Alajärvi is a

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

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 ( 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 Bo ...

. It is located in the South Ostrobothnia

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 town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 geographical ...

is . The town is unilingually Finnish; there are few immigrants. The municipality of Lehtimäki was consolidated with Alajärvi on 1 January 2009.

Geography

The neighboring municipalities of Alajärvi are Alavus, Kuortane, Kyyjärvi, Lappajärvi,

Lapua Lapua (; sv, Lappo) is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located next to the Lapua River in the region of South Ostrobothnia. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The mun ...

, Perho, Soini, Vimpeli and

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 ...

Villages

In 1967, Alajärvi had eight legally recognized villages ''(henkikirjakylät)'': * Alajärvi * Kurejoki * Menkijärvi * Möksy * Savonkylä * Tarvolankylä * Päällysaho * Vimpeli

Demographics

In 2020, 17.4% of the population of Alajärvi was under the age of 15, 54.3% were aged 15 to 64, and 28.3% were over the age of 64. The average age was 46.1, above the national average of 43.4 and regional average of 44.7. Speakers of Finnish made up 96.8% of the population and speakers of

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

made up 0.1%, while the share of speakers of foreign languages was 3.0%. Foreign nationals made up 2.8% of the total population. The chart below, describing the development of the total population of Alajärvi from 1975-2020, encompasses the municipality's area as of 2021.

Urban areas

In 2019, out of the total population of 9,562, 5,846 people lived in

urban areas An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities, ...

and 3,641 in sparsely populated areas, while the coordinates of 75 people were unknown. This made Alajärvi's degree of urbanization 61.6%. The urban population in the municipality was divided between three urban areas as follows:

Economy

In 2018, 11.2% of the workforce of Alajärvi worked in primary production (

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peop ...

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...

and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques ...

), 29.9% in secondary production (e.g.

manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a ...

construction Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and ...

and infrastructure), and 57.1% in services. In 2019, the unemployment rate was 9.3%, and the share of pensioners in the population was 33.0%. (2018 and 2019) Though a small town, Alajärvi has a few shops, namely Supermarket, Tokmanni,

Lidl Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG (; ) is a German international discount retailer chain that operates over 11,000 stores across Europe and the United States. Headquartered in Neckarsulm, Baden-Württemberg, the company belongs to the Schwarz Group, w ...

and a few others. In 2013 a public natatorium was opened, which also includes a weight room.

Culture

The

Alajärvi church Alajärvi church, also known as the Church of Gabriel ( Finnish: ''Gabrielin kirkko''), is the main Lutheran church in the city of Alajärvi, Finland. Architecture The church was designed by the leading architect operating in Finland at the ti ...

was designed by

Carl Ludvig Engel Carl Ludvig Engel, or Johann Carl Ludwig Engel (3 July 1778 – 14 May 1840), was a German architect whose most noted work can be found in Helsinki, which he helped rebuild. His works include most of the buildings around the capital's monumental ...

, and completed in 1836. The

administrative centre 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 is located. In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, L ...

and

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vi ...

buildings are based on designs by

Alvar Aalto Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto (; 3 February 1898 – 11 May 1976) was a Finnish architect and designer. His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles and glassware, as well as sculptures and paintings. He never regarded himself as an artist, s ...

. The town is home to the Nelimarkka Museum. The museum was built by the painter Eero Nelimarkka. It was designed by his friend, the architect Hilding Ekelund.

Notable people

Reijo Hongisto Reijo Henrik Hongisto (born 16 April 1962 in Alajärvi) is a Finnish policeman and politician. He is a member of the Parliament of Finland since 2011, representing the Finns Party 2011–2017. On 13 June 2017, Hongisto and 19 others left the Finn ...

Martti Korkia-Aho Martti Einar Korkia-Aho (12 September 1930, Alajärvi – 19 January 2012) was a Finnish businessman and politician. He was a member of the Parliament of Finland The Parliament of Finland ( ; ) is the unicameral and supreme legislature of ...

Matti Luoma-aho Matti Luoma-aho (26 December 1885 - 27 December 1943) was a Finnish farmer and politician, born in Alajärvi. He was a member of the Parliament of Finland The Parliament of Finland ( ; ) is the unicameral and supreme legislature of Finla ...

Eino Ojajärvi Eino Ojajärvi (22 November 1911, Alajärvi - 14 April 1992) was a Finnish Lutheran clergyman and politician. He was a member of the Parliament of Finland The Parliament of Finland ( ; ) is the unicameral and supreme legislature of Finl ...

* Verner Thomé *

Reijo Vähälä Reijo Untamo Vähälä (born 7 March 1946) is a Finnish former high jumper. He placed second in men's high jump at the 1969 European Athletics Championships. Career In 1966 Vähälä won both the Finnish championship (2.04 m) and the Finnis ...

*Eero Nelimarkka

Gallery

File:The sun in Alajärvi, Finland.jpg, alt=The sun in Alajärvi, Finland., The sun in Alajärvi, Finland. File:Lake Alajärvi 2017.jpg, alt=Lake Alajärvi, 2017, Lake Alajärvi, 2017 File:Alajärvi municipal border sign.jpg, alt=Alajärvi municipal border sign, Alajärvi municipal border sign File:Alajarvi plains.jpg, alt=Alajärvi plains, Alajärvi plains File:Field in Alajärvi 2014.JPG, alt=field in Alajärvi, 2014, field in Alajärvi, 2014 File:ABC Alajärvi 2015.JPG, alt=Market in Alajärvi, Market in Alajärvi

References

External links

*
Town of Alajärvi
– Official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Alajarvi Cities and towns in Finland Populated places established in 1869 1869 establishments in the Russian Empire