Pieksämäki is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the Southern Savonia region. The town has a population of 17,376 and covers an area of 1,836.22 square kilometres of which 266.76 km2 is water. The population density is 11.07 inhabitants per square kilometre. Neighbour municipalities are Hankasalmi, Joroinen, Juva, Kangasniemi, Leppävirta, Mikkeli, Rautalampi and Suonenjoki.
The municipality is unilingually Finnish.
Attractions
Notable buildings: wooden church (A. Sorsa 1753), water tower ( Aarne Ervi 1956), cultural center Poleeni ( Gullichsen-Kairamo-Vormala 1989, Concrete structure of the year ), town hall (Sipinen and Herzer, 1973) and old town hall (Walter and Ivar Thomé, 1918 ). Other attractions: Savo Railway Museum, Doll’s House, Iso-Pappila, Moisio Manor, Partaharju Camp Village and Ristikivi Church .
The milieu of Keskuskatu, which leads from the railway bridge across the city to the foot of the water tower, is considered a good example of an architecturally cohesive street line. It is included in the nationally significant built cultural environments inventoried by the National Board of Antiquities .
Monuments
- Cultural Center Poleen Fountain, sculptor Harry Kivijärvi , 1990
- Monument to Veikko Tyrväinen , sculptor Kauko Räsänen , 1988, Jäppilä
- Pieksät construction, sculptor Veikko Haukkavaara , 1984, Asema-aukio, Asemakatu, Pieksämäki
- Arc of Growth, sculptor Mauno Kivioja , 1980, Pieksämäki City Hall, Pertinkuja 1, Pieksämäki
- Memorial stone of the author Sylvi Kekkonen , 1980, Iso-Pappila’s yard, Sylvinkuja 5, Pieksämäki
- For My Wings, artist M. Poikolainen, 1978, Kuusitie 41, Pieksämäki
- Monument to those who fell for their beliefs, monument erected in 1972, Vesitorninmäki, Tornipolku, Pieksämäki
- Monument to Parliament Abel Häyrinen , sculptor Veikko Leppänen , 1957, Cultural Center Poleen Park, Pieksämäki
- Statue of a Hero, sculptor Veikko Leppänen, 1956, Old Church Church Park, Pieksämäki
- Monument to those left in Karelia, sculptor Veikko Leppänen, 1954, Sibeliuspuisto, Häyrisentie, Pieksämäki
- Commemorative plaques:
- Home of the author Aila Meriluoto , sculptor Riitta Huttunen , Huvilakatu, Pieksämäki
- Memorial stone to those who went to war, sculptor Riitta Huttunen Pieksämäki High School Representative Park, Keskuskatu, Pieksämäki
- Pieksämäki First Primary School, sculptor Riitta Huttunen, Rantatie, Pieksämäki
Food culture
In the 1980s , the soup dishes of Pieksämäki were named soup soup , otrapouro and blueberry soup , as well as coffee table dishes such as egg cake , bun aces , serina cakes and Aunt Hanna’s cakes.
History
Pieksämäki street scene from 1985, the station bridge can be seen behind.
The landscapes of Pieksämäki are characterized by high moraine ridges. These ridges formed a permanent settlement as early as the 15th and 16th centuries. The latest studies show that Pieksämäki has had a continuous settlement history for more than 5,000 years.
The parish of Pieksämäki was founded during 1574–1575. to smite the township was separated from Pieksämäki parish in 1930. In 1948, the township name was changed back to Pieksämäki and it became a town in 1962.
The Church of Finland’s Indoor Mission Society moved its operations in 1944 from Sortavala to Pieksämäki. The society was engaged in publishing and printing, and maintained colleges. Finland’s only economics school for the hearing impaired, the State Railways Locomotive School and many other educational institutions owned by the Bovallius Foundation was also established in the locality . The current Air Force School of the Defense Forces was established in the Naarajärvi airport area in the early 1940s as the Air Force Message Warehouse .
The wooden church of the rural parish is located in the area of the city of Pieksämäki. Its belfry is the oldest building in Pieksämäki. The brick church of the city parish, designed by Keijo Ström and Olavi Tuomisto , operates on the principle of a multi-purpose church . The city’s third church is the Pieksämäki Orthodox Church, designed by Toivo Paatela .