Suonenjoki (; literally means "vein's river") is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

and

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

Northern Savonia North Savo (or Northern Savonia; ; ) is a Regions of Finland, region in eastern Finland. It borders the regions of South Savo, Central Finland, North Ostrobothnia, Kainuu, and North Karelia. Kuopio is the largest city in the region and Kallavesi, ...

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 ...

, southwest of

Kuopio Kuopio ( , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Savo. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Kuopio is approximately , while the Kuopio sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately . It is the mos ...

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

History

Suonenjoki is thought to have served as a milestone in the

Treaty of Nöteborg The Treaty of Nöteborg, also known as the Treaty of Orehovsk (; ; ), is a conventional name for the peace treaty signed at Shlisselburg Fortress, Oreshek (; ) on 12 August 1323. It was the first agreement between Sweden and the Novgorod Republic ...

in 1323. In the 16th and 17th centuries, more and more people began to settle in the area, and in the 18th century, a preacher room was established in Suonenjoki, then a

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

. In the current agglomeration, bridges over the river of Suonenjoki were built early, ''Kruunusilta'' (literally means "Crowns Bridge") already existed in 1780, and ''Siioninsilta'' (means "Zion Bridge") at the beginning of the river was replaced by a bridge in the 1830s.Suonenjoen keskustan ja Iisveden kulttuuriympäristö
(in Finnish) When Suonenjoki gained

municipal rights Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...

in 1865, the population was about 4,000. In the same year,

Suonenjoki Church Suonenjoki (; literally means "vein's river") is a List of towns in Finland, town and municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the Northern Savonia regions of Finland, region, southwest of Kuopio. The town has a popul ...

, the current church in Suonenjoki was completed, replacing the cramped first church built in the late 18th century. A railway station was built on Suonenjoki in connection with the completion of ''The Savonian Railway'' (also known as

Kouvola–Iisalmi railway The Savo railway (; ) is a five-foot-gauge (1,524 mm) railway in Finland. Beginning at Kouvola, it connects southern Finland with the eastern regions of South Savo and North Savo via the cities of Pieksämäki, Kuopio and Iisalmi. History P ...

) in 1889. In the early 20th century, the sawmill industry became the most important industry in the area. Strawberry cultivation became more widespread from the 1940s, and Suonenjoki became known as "the Strawberry Town".Suonenjoen mansikka 100 vuotta: kaikki alkoi kansakoulunopettaja Leskisen 12 taimesta
(in Finnish) The Suonenjoki co-educational school began operations in 1930, moving to its current

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

building in 1950.

Geography

The neighbouring municipalities of Suonenjoki are

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

to the west,

Tervo Tervo is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Northern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of (), making it Northern Savonia's least populous municipality. It covers an area ...

to the northwest,

to the north,

Leppävirta Leppävirta () is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Northern Savonia region, south of Kuopio along the Finnish national road 5. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population den ...

to the east, 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 ...

to the south on 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 ...

side. Suonenjoki River flows through the town from Lake Suontee to Lake Iisvesi. Near the city center is the 10-kilometer-long and at most a couple of kilometers wide scenic Lintharju, which is also part of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectiv ...

conservation program.

Villages

* Herrala * Hulkkola * Jauhomäki * Karkkola * Kukkola * Kutumäki * Kutunkylä * Kuvansi * Käpylä * Kärkkäälä * Lempyy * Liedemäki * Luukkola * Lyytilänmäki * Markkala * Nuutila * Piispalanmäki * Pörölänmäki * Rajalanniemi * Rieponlahti * Sydänmaa * Toholahti * Tyyrinmäki * Vauhkola * Vehvilä * Viippero * Jalkala * Karsikonmäki * Suontee * Suihkola * Kolikkoinmäki * Kinnula

Culture

Suonenjoki is famous for its

strawberries The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid plant cultivated worldwide for its fruit. The genus ''Fragaria'', the strawberries, is in the rose family, Rosaceae. The fruit is appreciated f ...

giving the town its

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

, three strawberry leaves. It is also known as "the Strawberry Town". Many foreigners, mainly from Ukraine and Russia, come to Suonenjoki in summer to work on strawberry farms. That makes Suonenjoki the most international town of Finland at summer. There is a party in Suonenjoki in July called ''Mansikkakarnevaalit'', "".Visit Suonenjoki
/ref> There was also a rock festival named Jörisrock, the last "Jöris" was held in 2006. Nowadays, "Jöris" has been replaced by a music event called Iisrock. There is also three

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

library A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

and artshow. Newspaper ''Sisä-Savo'' is published in Suonenjoki and nearby municipalities.

Transportation

Suonenjoki is situated between two important cities,

and

Jyväskylä Jyväskylä () is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Central Finland. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Jyväskylä is approximately , while the Jyväskylä sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately ...

, and the main road 9 ( E63) between those cities goes through Suonenjoki. The railway between Kuopio and

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 ...

goes also through the center of Suonenjoki.

Notable people

* Veijo Baltzar, author and visual artist * Aatu Hämäläinen, ice hockey player * Kalle Jalkanen, cross-country skier * Erkki Junkkarinen, singer * Lauri Kerminen, volleyball player * Rakel Liekki,

freelance journalist ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

and former pornstar * Rauno Miettinen, Nordic combined skier * Iiro Pakarinen, ice hockey player in

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

* Markku Rossi, politician * Liisa Suihkonen, cross-country skier * Kari Tapio,

country & western Country (also called country and western) is a music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is primarily focused on singing sto ...

and schlager singer

References

External links

Town of Suonenjoki
– Official website
Suonenjoen kesäkartta
– A summer map of Suonenjoki from the town site {{authority control Populated places established in 1865 Cities and towns in Finland 1865 establishments in Finland