Jyväskylä is a city in Finland, the regional center of Central
Finland and a municipality on the northern shore of Lake Päijänne in
the province of Central Finland. Jyväskylä has a population of
142,282 and an area of 1,466.35 km², of which 295.38 km² are water
bodies. The population density is 121.51 inhabitants / km².
Jyväskylä is a university city and the seventh largest city in
Finland in terms of population and the fifth largest urban area.
Jyväskylä is a major growth center. The main city of Jyväskylä is
located mostly on the isthmus between Jyväsjärvi and Palokkajärvi
and Tuomiojärvi, which are connected to the northern end of Päijänne
via Äijälänsalmi, through which the Tourujoki River flows from
Palokkajärvi to Jyväsjärvi.
The border municipalities of
Jyväskylä are Joutsa, Toivakka, Jämsä, Luhanka, Muurame, Petäjävesi,
Laukaa and Uurainen. In 2009, the city, the countryside of Jyväskylä
and Korpilahti merged, as a result of which the municipality of
Muurame was surrounded by Jyväskylä from almost every side.
Jyväskylä has a university, Jyväskylä University of Applied
Sciences, Gradia Vocational School and several other educational
institutions. The most significant employer in the industry is
Valmet Corporation.
Jyväskylä is located in the border region of
southern and central Finland and has been a significant traffic
junction throughout its history. The nearest large cities are Kuopio
(144 km), Tampere (149 km) and Lahti (169 km). The distance from
Jyväskylä to the Finnish capital Helsinki is 272 km by road, and 342
km by rail. A few other larger cities travel by road as follows:
Mikkeli 113 km, Hämeenlinna 188 km, Kouvola 192 km, Seinäjoki 216
km, Pori 273 km, Vaasa 282 km, Turku 304 km and Oulu 339 km.
The city of Jyväskylä is located at the northern end of Päijänne.
The main town is on the isthmus between Jyväsjärvi and Tuomio- and
Palokkajärvi, which is connected to the northern end of Päijänne via
Äijälänsalmi and is crossed by the Tourujoki. After Päijänne, the
largest lakes in the area are Muuratjärvi and Leppävesi. The largest
islands belonging to Jyväskylä are Päijänne Muuratsalo (part),
Vuoritsalo, Kumina, Lehtisaari, Lehtissaari and Iso-Poro and
Leppävesi island, some of which are known as Manunsaari, some as
Oravasaari. Despite its name, the village of Oravasaari is not
mainly located on this island.
Jyväskylä and its surroundings
are hilly terrain. The highest hill in Jyväskylä is Uutelanmäki, 258
meters high, located in the village of Moks, Korpilahti. Before the
2009 Association of Municipalities, the highest point in Jyväskylä
was the 249-meter-high Pirttimäki. The best-known ridges are
Laajavuori, which houses the ski resort and Matti Nykänen Hill, and
Harju (formerly known as Jyväsharju and Syrjänharju), which, despite
its name, is not part of Harju but part of the Inner Finland edge
formation. At its top is the Water Castle, a combined water and
observation tower, which also has a nature museum and a restaurant.
The city center is between Harju and Jyväsjärvi.
Jyväskylä
Districts
The city of Jyväskylä is divided into 14 metropolitan
areas and a further 86 districts.
History
Archaeological
finds have been known in the Jyväskylä region since the Stone Age.
In the Middle Ages, Central Finland was a hunting and fishing area
for Häme people moving along the Päijänne and waterways, but at the
same time the Sámi population also moved in the area. The area of
present-day Jyväskylä belonged to the economic enjoyment rights of
Saario, Hauho and Sääksmäki. An analysis of pollen from Laukoju Lake
Vuojärvi shows that birch cultivation has already started in the
area in the 5th and 7th centuries, as rye pollen in particular is
present in the sediments of that time. The earliest known inhabitant
of the area was Heikki Ihanninpoika Jyväsjoki, who is mentioned in
documents from 1506 in Äijälä.
Jyväskylä was the beginning of
a new period of Laukaa, but the south side of Korpilahti, Säynätsalo
and Muurame include Jämsä. According to the oldest (1593) land
register, there were eight houses in the Jyväskylä area at that
time, and in addition there were 5 houses in Paloka and 2 in Keljo.
Of these, Mattila's house alone ruled the lands of the later
Jyväskylä subdivision from the border of Keljo village to the border
of Vesanga and Paloka villages. The oldest estate in Jyväskylä that
has been in the possession of the same family is the Lahti House,
which was separated from Mattila in 1600. The history of Lahti House
and the Lahti family that ruled it are significantly intertwined
with the area of the city of Jyväskylä. However, in the later
stages, the Lahti family has branched and scattered largely around
Finland, and today the family is known to live in Lapland.
Lahdenrinne In the southwest corner of Jyväsjärvi is the old core
area of Lahti House.
By 1593, in the area of present-day
Jyväskylä, Oravasaari (in the direction of Vaajakoski), Haapaniemi,
Mankola (in the direction of Paloka), Rutala, Mikkola, (in the
direction of Tikkakoski) Tikkamannila, Puuppola, Kuika, Nyrölä and
(Vesanga) Siekkilä, Soikkala . There were many houses in the Old
Korpilahti area: Maahi, Kurkela, Ekonen, Tissola, Hurttia,
Härkölahti, Åland, Puolakka, Leustu, Oittila, Putkilahti, Könnö,
Raidanlahti, Moksi, Kopiseva, Lehtimäki, Rutalahti, Särkijoki,
Saukko, Maaja and Uittime as well as houses in the current Muurame
area.
Of the houses, for example, the names of Kekkola,
Kuokkala, Äijälä, Mattila and Tourula have survived to the present
day as the names of the city's residential areas. However, the
current Kekkola is located in a slightly different place than the
Kekkola house on the shores of Lake Päijänne in Kuokkala at that
time. Taavettila, later separated from Mattila, was located on the
site of the present city center. Huikko and Tourula were on the east
bank of the Tourujoki River. Houses were created in the coming
centuries so that Jyväskylä became the largest village in Laukaa
parish. Due to good water connections and roads, Jyväskylä developed
into a small trading place. In 1801 it was granted market rights.
When Jyväskylä was asked for city rights in the 1820s, the
"liveliness" of the chapel church village was invoked; for there was
a dye, a tanner, a goldsmith, and a brasserie and a medic, and there
was always a place to eat.
City rights
Jyväskylä seceded from Laukaa by applying for city
rights. The project was started by Major Carl Christian Rosenbröijer
by presenting it at the 1823 Laukaa Parish Conference. City rights
were granted in 1837, and the owners of the Taavettila and Mattila
houses, located in the core area of the present-day city district,
had to sell their lands for the city. They were threatened with
expropriation. Only a small part of the area received for the city
was zoned, but the area had to be much larger so that there was
enough pasture for the city's cows - even at that time it was not
uncommon in Finnish cities for residents to own cows.
The
area of the old church in Jyväskylä (market place) would have been
the most natural place for the city. However, that was not the only
option. The Finnish Senate sent Jakob Leonard Boringh, an engineer
at the main measurement office, to look for the most suitable city
location. He also found suitable places in Kuokkala and Keljo, but
in the end a market place was chosen, where the city was planned.
Today, two other proposed sites also belong to the city area.
Almost all of the city's first residents came from outside the
Jyväskylä region. The town plan for the new city was first designed
by Boringh. It had fifteen blocks, each with eight plots, except for
the middle block, which was the market square. C. L. Engel changed
the formula by adding smaller plots at each end of the formula,
enlarging the plots around the square and removing the transverse
fire streets, i.e. the rows of hardwoods to prevent fires. The
center of the current city is that area of the Engel town plan. In
1838, the city had only 189 inhabitants.
19th century traffic
Regular steamship traffic began in the 1850s. The fact that the town
was built in a chapel village that was not on the shores of Lake
Päijänne was a bad solution for water transport, as large inland
waterway vessels did not get directly into the city, but ships were
left in the outer harbor on Lake At that time, a ship connection
suitable for large inland waterway vessels was opened between
Jyväsjärvi and Päijänne. When the Vääksy Canal was completed in
1871, another significant settlement center (the present city) was
reached as far as Lahti. Soon another canal was completed, the
Kalkkinen canal, which enabled shipping to Heinola. The channels
significantly improved connections in Jyväskylä, Heinola and Lahti.
The Haapamäki – Jyväskylä line (1897) significantly promoted the
development of Jyväskylä's economic life and the industrialization
of Central Finland as a whole.
Promoting Finnishness
In
the 19th century, the most notable influencer in the Jyväskylä
region was Wolmar Schildt, a district doctor, one of the most
notable supporters of Finnish affairs. Thanks in large part to him,
Jyväskylä developed into a pioneer of Finnish-language culture. A
Finnish-language lyceum (now Jyväskylä Lyceum High School) was
established in Jyväskylä in 1858, the first nationwide teacher
seminar in 1863, from which the first primary school teachers
graduated three years later, and a Finnish girls' school in 1864.
These schools brought a large number of civilized Teachers from
Jyväskylä included, for example, Kaarle Jaakko Gummerus, Karl Gustav
Göös and Alexander Georg Weilin, who have become book publishers.
The beginning of the industry
In the late 19th century, the
city and its surroundings prospered due to, among other things, the
increase in the value of forests. During this time, many
significant, still in use public buildings were built in the city.
Gradually, industry rose in Jyväskylä; the first major mills were
the Lohikoski paper mill and the Schauman plywood mill, which was
established in 1912. Later, in the 1920s and 1930s, the Armed Forces
arms industry was located in the Jyväskylä region, out of reach of
enemy aircraft, the largest being the State Rifle Mill and the State
Artillery Mill.
Athens, Finland
Jyväskylä's reputation as
an educational and school city once gave rise to the city's
nickname, Athens of Finland. Already at the time the first schools
were founded, the city had dreamed of getting a university in the
city. The first sign of the dream came true when Finland's first
summer university was founded in the city in 1912. The teacher
seminary was transformed in 1934 into the College of Education,
which already had the right to award doctoral degrees. The actual
university could be expected until 1966, when the University of
Education became multidisciplinary and its name was changed to the
University of Jyväskylä. Jyväskylä is still a major study city and
its inhabitants are more educated than average. However, Jyväskylä
lost its special status at the beginning of independence due to the
progress of education and book education throughout Finland.
Building a city
Jyväskylä has become one of the largest city
centers in Finland relatively late. Grown up by the Jyväskylä
Lyceum, Alvar Aalto founded his architectural firm in Jyväskylä in
the autumn of 1923 and has since designed numerous buildings for the
city and its surroundings. Jyväskylä remained a fairly quiet school
town until the early years of the 20th century, but it gradually
began to grow and industrialize. OY Wilh. The completion of Schauman
AB and defense institutions in Jyväskylä industrialized the city
even before the Second World War, but it was only after the wars
that the city began to grow rapidly and was no longer just Athens in
Finland. Jyväskylä became one of Finland's most important industrial
centers. In 40 years, the city’s population increased sixfold,
extensive regional unions were made in the city (the most important
in 1941 and 1965), and new residential suburbs were zoned. At the
same time, almost all of the historic wooden houses in the center
gave way to new buildings. This demolition frenzy was a nationwide
phenomenon, but in Jyväskylä it was particularly devastating, and it
was caused, at least in part, by a shortage of land.
After
the Winter and Continuation Wars, settlers from the Sortavala
countryside came to Jyväskylä.
In the 1960s, the cultural
events Jyväskylä Summer and Jyväskylä Winter began. In 1951, the
first major races in Jyväskylä were held, now called the Neste
Rally.
Central Finland
Jyväskylä was the capital of the
province of Central Finland during the county's existence in
1960–1997. In previous centuries, Jyväskylä, as part of the rest of
Laukaa municipality, first belonged to Häme County until 1775, after
which it belonged to Vaasa County until the establishment of the
Province of Central Finland in 1960. In the 1997 county reform,
Central Finland, together with the provinces of Turku and Pori and
Vaasa, as well as the northern parts of Häme County, became part of
the Province of Western Finland, whose capital was Turku.