Petäjävesi (; lit. "pine water") 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 ...

of Finland. It is located in the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...

of Western Finland, next to the city 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 ...

, and is part of 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: 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

Jämsä Jämsä () is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the Central Finland region, about southwest of Jyväskylä. The municipality has a population of (), which make it the second largest town of the Central Finland after Jyväsk ...

Keuruu Keuruu (; sv, Keuru) is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the 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. The popul ...

Multia Multia is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the Central Finland regions of Finland, region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The ...

and

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 ...

. 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

Petäjävesi Old Church The Petäjävesi Old Church ( fi, Petäjäveden vanha kirkko) is a wooden church located in Petäjävesi, Finland. It was built between 1763 and 1765, when Tavastia was still a part of Sweden. The bell tower was built in 1821. It was inscribed in ...

, was listed as a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

in 1994 for its testimony to Nordic church architecture.

Nature

There are all together 99 lakes in Petäjävesi. The biggest lakes are Jämsänvesi-Petäjävesi, Ala-Kintaus and Ylä-Kintaus. Karikkoselkä is a lake in Petäjävesi, which is formed by a meteorite. The Karikkoselkä impact crater is located southeast of the municipal centre.

Notable people

Mika Aaltola Mika Aaltola (born 1969) is a Finnish political scientist and director of the Finnish Institute of International Affairs. He has gained media attention during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, which he follows and regularly comments on. Aaltola ...

(1969–) * Jarmo Kytölehto (1961–) * Frans Lehtonen (1859–1920) * Olavi Tupamäki (1944–)

Gallery

File:Petäjävesi Old Church interior pulpit choir.JPG, Petäjävesi Old Church interior File:Petäjävesi - church2.jpg, Petäjävesi New Church File:Petajavesi Old Church.jpg, Petäjävesi Old Church

References

External links

Municipality of Petäjävesi
– Official website, ''finnish'', ''english'' Populated places established in 1868 {{WesternFinland-geo-stub