South Savo (or Southern Savonia; ; ) is a

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 ...

in the south-east of

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 borders the regions of North Savo,

North Karelia North Karelia (or ''Northern Karelia'', ; ) is a region in eastern Finland. It borders the regions of Kainuu, North Savo, South Savo and South Karelia, as well as Russia's Republic of Karelia. It is the easternmost region of Finland and share ...

South Karelia South Karelia (or ''Southern Karelia'', ; ) is a Regions of Finland, region of Finland. It borders the regions of Kymenlaakso, Southern Savonia, South Savo and North Karelia, as well as Russia (Republic of Karelia and Leningrad Oblast). Hist ...

Kymenlaakso Kymenlaakso (; ; "Kymi River, Kymi/Kymmene Valley") is a Regions of Finland, region in Finland. It borders the regions of Uusimaa, Päijät-Häme, Southern Savonia, South Savo and South Karelia and Russia (Leningrad Oblast). Its name means lit ...

Päijät-Häme Päijät-Häme (; ) is a Regions of Finland, region in Southern Finland south of the lake Päijänne. It borders the regions of Uusimaa, Kanta-Häme, Pirkanmaa, Central Finland, Southern Savonia, South Savo and Kymenlaakso. The biggest city in t ...

, and

Central Finland Central Finland (; ) is a Regions of Finland, region ( / ) in Finland. It borders the regions of Päijät-Häme, Pirkanmaa, South Ostrobothnia, Central Ostrobothnia, North Ostrobothnia, Northern Savonia, North Savo, and Southern Savonia, South S ...

. The total area of South Savo is 18,768.33 km² (7,246.5 sq mi), with a population of 153,738 (2011). South Savo is located in the heart of the Finnish lake district, and contains Lake Saimaa, the largest lake in Finland. The three major towns in the region are

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 ...

Savonlinna Savonlinna (, , ; ) is a town in Finland, located in the eastern interior of the country. It lies in the Finnish Lakeland, the South Savo region. The population of Savonlinna is approximately , while the Savonlinna sub-region, sub-region has a pop ...

and

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 ...

Historical provinces

''For history, geography and culture see:

Savo Savo may refer to: Languages * Savo dialect, forms of the Finnish language spoken in Savo, Finland * Savo language, an endangered language spoken on Savo People * Savo (given name), a masculine given name from southern Europe (includes a list of ...

History

South Savo was the main part of the old Mikkeli Province, established in 1831. Some municipalities were transferred from the county to Central Finland Province, which was established in 1960. Mikkeli Province was abolished in the province reform of 1997, when

Regions 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 ...

were established. The province of South Savo belonged to the Eastern Finland Province. In 2002, Kangaslampi moved from the province of South Savo to the province of North Savo. Suomenniemi became part of Etelä-Savo in 2013 when it merged with

Ristiina Ristiina (; in Swedish also known as ''Kristina'') was a municipality of Finland. It was founded in 1649 and it was named after Kristina Stenbock, the wife of Governor General and Count Per Brahe. From the beginning of the year 2013 Ristiina is ...

to form the city of

. At the beginning of 2021,

Joroinen Joroinen is a municipality in the North Savo region of Finland. It is located in the province of Eastern Finland Province, Eastern Finland and is part of the Northern Savonia sub-region. The municipality has a population of approximately 4,626 peop ...

moved to the province of North Savo and Heinävesi to the province of

as a result of provincial and social and health care reforms.

Municipalities

The region of South Savo consists of 12

municipalities 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' ...

, three of which have city status (marked in bold).

Sub-regions

Mikkeli sub-region *

Hirvensalmi *

Kangasniemi Kangasniemi is a municipality in the Southern Savonia regions of Finland, 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 Highways in ...

(''S:t Michel'') * Mäntyharju * Puumala

Pieksämäki sub-region Pieksämäki sub-region is a subdivision of Southern Savonia and one of the sub-regions of Finland since 2009. Municipalities Politics Results of the 2018 Finnish presidential election: * Sauli Niinistö 67.2% * Matti Vanhanen 7.5% * P ...

Juva Juva (, also ) is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the Southern Savonia regions of Finland, region some North-East of Helsinki. It was founded on 19 January 1442, and is the oldest parish/municipality in Fi ...

Savonlinna sub-region *

Enonkoski Enonkoski () is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is encircled by the city of Savonlinna in the Southern Savonia regions of Finland, region. It is the smallest municipality in Southern Savonia in terms of population. History ...

Rantasalmi Rantasalmi is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the Southern Savonia regions of Finland, region, northwest of Savonlinna and northeast of Mikkeli. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area ...

(''Nyslott'') * Sulkava

Sulkava Sulkava 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 . Neighbouring municipalities are Juva, Puumala, Ra ...

List of municipalities

Politics

Results of the

2019 Finnish parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Finland on 14 April 2019. For the first time, no party received more than 20% of the vote. The Centre Party, which had been the largest party following the 2015 Finnish parliamentary election, 2015 elections, ...

in South Savo: * Centre Party 23.47% *

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

21.41% *

National Coalition Party The National Coalition Party (NCP; , Kok; , Saml) is a liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative List of political parties in Finland, political party in Finland. It is the current governing political party of Finland. Founded in 1918, the ...

18.39% *

Finns Party The Finns Party ( , PS; , Sannf), formerly known as the True Finns, is a right-wing populist political party in Finland. It was founded in 1995 following the dissolution of the Finnish Rural Party. The party achieved its electoral breakthro ...

16.55% * Green League 9.47% * Christian Democrats 4.46% * Left Alliance 2.95% * Movement Now 1.42% * Blue Reform 0.85% * Seven Star Movement 0.40% *Other parties 0.63%

Cuisine

The best known local cuisine is fried vendace, often served with potato puree, and a semicircle-shaped

pastry Pastry refers to a variety of Dough, doughs (often enriched with fat or eggs), as well as the sweet and savoury Baking, baked goods made from them. The dough may be accordingly called pastry dough for clarity. Sweetened pastries are often descr ...

called '' lörtsy''.Lörtsy , Traditional Sweet Pastry From Southern Savonia, Finland
''www.tasteatlas.com'', accessed 19 October 2020

References

External links

South Savo Regional Council
(official site). {{Authority control Eastern Finland Province