Saarijärvi is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the Central Finland region. The municipality has a population of 9,214 and covers an area of 1,422.72 square kilometres of which 170.8 km2 is water. Neighbouring municipalities are Kannonkoski, Karstula, Multia, Soini, Uurainen, Ähtäri and Äänekoski.
The municipality is unilingually Finnish. There are all together 241 lakes in Saarijärvi. Biggest lakes are Pyhäjärvi, Summanen and Lake Saarijärvi.
Saarijärvi is the home of Bonden 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.
Culture
Events
During the summer, Midsummer Games are held on the sports field in the center of Saarijärvi, where top international athletes have visited. The village of Pylkönmäki, on the other hand, hosts the Pent Olympics, which is a July athletics event for children and families. Kirmot is a music festival that lasts for about a week, with a variety of music events ranging from spiritual church concerts to today’s pop music. The Åland camping site hosts popular “rompetori” days, the most popular of which bring together sellers, traders and customers from all over Finland.
Kukonhiekka Amusement Center opens in May and hosts dances and concerts on weekends until October. The performers are Finland’s leading entertainment artists.
Food culture
Saarijärven pitäjäruoiksi was named in the 1980s made herrings cobbler roast and mashed potatoes , or cancel porridge , turnip pudding and vespuolukat, as well as grilled fish .
History
The Saarijärvi region has been inhabited for more than 8,000 years, commemorating archeological finds in the Summassaari area and the Stone Age village. Written records of settlement begin in the 1550s, when King Gustav Vaasa led intensive settlement activities. Thus, in 1628 , the chapel congregation of the parish of Rautalammi was established in the area , which soon in 1639 became an independent parish. At that time, Saarijärvi was still known as Palvasalmi, and it included the later municipalities of Karstula, Pylkönmäki and Kyyjärvi in full, as well as parts of Uurainen , Konginkangas.and Äänekoski. In 1749, the population of Old Saarijärvi was 1,380. By 1860, the population had grown to 7,440. Saarijärvi became a city in 1986.
Nature
There are more than 20 kilometers of marked trails in Pyhä-Häkki National Park in Saarijärvi . Saarijärvi has a total of 241 lakes, the deepest and largest of which is Lake Pyhäjärvi .
The forests of Saarijärvi are pine-dominated, with a barren lichen population .
