Hankasalmi is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

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 ...

. 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 ...

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

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), 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 ...

is . 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 ...

. Hankasalmi is the only authentic rural municipality in Jyväskylä, that offers its inhabitants and guests a wide range of opportunities in the housing, work and leisure sectors. Comprehensive services and good transport links by highway and rail ensure smooth handling. Hankasalmi has several elementary schools, a high school, and a high school where you can take part in high-level navigation training.

Geography

Neighbouring municipalities are

Kangasniemi Kangasniemi is a municipality in the Southern Savonia region, Finland. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Kangasniemi is located on the Finnish national road 13, north ...

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 ...

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 ...

Pieksämäki Pieksämäki () is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the Southern Savonia region, about north of Mikkeli, east of Jyväskylä and south of Kuopio. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. Th ...

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 ...

and

Toivakka Toivakka is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Central Finland region, near Jyväskylä. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality is unilingually ...

. There are all together 97 lakes in Hankasalmi. The biggest lakes are Kynsivesi-Leivonvesi, Armisvesi and Kuuhankavesi.

Villages

* Halttula

History

The name Hankasalmi was first mentioned in 1552 when it was a wilderness owned by the

Tavastians Tavastians ( fi, Hämäläiset, sv, Tavaster, russian: Емь, Yem, Yam) are a historic people and a modern subgroup (heimo) of the Finnish people. They live in areas of the historical province of Tavastia (Häme) and speak Tavastian dialects ...

of Hauho. The settlement has existed at least since 1559. In 1561, it was transferred to the new

parish, which was largely settled by

Savonians Savonians ( fi, Savolaiset, Savonian: ''Savolaaset'', ''Savolaeset'') are a subgroup ( ''heimo'') of the Finnish people who live in the areas of the historical province of Savonia. History Savonians are descendants of Tavastian and Kareli ...

. Hankasalmi became an independent parish in 1802, but administratively it remained a part of Rautalampi until 1872, when the modern Hankasalmi municipality was formed. Parts of it were also taken from

and

Notable individuals

* Aimo Minkkinen, longtime head of the Tampere Lenin Museum * Antero Halonen, boxer * Kaarlo Kartio, actor * Kalevi Tarvainen, linguist and professor * Kari Ihalainen, javelin thrower and track and field coach * Lauri W. Pääkkönen, elementary school teacher and writer * Matti A. Karjalainen, professor at the

Helsinki University of Technology Helsinki University of Technology (TKK; fi, Teknillinen korkeakoulu; sv, Tekniska högskolan) was a technical university in Finland. It was located in Otaniemi, Espoo in the metropolitan area of Greater Helsinki. The university was founded in ...

* Matti Makkonen, politician * Matti Rutanen, folk artist * Mika Mölsä, crime journalist and fiction writer *

Niina Mäkinen Niina Mäkinen (born 18 April 1992) is a Finnish ice hockey forward, most recently of Oulun Kärpät Naiset during the 2019–20 Naisten Liiga season. She competed with the Finnish national team and participated in the IIHF World Women's Champ ...

, ice hockey player * Onni Haini, journalist and writer * Onni Pellinen, Olympic wrestler * Paavo Rautkallio, politician * Unto Poikolainen,

Pesäpallo Pesäpallo (; sv, boboll, both names literally meaning "nest ball", colloquially known in Finnish as pesis, also referred to as Finnish baseball) is a fast-moving bat-and-ball sport that is often referred to as the national sport of Finland a ...

player *

Vilho Ylönen Vilho Ilmari Ylönen (31 May 1918 – 8 March 2000) was a Finnish cross-country skier and rifle shooter who competed in the 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960 and 1964 Winter Olympics. Ylönen was a career military officer serving as a non-commissioned off ...

, cross-country skier and rifle shooter

Twin towns - sister cities

Hankasalmi is twinned with: * Häädemeeste, Estonia *

Karmøy Karmøy is a municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is southwest of the town of Haugesund in the traditional district of Haugaland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kopervik. Most of the municipality lies on ...

, Norway * Mjölby, Sweden

References

External links

*
Municipality of Hankasalmi
– Official site Populated places established in 1872 1872 establishments in the Russian Empire {{WesternFinland-geo-stub