Ristijärvi

Ristijärvi
Municipality
Ristijärven kunta
Ristijärvi kommun
Karppala mill along the Torvenjoki River.
Location of Ristijärvi in Finland
Coordinates: 64°30.3′N 028°13′E / 64.5050°N 28.217°E / 64.5050; 28.217
Country Finland
RegionKainuu
Sub-regionKajaani
Charter1867
SeatRistijärvi (village)
Government
 • Municipal managerKatri Aula
Area
 (2018-01-01)
 • Total
897.93 km2 (346.69 sq mi)
 • Land835.83 km2 (322.72 sq mi)
 • Water62.31 km2 (24.06 sq mi)
 • Rank94th largest in Finland
Population
 (2025-06-30)
 • Total
1,162
 • Rank286th largest in Finland
 • Density1.39/km2 (3.6/sq mi)
Population by native language
 • Finnish96.3% (official)
 • Others3.7%
Population by age
 • 0 to 1410.2%
 • 15 to 6451.3%
 • 65 or older38.5%
Time zoneUTC+02:00 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Websitewww.ristijarvi.fi

Ristijärvi (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈristiˌjærʋi]) is a municipality of Finland. It is part of the Kainuu region. The municipality has a population of 1,162 (30 June 2025), which makes it the smallest municipality in Kainuu in terms of population. It covers an area of 897.93 square kilometres (346.69 sq mi) of which 62.31 km2 (24.06 sq mi) is water. The population density is 1.39 inhabitants per square kilometre (3.6/sq mi). The municipality is unilingually Finnish.

The municipality was founded in 1867, while the wooden church, designed by Gustaf af Sillén, dates back to 1807. The municipality was named after the Ristijärvi lake (lit.'Cross Lake') referring to the shape of the lake.