Lake Päijänne () is the second largest
lake
A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...
in
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, ...
(). The lake drains into the
Gulf of Finland
The Gulf of Finland (; ; ; ) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and Estonia to the south, to Saint Petersburg—the second largest city of Russia—to the east, where the river Neva drains into it. ...
via the
Kymi River. The major islands are from north to south
Vuoritsalo,
Muuratsalo,
Onkisalo,
Judinsalo,
Edessalo,
Taivassalo,
Haukkasalo,
Vehkasalo,
Mustassalo,
Virmailansaari and
Salonsaari. The largest island is Virmailansaari. The word ''saari'' means an island. ''Salo'' once meant a great island, nowadays it means a great forest area.
The largest city on the shores of Päijänne is
Jyväskylä
Jyväskylä () is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Central Finland. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Jyväskylä is approximately , while the Jyväskylä sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately ...
in the North. The city of
Lahti
Lahti (; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Päijät-Häme. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Lahti is approximately , while the Lahti sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately . It is the mo ...
is connected to Päijänne through Lake
Vesijärvi and Vääksy canal.
An underground
aqueduct,
Päijänne Water Tunnel, connects the lake to
Vantaa
Vantaa (; , ) is a city in Finland. It is located to the north of the capital, Helsinki, in southern Uusimaa. The population of Vantaa is approximately . It is the most populous municipality in Finland. Vantaa is part of the Helsinki Metropoli ...
, providing the
Greater Helsinki
Helsinki metropolitan area (, ) or Greater Helsinki (, ) is the metropolitan area around Helsinki, the capital city of Finland. It also includes the smaller Helsinki capital region, capital region. The terms Helsinki metropolitan area, Greater H ...
area with water. The deepest point in any lake in Finland is in Päijänne ().
The name of Lake Päijänne comes possibly from a
Pre-Finno-Ugric substrate language.
Transportation
Päijänne is a famous
boating
Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether powerboats, sailboats, or man-powered vessels (such as rowing and paddle boats), focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, suc ...
,
canoeing
Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. In some parts of Europe, canoeing refers to both canoeing and kayaking, with a canoe being called an 'open canoe' or Canadian.
A few of the recreational ...
and
sailing
Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, Windsurfing, windsurfer, or Kitesurfing, kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (Land sa ...
attraction. The long lake is connected by canals to
Lake Keitele, Lake
Vesijärvi and to Lake Ruotsalainen. Length of the open waterway for ships is . Construction of canals connecting Päijänne to the
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...
has been discussed for decades. Nevertheless, the plan is still to be materialized.
Until the 1940s Lake Päijänne was a major transportation channel 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 ...
. Numerous ships transported passengers and freight between the villages and cities on the shores of Päijänne. Nowadays, passenger transportation is rather a tourist attraction on the lakelands than the fastest way connecting the cities and villages. One of the most popular passenger transportation routes in summertime is between the cities of
Lahti
Lahti (; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Päijät-Häme. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Lahti is approximately , while the Lahti sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately . It is the mo ...
and
Jyväskylä
Jyväskylä () is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Central Finland. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Jyväskylä is approximately , while the Jyväskylä sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately ...
.
Tourism
There are 16,000 cottages on the shores of Päijänne. Most of the cottages are private owned and have a separate sauna cottage.
In addition to cottage tourism Päijänne attracts fishing, sailing, canoeing, rowing, paddling, trekking, ice-skating, snow mobile and nature tourists. The National Parks of Päijänne and Leivonmäki alone has tens of thousands of visitors every year.
The Clear and Drinkable Lake Päijänne South Association won a Tourism and Environment award presented by the European Union Commission in 1995.
National Parks
Päijänne National Park () is a national park in the southern parts of Lake Päijänne. It consists of 50 unbuilt islands and parts of inhabited islands. The national park has been established in 1993 and has an area of .
Leivonmäki National Park is situated few kilometres North East from the Northern part of Lake Päijänne. It is one of the youngest national parks in Finland.
Cities and towns upon Lake Päijänne
From North to South
*
Jyväskylä
Jyväskylä () is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Central Finland. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Jyväskylä is approximately , while the Jyväskylä sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately ...
(at )
*
Säynätsalo (at )
*
Muurame
Muurame is a Municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland, located south-west of Jyväskylä, the regional capital of Central Finland. Muurame itself is located between two lakes, Lake Päijänne and Lake Muuratjärvi. These two lakes are c ...
(at )
*
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 ...
(at )
*
Korpilahti (at )
*
Jämsä (at )
*
Luhanka (at )
*
Joutsa
Joutsa 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 Finland regions of Finland, region. Jyväskylä is located about north of the Jouts ...
(at )
*
Kuhmoinen (at )
*
Sysmä
Sysmä () is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is situated in the Päijät-Häme regions of Finland, region. The municipality has a population of
() and covers an area of of
which
is water. The population density is
. Ne ...
(at )
*
Padasjoki (at )
*
Asikkala
Asikkala () is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. Its seat is in Vääksy, at the shores of the Lake Päijänne. It is located in the provinces of Finland, province of Southern Finland and is part of the Päijänne Tavastia regi ...
(at )
Gallery
File:Kalkkisten kanava 5.jpg, Kalkkinen canal
File:Pulkkilanharju and Karisalmi Bridge in Asikkala, Päijät-Häme, Finland, 2021 June - 3.jpg, Pulkkilanharju and Karisalmi Bridge in Asikkala
File:Vääksyn kanava 2.jpg, Vääksy canal between Päijänne and Lake Vesijärvi
File:SataSarvinen4.jpg, View from Hill Satasarvinen in Muuratsalo, Jyväskylä
File:Kärkinen_bridge_during_Päijännepurjehdus_2007.jpg, Kärkinen bridge in Korpilahti, Jyväskylä
Jyväskylä () is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Central Finland. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Jyväskylä is approximately , while the Jyväskylä sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately ...
during the Päijännepurjehdus sailing competition
File:Tugboat_pulling_logs_in_Finland_in_1930s.jpg, Tugboat pulling logs in Päijänne in 1930s
File:Päijänne_1948.jpg, Päijänne from the Puolakanvuori hill in 1948
File:Steam_ships_in_Finland_1936.jpg, Passenger steam ships S/S Jyväskylä, S/S Suomi, S/S Taru and S/S Tehi in Pihlajakoski harbour, Kuhmoinen in 1938
File:Vaajavirta frozen.jpg, Vaajakoski canal in the Northern end of Lake Päijänne
See also
*
Päijänne National Park
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paijanne
Kymi basin
Landforms of Central Finland
Lakes of Joutsa
Lakes of Muurame
Lakes of Luhanka
Lakes of Jyväskylä
Lakes of Sysmä
Lakes of Padasjoki
Lakes of Jämsä