Äänekoski () is a town in Finland. It is located 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 In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

, about north of

Jyväskylä Jyväskylä () is a city and municipality in Finland in the western part of the Finnish Lakeland. It is located about 150 km north-east from Tampere, the third largest city in Finland; and about 270 km north from Helsinki, the capital of ...

. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

is . Neighbouring municipalities are

Kannonkoski Kannonkoski is a 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 Karstula, Kivij� ...

, Konnevesi,

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 . ...

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 ...

Uurainen Uurainen ( sv, Uurainen, also ) is a municipality of Finland. It 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 . Neighbouring municipaliti ...

, Vesanto and

Viitasaari Viitasaari is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the Central Finland region. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. There are all together 230 lakes in Viitasaari. Biggest lakes are Lake Keit ...

. The municipality is unilingually

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

. The municipality of Äänekosken maalaiskunta was consolidated to Äänekoski in 1969 and the municipality of

Konginkangas Konginkangas is a settlement and former municipality of Finland in the Central Finland region. It was consolidated with Äänekoski in 1993. The municipality bordered Äänekoski, Saarijärvi, Kannonkoski, Viitasaari, Vesanto, Konnevesi and ...

in 1993. The municipalities of

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 ...

and Suolahti were consolidated to Äänekoski in 2007.

History

Äänekoski is named after the nearby rapids. Folk etymology connects the name to the word ''ääni'' "sound", but Terho Itkonen has suggested another origin: a

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 ...

term meaning "big, large" (compare

Northern Sámi Northern or North Sámi ( ; se, davvisámegiella ; fi, pohjoissaame ; no, nordsamisk; sv, nordsamiska; disapproved exonym Lappish or Lapp) is the most widely spoken of all Sámi languages. The area where Northern Sámi is spoken covers the ...

''eanas'', "most"). Swedish sources mention a salmon fishery by the rapids around 1455, ''Ænækoski laxefiskeri''. At the time, it was not a proper settlement and was located in the hunting grounds of the people of

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 ...

. The Rautalampi parish was established in 1561, at the time it was a large parish covering most of Central Finland north of the Päijänne. The

parish, including the area of Äänekoski, was separated from Rautalampi in 1628. A settlement named Äänekoski has existed at least since 1752. It remained a part of Laukaa until the parish was established in 1907 and the municipality Äänekosken maalaiskunta was established in 1911. At the time, Äänekosken maalaiskunta was called simply ''Äänekoski''. The municipality was divided in 1932: the actual settlement of Äänekoski became the ''kauppala'' of Äänekoski, Suolahti became another ''kauppala'' while the old Äänekoski municipality was renamed ''Äänekosken maalaiskunta'' and its administrative seat was moved to the village of Honkola. Äänekoski and Äänekosken maalaiskunta still shared a parish. The first industrial enterprises appeared in 1896-1900. Four municipalities have been consolidated with Äänekoski: Äänekosken maalaiskunta in 1969,

in 1993 and

and Suolahti in 2007. Äänekoski adopted the coat of arms of Suolahti in 2007.

Nature

There are altogether 170 lakes in Äänekoski. The biggest lakes are Keitele, Kuhnamo and Niinivesi. One of the world's smallest rivers, the

Kuokanjoki Kuokanjoki is a watercourse in Finland. It is located in the province of Central Finland, 300 km north of the capital Helsinki. The area is part of the boreal climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a cl ...

, is within the area.

Twin towns – sister cities

The following cities or municipalities are twinned with Äänekoski: *

Örnsköldsvik Municipality Örnsköldsvik Municipality (, ) is one of Sweden's 290 municipalities, in Västernorrland County in northern Sweden. Its seat is in the town Örnsköldsvik. The present municipality was created in 1971 by the amalgamation of the ''City of Örnsk ...

, Sweden * Brande,

Brande Municipality Until 1 January 2007, Brande municipality was a municipality (Danish, '' kommune'') in Ringkøbing on the Jutland peninsula in west Denmark. The municipality covered an area of 188 km2, and had a total population of 8,822 (2005). Its last ...

, Denmark *

Sigdal Sigdal is a municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Prestfoss. The municipality of Sigdal was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The area of Krødsherad was se ...

, Norway *

Alushta Alushta ( uk, Алушта; crh, Aluşta; ) is a city of regional significance on the southern coast of the Crimean peninsula which is within the Republic of Crimea, an internationally recognized ''de jure'' part of Ukraine, but since 2014 a ''de ...

, Alushta municipality, Ukraine * Borovichi,

Novgorod Oblast Novgorod Oblast (russian: Новгоро́дская о́бласть, ''Novgorodskaya oblast'') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Veliky Novgorod. Some of the oldest Russian cities, includin ...

, Russia (status unknown) *

Sestroretsk Sestroretsk (russian: Сестроре́цк; fi, Siestarjoki; sv, Systerbäck) is a municipal town in Kurortny District of the federal city of St. Petersburg, Russia, located on the shores of the Gulf of Finland, the Sestra River ...

, Russia *

Niamey Niamey () is the capital and largest city of Niger. Niamey lies on the Niger River, primarily situated on the east bank. Niamey's population was counted as 1,026,848 as of the 2012 census. As of 2017, population projections show the capital dis ...

, Niger

Gallery

File:Porterveturi.jpg, A porter locomotive of the Äänekoski-Suolahti

narrow gauge railway A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller struct ...

File:Aanekoski rautatie sellutehdas maisema.jpg, A freight train departing from a pulp mill in Äänekoski File:Keiteleen kanava.jpg, Kapeenkoski Lock of Keitele–Päijänne canal. File:Auringonlasku Keitele.jpg, A sunset at Lake Keitele

References

External links

Town of Äänekoski
– Official website, ''finnish'' Cities and towns in Finland Populated places established in 1911 {{WesternFinland-geo-stub