Rautjärvi () is a

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' ...

in the

South Karelia South Karelia (or ''Southern Karelia'', ; ) is a Regions of Finland, region of Finland. It borders the regions of Kymenlaakso, Southern Savonia, South Savo and North Karelia, as well as Russia (Republic of Karelia and Leningrad Oblast). Hist ...

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 ...

of Finland. The municipality 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 . More than half of Rautjärvi's residents live in Simpele, the

administrative center 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 Belgiu ...

of the municipality. The neighboring municipalities of Rautjärvi are

Parikkala Parikkala () is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland located in the provinces of Finland, province of Southern Finland and is part of the South Karelia regions of Finland, region, from Lappeenranta and from Joensuu. The town ce ...

and

Ruokolahti Ruokolahti (; ; literally translated the " Reed Bay") is a municipality of Finland, situated in south-eastern Finland, in the region of South Karelia. Neighbouring municipalities are Imatra, Lappeenranta, Taipalsaari, Puumala, Sulkava, Punkaharju, ...

, while to the east is the Russian border. The municipality is unilingually Finnish. Rautjärvi is mostly well known as the birthplace of legendary

sniper A sniper is a military or paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with telescopic si ...

Simo Häyhä, a hero of the

Winter War The Winter War was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peac ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

History

Rautjärvi was first mentioned in 1560 as ''Rauda Järffui'' as one of the villages of Jääski. It became a part of the

parish after its establishment in 1572. The municipality of Rautjärvi was founded in the year of 1861. A few years prior in 1859, the Rautjärvi parish had founded an independent church. After the Winter War ended with the signing of the

Moscow Peace Treaty The Moscow Peace Treaty was signed by Finland and the Soviet Union on 12 March 1940, and the ratifications were exchanged on 21 March. It marked the end of the 105-day Winter War, upon which Finland ceded border areas to the Soviet Union. The ...

on March 12, 1940, almost half of Rautjärvi (198.9 km²) was handed over to the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

in accordance with the treaty. The municipality of Simpele was consolidated with Rautjärvi in 1973, becoming its new administrative center. Rautjärvi Church, a wooden church completed in 1881, was destroyed in a fire on

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

2022. The fire broke out in the middle of the worship, but all 30 people in the building got out safely.

Villages

The villages of Rautjärvi are inclusive of: Haakanala, Hallilanmäki, Hiivaniemi, Hinkkala, Hynnilä, Ilmee, Jurvala, Kalpiala, Kekäleniemi, Kokkola, Kopsala, Korjola, Korpijärvi, Lankila, Latvajärvi, Miettilä, Niskapietilä, Partila, Pirhola, Purnujärvi, Rautjärvi, Siisiälä, Simpele, Torsansalo, Uimola, Untamo, Viimola, Vähikkälä.

Attractions

* Hiitolanjoki, a river that descends from

Lake Ladoga Lake Ladoga is a freshwater lake located in the Republic of Karelia and Leningrad Oblast in northwestern Russia, in the vicinity of Saint Petersburg. It is the largest lake located entirely in Europe, the second largest lake in Russia after Lake ...

* Haukkavuori, the highest place in South Karelia * Iivanansaari, an island which also serves as the burial place of Jussi Reinikainen * Pirunkirkko, several rock and stone formations * Laiko * Miettilä Historical Reserve Garrison, historic barracks which were constructed in the years of 1881–1883. * Rautjärvi local history exhibition * Kollaa Museum, a museum which documents the Battle of Kollaa * Niskapietiläntie, a road connecting the villages of Rautjärvi and Miettilä * Rautjärvi church, completed in the year of 1881 * Simpele church, completed in the year of 1933

Notable individuals

* Hannes Pulkkinen, elementary school teacher and a Member of the

Parliament of Finland The Parliament of Finland ( ; ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral and Parliamentary sovereignty, supreme legislature of Finland, founded on 9 May 1906. In accordance with the Constitution of Finland, sovereignty belongs to the people, and that ...

* Jesse Joronen, professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

for

Serie B The Serie B (), officially known as Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had b ...

club

Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...

. * Johannes Häyhä, teacher and writer * Jorma Kosunen, Finnish Border Guard colonel and former Frontier school (later the Border and Coast Guard Academy) leader * Jouni Vento, ice hockey player * Karl Henrik Jakob Ignatius, priest and writer * Lauri Vilkko, Olympic pentathlete *

Lea Piltti Lea Piltti (1 February 1904 – 5 February 1982) was a Finnish people, Finnish opera singer and voice pedagog, one of the leading coloratura sopranos of the 1930s and 40s, and one of Finland's most successful singers on the international stage. ...

, opera singer * Martti Siisiäinen, professor and researcher * Matti Mononen, pole vaulter * Olli Pajari, Member of the

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

* Simo Häyhä, notable hero of the

. * Yrjö Roiha, missionary

References

External links

Municipality of Rautjärvi
– Official website Populated places established in 1871 1871 establishments in Finland {{SouthernFinland-geo-stub