shores of the Lake Päijänne. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Päijänne Tavastia region. Asikkala's neighboring municipalities are H ...

, Hartola,

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 ...

Kuhmoinen Kuhmoinen ( sv, Kuhmois) is a municipality of Finland, in Pirkanmaa region, but until 2021, it was part of the Central Finland region. The municipality is home to inhabitants. Neighbour municipalities are Jämsä, Kangasala, Luhanka, Orivesi, ...

Luhanka Luhanka ( sv, Luhanka, also ) 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. In relation to its population Luhanka is not just the small ...

, and

Padasjoki Padasjoki () is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Päijänne Tavastia region. It is from Padasjoki to Lahti and to Heinola. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area ...

. 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 ...

Itä-Häme Itä-Häme () is the eastern part of the historical province Tavastia in Finland. It is in Päijänne Tavastia, Southern Savonia and Central Finland. Leivonmäki National Park is in Itä-Häme. Itä-Häme is also known by manufacturing of s ...

newspaper is established in Sysmä. According to historians, the word ''sysmä'' means either a "dark forest" or an "uninhabited wilderness." Sysmä is also a lake in

Joroinen Joroinen is a municipality in the North Savo region of Finland. It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Northern Savonia sub-region. The municipality has a population of approximately 4,626 people and covers an area of ...

and another lake in

Ilomantsi Ilomantsi ( krl, Il'manči or Ilomančči, sv, Ilomants) is municipality and a village of Finland. It is located in the North Karelia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population densi ...

History

The first settlers in the area came from

Sääksmäki Sääksmäki is a village and a former municipality, currently part of Valkeakoski in the Pirkanmaa region of Western Finland. A past president of Finland, Pehr Evind Svinhufvud, the Finnish film producer and director Veikko Aaltonen, eminent Fin ...

, as evidenced by village names such as Voipala in Sysmä, which is named after Voipaala in Sääksmäki. Rapala may also be named after Rapola. Sysmä was first mentioned in 1442, when it was already a separate parish.

Jämsä Jämsä () is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the Central Finland region, about southwest of Jyväskylä. The municipality has a population of (), which make it the second largest town of the Central Finland after Jyväsk ...

was separated from it on the same year. Sysmä was a large parish, though most of its northern lands lacked a permanent population. The northern parts were eventually settled by

Savonians Savonians ( fi, Savolaiset, Savonian: ''Savolaaset'', ''Savolaeset'') are a subgroup ( ''heimo'') of the Finnish people who live in the areas of the historical province of Savonia. History Savonians are descendants of Tavastian and Kareli ...

and in 1561, the area became 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 which included most of modern

Central Finland Central Finland ( fi, Keski-Suomi; sv, Mellersta Finland) is a region ( / ) in Finland. It borders the regions of Päijät-Häme, Pirkanmaa, South Ostrobothnia, Central Ostrobothnia, North Ostrobothnia, North Savo, and South Savo. The city o ...

north of the Päijänne; from

Toivakka Toivakka is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Central Finland region, near Jyväskylä. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality is unilingually ...

Pihtipudas Pihtipudas is a municipality of Finland. It is located in northern Central Finland along the highway 4 ( E75), about north of Jyväskylä. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. There are all together ...

. The original dialect spoken in Sysmä was a Tavastian dialect. It was replaced by a Savonian dialect soon after Ivar Tawast killed 400 peasants from Sysmä, Jämsä and

during the

Cudgel War The Cudgel War (also Club War, fi, Nuijasota, links=no, sv, Klubbekriget, links=no) was a 1596–1597 peasant uprising in Finland, which was then part of the Kingdom of Sweden. The name of the uprising derives from the fact that the peasants ar ...

. Many farms in Sysmä were left without owners, so they were taken by Savonian settlers. Sysmä was also occasionally known in documents as ''Sysmäki'' due to association with the word ''mäki'' (hill), compare

Kärsämäki Kärsämäki (; literally meaning " snout hill") is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Oulu and is part of the Northern Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is wat ...

which used to be ''Kärsämä''. Hartola was a part of Sysmä until 1784. At the time, the Hartola parish also included

Joutsa Joutsa is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Central Finland region. Jyväskylä is located about north of the Joutsa municipality. The municipality has a population of () and covers an ...

Leivonmäki Leivonmäki is a former municipality of Finland in the Central Finland region. It became a part of Joutsa in 2008. It is located south-east from Jyväskylä. It is known for its marshy grounds and its national park. The municipality was uni ...

and the western part of

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 ...

Population

Sysmä has suffered chronic, steady population decline over the last 50 years. It has many alternative homes, used principally as holiday homes.

Some villages

Joutsjärvi, Karilanmaa, Kinnarila, Koivisto, Liikola, Nikkaroinen, Nuoramoinen, Onkiniemi, Otamo, Rapala, Ravioskorpi, Taipale, Unaja, Valittula, and Vintturi.

Attractions

Many summer events are held in Sysmä during which the population could even triple seasonally. *One of the most popular events is called ''Sysmän suvisoitto''. *''Kammiovuori'' mountain where is 7 meters high

glacial erratic A glacial erratic is glacially deposited rock differing from the type of rock native to the area in which it rests. Erratics, which take their name from the Latin word ' ("to wander"), are carried by glacial ice, often over distances of hundre ...

''Sysmän Linta'' *Another glacial erratic in Sysmä is ''Onkiniemen liikkuva kivi''.''Maailman ja Suomen Suuratlas'', p. 315. WSOY, Instituto Geografico Agostini, Novara, Igda, 1985. ISBN 951-0-12598-9. (in Finnish)

Famous people

* Usko Kantola, actor * Pekka Streng, musician * Olavi Virta, singer * Lauri Rapala, founder of

Rapala Rapala ( ) is a manufacturer of fishing lures and other fishing related products. It was founded in Finland in 1936 by Lauri Rapala, who is credited for creating the world's first floating minnow lure carved from cork with a shoemaker's kni ...

Onni Schildt Wolmar Onni Schildt (3 July 1851 – 23 April 1913) was a Finnish politician. He was a member of the Senate of Finland and an agricultural extension practitioner. Schildt was born in Jyväskylä. His parents were District doctor Wolmar Styrb ...

, politician *

Ernst Tandefelt Knut Ernst Robert Tandefelt (10 March 1876 in Sysmä, Finland – 3 May 1948 in Sipoo, Finland) was a Swedish-speaking Finnish nobleman. The mentally unstable Tandefelt shot the Finnish Minister of Internal Affairs Heikki Ritavuori dead at Rit ...

, Swedo-Finnish nobleman and assassin

References

External links

Municipality of Sysmä
– Official website, ''finnish'', ''english'', and ''russian''
Sysmä’s Prehistory
Populated places established in the 1440s {{SouthernFinland-geo-stub