Mäntyharju (, ) is a

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

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. It is located in the

Southern Savonia South Savo (or Southern Savonia; ; ) is a Regions of Finland, region in the south-east of Finland. It borders the regions of North Savo, North Karelia, South Karelia, Kymenlaakso, Päijät-Häme, and Central Finland. The total area of South Savo ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

, about southwest of

Mikkeli Mikkeli (; ; ; ) is a List of cities and towns in Finland, city in, and the regional capital of, South Savo, Finland, located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population is approximately , while the Mikkeli sub-region of Southern Savonia has a populat ...

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

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

is 6.2 inhabitants per km². Neighbouring municipalities:

Heinola Heinola () is a town and a municipality of inhabitants () located in the eastern part of the Päijänne Tavastia region, Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to t ...

Hirvensalmi Hirvensalmi is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Southern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbour municipalities: Joutsa, Kangasniemi ...

Kouvola Kouvola () is a city in Finland and the administrative capital of Kymenlaakso. It is located in the southeastern interior of the country. The population of Kouvola is approximately . It is the most populous municipality in Finland, and the 17th m ...

Pertunmaa Pertunmaa () is a former municipality of Finland located in the Southern Savonia region. The municipality was merged to the municipality of Mäntyharju on 1 January 2025. The municipality had a population of 1,541 and covered an area of 454.20 km ...

and

Savitaipale Savitaipale (; literally translated the "clay passage") is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the South Karelia regions of Finland, region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of whi ...

. The municipality is unilingually Finnish. The summer houses or

cottages A cottage, during Feudalism in England, England's feudal period, was the holding by a cottager (known as a cotter or ''bordar'') of a small house with enough garden to feed a family and in return for the cottage, the cottager had to provide ...

located in the countryside are part of the

culture of Finland The culture of Finland combines indigenous heritage, as represented for example by the country's Languages of Finland, national languages Finnish language, Finnish (a Uralic languages, Uralic language) and Swedish language, Swedish (a Germanic ...

where most Finnish families spend their summer holidays. Mäntyharju is the municipality which has the fifth most summer houses in Finland.Statistics Finland
/ref> Some of the reasons for Mäntyharju's popularity involve its many pure

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

s and a relatively short distance to the Finnish capital

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

of approximately 200 kilometres by car. The municipality also has a direct, high-speed train connection to the capital area. Because of the many summer houses, the population of Mäntyharju more than triples during the most popular summer holiday times. Art Centre Salmela in Mäntyharju hosts one of Finland's largest cultural events in July–August.

Populated places

As of 2025, after the merger with the former municipality of

, Mäntyharju consists of the following populated places: * Mäntyharju sub-section proper: ** villages (''kylät''): Ahvenisto, Enonlahti (Enolahti), Halmeniemi, Hietaniemi, Huopola, Hyyrylä, Jäniskylä, Karankamäki, Kinnilä (Kinni), Korpilahti, Kousanniemi, Kukonkorpi, Kyttälä, Lahnaniemi, Leppäniemi, Luhtanen, Lyytikkälä, Mynttilä, Niinimäki, Nurmaa, Ollikkala, Outila, Paasola, Partsinmaa, Pertunmaa, Poitinniemi, Pärnämäki, Saviniemi, Särkemäki, Tiilikkala, Toivola, Vanonen ** urban municipal parts (''kulmakunnat''): Kirkonkylä, Koirakivi, Käävänkylä, Pyhäkoski, Turkinkylä, Valtola, Varpanen * Pertunmaa sub-section: ** villages (''kylät''):

Kuortti Kuortti () is a village in the eastern part of the Mäntyharju municipality in Southern Savonia. Together with Pertunmaa's church village, it was one of the main settlement centers of the former Pertunmaa municipality until 2025. Kuortti has a pop ...

, Hartosenpää, Hölttä, Joutsjärvi, Karankamäki, Kirkonkylä, Koirakivi, Kuhajärvi, Kälkyttä, Lihavanpää, Mansikkamäki, Nipuli, Ruorasmäki, Ruuttila, Sydänmaa, Vastamäki ;Notes:

History

The modern Mäntyharju municipality is on the border between the historical Tavastia, Savonia and

Karelia Karelia (; Karelian language, Karelian and ; , historically Коре́ла, ''Korela'' []; ) is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for Russia (including the Soviet Union, Soviet era), Finland, and Sweden. It is currentl ...

regions. The parish of Mäntyharju was formed in 1595 out of

Iitti Iitti (; ) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Päijänne Tavastia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density ...

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

, Pellosniemi (see

Mikkelin maalaiskunta Mikkelin maalaiskunta (abbreviated ''Mikkelin mlk'', ) is a former municipality of Finland located in the modern region of Southern Savonia. Together with Anttola, it was consolidated with the town of Mikkeli in 2001. Geography The municipalit ...

) and

Taipalsaari Taipalsaari is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the South Karelia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Ne ...

. Before that, there was already a chapel in the village of Kyttälä, at the time part of Iitti. After the Treaty of Turku in 1743, western Mäntyharju remained Swedish while the eastern part, including the church, was ceded to Russia. The parts were reunited in 1821, when

Old Finland Old Finland (; ; ) is a name used for the areas that Russia gained from Sweden in the Great Northern War (1700–1721) and the Russo-Swedish War (1741–1743), and which were united as the Vyborg Governorate in 1744. During the Finnish War ...

was added to the

Grand Duchy A grand duchy is a country or territory whose official head of state or ruler is a monarch bearing the title of grand duke or grand duchess. Prior to the early 1800s, the only Grand duchy in Europe was located in what is now Italy: Tuscany ( ...

became a separate parish in May 20th of 1924 and a municipality in 1926, also including smaller parts of

Hartola Hartola may refer to: * Hartola (Finland) Hartola () is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Itä-Häme, Päijänne Tavastia region. The municipality has a population of (), which make it the smallest municipality in Päijänne Tava ...

and

Joutsa Joutsa is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the provinces of Finland, province of Western Finland and is part of the Central Finland regions of Finland, region. Jyväskylä is located about north of the Jouts ...

Notable people

Antti Häkkänen Antti Edvard Häkkänen (born 16 January 1985) is a Finland, Finnish politician from the National Coalition Party. He has served as Minister of Defence (Finland), Minister of Defence since June 2023 in the Orpo Cabinet, Orpo cabinet and as Member ...

(b. 1985), former Minister of Justice of Finland 2017-2019 *

Antti Jaatinen Antti Jaatinen (born 24 September 1987) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing for Mikkelin Jukurit, Jukurit of the Finnish Liiga. During the 2011–12 SM-liiga season, 2011–12 season, Jaatinen played in JYP Jyväsk ...

(b. 1987), ice hockey player *

Sami Savio Sami Juhani Savio (born 23 September 1975) is a Finnish politician currently serving in the Parliament of Finland for the Finns Party at the Pirkanmaa Pirkanmaa (; ; ), also known as ''Tampere Region'' in government documents, is a region of ...

- (b. 1975) Politician *

Edward Vesala Edward Vesala (15 February 1945 – 4 December 1999), born Martti Vesala, was a Finnish avant-garde jazz drummer. Career Born in Mäntyharju, he began playing jazz and rock in the 1960s, in such bands as Blues Section and Apollo. In the 1970s ...

(1945–1999), Finnish avant-garde jazz composer, bandleader and drummer. * Kake Randelin (b. 1955), Finnish singer

References

External links

Municipality of Mäntyharju
– Official site {{DEFAULTSORT:Mantyharju Populated places established in 1595

Populated places

History

Notable people

See also

References

External links