Uurainen (, also ) 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' ...
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 is part of the
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 ...
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 ...
. The municipality has a population of ()
and covers an area of of which , or roughly 6.5%, 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 .
Neighbouring municipalities are
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 ...
,
Laukaa
Laukaa (; ) is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located next to Jyväskylä and is part of the Central Finland regions of Finland, region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water ...
,
Multia,
Petäjävesi,
Saarijärvi and
Äänekoski
Äänekoski () is a town in Finland, located in the Central Finland regions of Finland, region, about north of Jyväskylä, the region's capital city. Äänekoski has a population of , as of , and covers an area of of which , or 22%, is water. ...
.
The municipality is unilingually
Finnish.
Etymology
The name ''Uurainen'' is derived from the lakes
Iso-Uurainen and
Pieni-Uurainen. The root word for these lake names is most likely ''uuro'', a dialectal word meaning "riverbed", referring to the Takapuro river between the two lakes, as it has been a strait in the past.
Uurainen is also the name of a register village in the municipality.
Geography
Lakes
There are all together 125 lakes in Uurainen. The biggest lakes are
Kyynämöinen,
Sääkspää and
Iso-Uurainen.
Villages
Settlements:
[Kuukan kappelista nykypäivään, pages 26-27.]
Register villages:
*Kuukkajärvi
*Uurainen
*
Kangashäkki
*
Höytiä
*
Nyrölä (mostly in
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 ...
)
History
Six possible Stone Age settlements have been found on the territory of modern Uurainen. Four of these sites are in Kuukkajärvi, one in the village of Uurainen and another one in Höytiä. Evidence for permanent Iron Age settlement has not been found.
The area of modern Uurainen was devoid of a permanent settled population in the Middle Ages. In the 15th and early 16th centuries, these lands were held as hunting grounds by
Tavastians. The first settler of Uurainen was Paavo Minkkinen, who in 1548 established a farm named ''Salmela'' in the hunting grounds of ''Heinäjoensuu'', owned by the men of the village of
Laitikkala in
Kulsiala (nowadays in
Pälkäne
Pälkäne () is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is part of the Pirkanmaa regions of Finland, region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which . The population density is . Onkkaala is the adm ...
). This area would later become the register village of Kuukkajärvi. Paavo Minkkinen, like almost all settlers of Uurainen, was a
Savonian. The Minkkinen family likely originated from
Pellosniemi near modern
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 first register villages to be established in the area were Kuukkajärvi and Akonjärvi, both of which were first mentioned in 1561. Akonjärvi was merged into Kuukkajärvi in 1586.
Uurainen was originally a part of the parish of
Saarijärvi. It was mentioned in 1741 under the Swedish name ''Uhrais''. The area got its own chapel in 1801 and was variously called ''Uurainen, Kuukkajärvi, Kuukka'' and ''Minkkilä''. The area had multiple names as the vicarage (''pappila'') was located in the register village of Uurainen while the church was located in the village of Kuukkajärvi on the lands of the Minkkilä farm.
Uurainen became a separate parish in 1868, though the separation effectively happened in 1887. The northern part of
Nyrölä, which at that time included Höytiä, was transferred from the
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 ...
parish to Uurainen in 1868.
Gallery
File:Finnish lake summertime.jpg, Lake Kuorejärvi
File:Uuraisten kirkon tapuli.jpg, The belfry of the Uurainen Church
References
External links
Municipality of Uurainen– Official website
Populated places established in 1868
{{WesternFinland-geo-stub