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Saarijärvi
Town
Saarijärven kaupunki
Saarijärvi stad
Church of Saarijärvi
Church of Saarijärvi
Flag of Saarijärvi
Flag
Coat of arms of Saarijärvi
Coat of arms
Location of Saarijärvi in Finland
Location of Saarijärvi in Finland
Country  Finland
Region Central Finland
Sub-region Saarijärvi-Viitasaari sub-region
Charter 1866
City rights 1986
Area
 (2018-01-01)
 • Total 1,422.72 km2 (549.32 sq mi)
 • Land 1,251.76 km2 (483.31 sq mi)
 • Water 170.8 km2 (65.9 sq mi)
Area rank 58th largest in Finland
Population
 (2023-12-31)
 • Total 8,847
 • Rank 111th largest in Finland
 • Density 7.07/km2 (18.3/sq mi)
Population by native language
 • Finnish 98.3% (official)
 • Swedish 0.1%
 • Others 1.6%
Population by age
 • 0 to 14 13.8%
 • 15 to 64 53.2%
 • 65 or older 33%
Time zone UTC+02:00 (EET)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+03:00 (EEST)

Saarijärvi (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈsɑːriˌjærʋi]) is a town and municipality of Finland located in the Central Finland region. The municipality has a population of 8,847, as of 31 December 2023, and covers an area of 1,422.72 square kilometres (549.32 sq mi) of which 170.8 km2 (65.9 sq mi), or 12%, is water. The population density is 7.07 inhabitants per square kilometre (18.3/sq mi).

Neighbouring municipalities are Kannonkoski, Karstula, Multia, Soini, Uurainen, Ähtäri and Äänekoski.

The municipality is unilingually Finnish. The neighboring municipality of Pylkönmäki was merged with the Saarijärvi municipality on 1 January 2009.

There are all together 241 lakes in Saarijärvi. The biggest lakes are Pyhäjärvi, Summanen and Lake Saarijärvi.

Saarijärvi is the home of Bonden Paavo (Finnish: Saarijärven Paavo) in the poem by Johan Ludvig Runeberg. Juho Hyytiäinen, the great grandfather of Pamela Anderson, left the village in 1908 emigrating to the American continent.

History

Saarijärvi has existed since the mid-16th century, when it was a part of the Rautalampi parish. Saarijärvi acquired its first church in 1628, which was also when the Laukaa parish, including Saarijärvi, was separated from Rautalampi. Saarijärvi became a separate parish in 1639 as Palvasalmi. At the time, the parish also included Karstula, Kyyjärvi, Pylkönmäki and a part of Konginkangas. The parish was renamed to Saarijärvi sometime after 1690.

Karstula, including Kyyjärvi, was separated in 1887, Konginkangas in 1895 (partially from Viitasaari) and Pylkönmäki in 1914. Saarijärvi became a town in 1986. Pylkönmäki rejoined Saarijärvi in 2009.

Twin towns - sister cities

Saarijärvi is twinned with:

  • Norway Gran, Norway
  • Sweden Kungsbacka, Sweden
  • Germany Trittau (Amt), Germany

Transport

Saarijärvi is served by OnniBus.com route Helsinki—Jyväskylä—Kokkola.

People born in Saarijärvi

  • Matthias Calonius (1738 – 1817)
  • Samuli Häkkinen (1857 – 1918)
  • Otto Stenroth (1861 – 1939)
  • Adiel Paananen (1897 – 1968)
  • Tarmo Manni (1921 – 1999)
  • Toivo Hyytiäinen (1925 – 1978)
  • Kain Tapper (1930 – 2004)
  • Jarkko Nikara (born 1986)

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Saarijärvi para niños

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