Pihlajavesi (historically also known as Pihlainen) is a town and a former

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, ...

, which in 1969 was merged into the municipality of Keuruu, 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 ...

Geography

Pihlajavesi borders Ähtäri,

Vilppula Vilppula was a former municipality of Finland. Neighbouring Mänttä was merged into it on 1 January 2009 to form the municipality of Mänttä-Vilppula. The municipality was unilingually Finnish. It was located in the province of Western Finl ...

Virrat Virrat (; ) is a town and municipality of Finland. Part of the Pirkanmaa region, it is located north of Tampere and west of Jyväskylä. Virrat is from Helsinki. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The ...

and

Pohjaslahti Pohjaslahti is a village and former municipality of Finland at the time of its existence in the Häme Province, now in the Pirkanmaa region. It was divided between Vilppula and Virrat in 1973. Pohjaslahti was the last rural municipality to be ...

, and before the municipality merger also bordered Keuruu. At the time of the merger, the population of Pihlajavesi was over 1,700 people, but this has since then decreased to under 500, although in the summer months the number increases significantly due to holiday-makers and owners of summer residences. The eponymous Lake Pihlajavesi is located within the municipality, and connects via Lake Tarjanne to the Kokemäenjoki basin, which drains into the

Bothnian Sea The Bothnian Sea (; ) links the Bothnian Bay (also called the Bay of Bothnia) with the Baltic Sea, Baltic proper. Kvarken is situated between the two. Together, the Bothnian Sea and Bay make up a larger geographical entity, the Gulf of Bothnia, ...

History

Pihlajavesi has existed at least since the early 17th century. Its name is derived from the nearby lake's name, which literally means "rowan water". The rowan (''pihlaja'') is an uncommon tree in the area, which is most likely why this name was chosen for the lake. The settlement was initially a part of the Ruovesi parish until Keuruu was separated from it in the 1630s. Under Keuruu, Pihlajavesi gained chapel rights in 1831. It became a separate parish and municipality in 1910, remaining separate until 1969.

Amenities

There are two

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

churches in Pihlajavesi. The old church, designed by Matti Åkerblom and built in the early 1780s, is located in the forest outside the main populated areas, and is often referred to as the ''Erämaakirkko'' ( 'Wilderness church'). It has been designated and protected by the Finnish Heritage Agency as a nationally important built cultural environment (''Valtakunnallisesti merkittävä rakennettu kulttuuriympäristö''). The new church, designed by Ernst Lohrmann and built in 1869–1871, is nowadays the main operational church of the parish. There is a primary school in Pihlajavesi, but for secondary education pupils to travel to the centre of Keuruu. For passenger traffic, Pihlajavesi is served by the Pihlajavesi station on the Haapamäki–Seinäjoki railway line.

Notable people

Notable people originating from Pihlajavesi include: * Anton Collin, cross-country skier * Väinö Kallio, member of parliament *, member of parliament * A. V. Koskimies, linguist and writer * Heikki Nurmio, soldier and writer * Matti Raivio, cross-country skier

References

{{Portal, Finland Populated places in Finland Keuruu