Äänekosken maalaiskunta (abbreviated as ''Äänekosken mlk'', sv, Äänekoski landskommun) is a former municipality of

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

in the

Central Finland Central Finland ( fi, Keski-Suomi; sv, Mellersta Finland) is a region ( / ) in Finland. It borders the regions of Päijät-Häme, Pirkanmaa, South Ostrobothnia, Central Ostrobothnia, North Ostrobothnia, North Savo, and South Savo. The city o ...

region. It was consolidated with the ''kauppala'' of

Äänekoski Äänekoski () is a town in Finland. It is located in the Central Finland region, about north of Jyväskylä. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbouring municipalities ...

in 1969. It bordered Äänekoski,

Suolahti Suolahti is a former list of towns in Finland, town and List of former municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located next to Lake Keitele in the provinces of Finland, province of Western Finland and is part of the Central Finl ...

Laukaa Laukaa (; sv, Laukas) is a municipality of Finland. It is located next to Jyväskylä and is part of the Central Finland region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The ...

, Uurainen,

Saarijärvi Saarijärvi () is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the Central Finland region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbouring municipalities are ...

, Konginkangas and

Sumiainen Sumiainen is a former municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Central Finland region. The municipality had a population of 1,293 (2003) and covered an area of 307.93 km2 of which 77.34&n ...

Geography

Villages

*Honkola *Kevätlahti *Järvenpää *Koivisto or Koivistonkylä *Muinosmäki Unofficial villages include Hietama, Hirvaskangas, Mämme and Parantala. Äänekoski and Suolahti were villages within the municipality until 1932.

Lakes

The

Keitele Keitele is a municipality of Finland. It is part of the Northern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbour municipalities are Pielavesi, Pihtipudas, ...

and

Pyhäjärvi Pyhäjärvi (1993–1995 ''Pyhäsalmi'') is a town and municipality in the south of Northern Ostrobothnia region, Finland. Pyhäjärvi also borders the Northern Savonia and Central Finland regions. The town belongs to the subregion of Nivala–Ha ...

are partially within the borders of the former municipality.

History

The toponym ''Äänekoski'' was first mentioned in 1455 as ''Ænækoski laxefiskeri'' (Swedish for "salmon fishery on the Äänekoski rapids"). According to Terho Itkonen, the name of the rapids is of

Sámi The Sámi ( ; also spelled Sami or Saami) are a Finno-Ugric-speaking people inhabiting the region of Sápmi (formerly known as Lapland), which today encompasses large northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and of the Murmansk Oblast, Ru ...

origin, having been derived from a word meaning "big, large" (compare Northern Sámi ''eanas'', "most"). Folk etymology connects the name to the word ''ääni'', "sound": as the first Savonian settlers came to the area, they heard the loud sound of the rapids and called it ''Eänekkoski'' in their Savonian dialect. Before 1628, the area was a part of the

Rautalampi Rautalampi is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Northern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality is unilingually Finnish. Neigh ...

parish, after which it was a part of the

parish. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the village of Koivisto was a minor local center as many important roads went through it, including a road connecting

Vaasa Vaasa (; sv, Vasa, , Sweden ), in the years 1855–1917 as Nikolainkaupunki ( sv, Nikolajstad; literally meaning "city of Nicholas),

to Kuopio. The oldest post office in Central Finland was located in Koivisto. In the 1820s, Hirvaskangas was the only place in Northern Tavastia (roughly corresponding to Central Finland) where markets were held. The Äänekoski parish was formed in 1907 from parts of the Laukaa parish. The municipality Äänekosken maalaiskunta was formed in 1911 from parts of Laukaa and Saarijärvi. At that time the municipality was known simply as ''Äänekoski''. In 1932, the actual settlement of

, along with

, were split off as their own municipalities. The old municipality of Äänekoski was renamed ''Äänekosken maalaiskunta'', "the rural municipality of Äänekoski", while its administrative center was moved to the village of Honkola. Äänekoski and Äänekosken mlk had a shared parish, while Suolahti got its own parish in 1946. The municipality was consolidated with Äänekoski in 1969. Its villages are still separate from the main built-up area of Äänekoski.

Roads

The national road 4 goes through the former municipality. The smaller national road 69 starts in Hirvaskangas, goes through

Konnevesi Konnevesi is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the former province of Western Finland and is part of the Central Finland region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. Neighbouring municipalit ...

and

and ends in the village of Levä in

Suonenjoki Suonenjoki (; literally means "vein's river") is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the Northern Savonia region, southwest of the Kuopio city. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The pop ...

Sights

''Venäläiskivi'' is a memorial for a battle in Koivisto during the

Finnish War The Finnish War ( sv, Finska kriget, russian: Финляндская война, fi, Suomen sota) was fought between the Kingdom of Sweden and the Russian Empire from 21 February 1808 to 17 September 1809 as part of the Napoleonic Wars. As a re ...

of 1808–1809. The memorial is a boulder with a metal plaque, and it is protected by the Finnish Heritage Agency. According to oral tradition, dead Russian soldiers are buried under the boulder. In Kapeenkylä near the Kapeenkoski rapids, there is a

kettle hole A kettle (also known as a kettle lake, kettle hole, or pothole) is a depression/hole in an outwash plain formed by retreating glaciers or draining floodwaters. The kettles are formed as a result of blocks of dead ice left behind by retreating gla ...

called ''Ristinhauta'' that has been used as a sacrificial site by pagans. Once Christianity spread to the area, it became a site of Christian worship used by travelers in the 16th century. Priests from

Sysmä Sysmä () is a municipality of Finland. It is situated in the Päijät-Häme region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbouring municipalities are Asikkala, Hart ...

held sermons by it.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aanekosken maalaiskunta Former municipalities of Finland Äänekoski