Alajärvi (; ) 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, ...

. It is located in the

South Ostrobothnia South Ostrobothnia ( ; ) is one of the 19 regions of Finland. It borders the regions of Ostrobothnia, Central Ostrobothnia, Central Finland, Pirkanmaa, and Satakunta. Among the Finnish regions, South Ostrobothnia is the ninth largest in terms ...

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 town has a population of () and covers an area of of which 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 . The town is unilingually Finnish. The municipality of Lehtimäki was consolidated with Alajärvi on 1 January 2009.

Geography

The neighboring municipalities of Alajärvi are

Alavus Alavus () is a town and municipality of Finland in the province of Western Finland. Part of the Southern Ostrobothnia region, it is located southeast of Seinäjoki, north of Tampere and north of Helsinki. The town has a population of () and co ...

Kuortane Kuortane is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the South Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The neighboring municipalities of Kuortane are ...

Kyyjärvi Kyyjärvi (; ) 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 is . The municip ...

Lappajärvi Lappajärvi is a municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland's Southern Ostrobothnia region. It is located from Seinäjoki, from Kokkola and from Vaasa. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which , or near ...

Lapua Lapua (; ) is a List of cities and towns in Finland, town and municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland's South Ostrobothnia regions of Finland, region. It is located next to the Lapua River. The town has a population of () and cov ...

Perho Perho is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the provinces of Finland, province of Western Finland and is part of the Central Ostrobothnia regions of Finland, region. The distance between Perho and the regional c ...

, Soini,

Vimpeli Vimpeli (; ) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the South Ostrobothnia region, northeast of Seinäjoki and northwest of Jyväskylä. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population de ...

and

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 ...

Villages

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

Economy

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

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

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

and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

), 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 the secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer ...

construction Construction are processes involved in delivering buildings, infrastructure, industrial facilities, and associated activities through to the end of their life. It typically starts with planning, financing, and design that continues until the a ...

and

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and pri ...

), and 57.1% in

services Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a ...

. 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 K-Supermarket,

Tokmanni Tokmanni Group Oyj is a Finnish retail chain, which is also the largest discount store chain in Finland in terms of net sales in 2019. Tokmanni is Finland's only nationwide discount store chain, and at the end of 2019 it had almost 200 stores arou ...

Lidl Lidl ( ) is a trademark, used by two Germany, German international discount supermarket, discount retailer chain store, chains that operates over 12,600 stores. The ''LD Stiftung'' operates the stores in Germany and the ''Lidl Stiftung & Co. K ...

and a few others. In 2013 a public

natatorium A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable swimming and associated activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built above ground (as a ...

was opened, which also includes a weight room.

Urban areas

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

urban areas An urban area is a human settlement with a high population density and an infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas originate through urbanization, and researchers categorize them as cities, towns, conurbations or suburbs. In urbani ...

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 among three urban areas as follows:

Climate

Alajärvi has a

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of ...

(''Dfc'').

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 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 to 2020, encompasses the municipality's area as of 2021.

Culture

The Alajärvi Church, also known as the Church of Gabriel, 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 ce ...

and completed in 1836. There are several buildings in the town and surrounding area designed by architect

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, see ...

, both from the very early and later stages of his career: the Youth Association building (1919), Myllykangas farmhouse alterations (1920), Villa Väinölä (1926), Villa Flora ( Aino Aalto, 1926), Municipal Hospital (1928), Grave memorials in the Church of Gabriel cemetery (1918, 1940, 1944), and the

Administrative Centre An administrative centre 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 the administrative language, such as Belgi ...

(1965-1970) and

Library A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

(design 1966, built 1991). 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 Georg Hilding Ekelund (18 November 1893 in Kangasniemi – 30 January 1984 in Helsinki) was a Finland, Finnish architect, from 1950 to 1958 a professor of housing design at Helsinki University of Technology and from 1931 to 1934 editor-in-chief of ...

. The men's

pesäpallo Pesäpallo (; ; , colloquially known in Finnish as pesis and also referred to as Finnish baseball) is a fast-moving bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport that is often referred to as the national sport of Finland and has some presence in other ...

club Alajärven Ankkurit competes in the

Superpesis The Superpesis is the highest level of the Finnish pesäpallo league system. Contested by 13 clubs in men's league and 12 clubs in women's league, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Ykköspesis. Seasons usually run from ...

national league, playing at Kitro Stadium.

Notable people

* Reijo Hongisto * Martti Korkia-Aho * Matti Luoma-aho * Eero Nelimarkka * Eino Ojajärvi * Verner Thomé *

Reijo Vähälä Reijo Untamo Vähälä (7 March 1946 – 27 September 2024) was a Finnish high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its ...

Also,

spent summers in Alajärvi in his youth and even lived there until his marriage in 1925.

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, Supermarket 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 Finland