Saarijärvi
Saarijärvi | |
|---|---|
Town | |
| Saarijärven kaupunki Saarijärvi stad | |
Church of Saarijärvi | |
|
Flag Coat of arms | |
Location of Saarijärvi in Finland | |
| Coordinates: 62°42.3′N 025°15.5′E / 62.7050°N 25.2583°E | |
| Country | Finland |
| Region | Central Finland |
| Sub-region | Saarijärvi-Viitasaari sub-region |
| Charter | 1866 |
| City rights | 1986 |
| Government | |
| • Town manager | Satu Autiosalo |
| Area (2018-01-01) | |
• Total | 1,422.72 km2 (549.32 sq mi) |
| • Land | 1,251.76 km2 (483.31 sq mi) |
| • Water | 170.8 km2 (65.9 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 58th largest in Finland |
| Population (2025-06-30) | |
• Total | 8,831 |
| • Rank | 111th largest in Finland |
| • Density | 7.05/km2 (18.3/sq mi) |
| Population by native language | |
| • Finnish | 97.1% (official) |
| • Swedish | 0.1% |
| • Others | 2.8% |
| Population by age | |
| • 0 to 14 | 13.8% |
| • 15 to 64 | 53.2% |
| • 65 or older | 33% |
| Time zone | UTC+02:00 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+03:00 (EEST) |
| Website | saarijarvi |
Saarijärvi (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈsɑːriˌjærʋi]) is a town and municipality of Finland located in the Central Finland region, located about 65 kilometres (40 mi) north of Jyväskylä. The municipality has a population of 8,831, as of 30 June 2025, and covers an area of 1,422.72 square kilometres (549.32 sq mi) of which 170.8 km2 (65.9 sq mi), or 12%, is water. The population density is 7.05 inhabitants per square kilometre (18.3/sq mi).
Neighbouring municipalities are Kannonkoski, Karstula, Multia, Soini, Uurainen, Ähtäri and Äänekoski. The municipality is unilingually Finnish. The neighboring municipality of Pylkönmäki was merged with the Saarijärvi municipality on 1 January 2009. There are 241 lakes in Saarijärvi altogether. The biggest lakes are Pyhäjärvi, Summanen and Lake Saarijärvi.
Saarijärvi is the home of the peasant Bonden Paavo (Finnish: Saarijärven Paavo), who persists through hardship and adversity, in the poem by Johan Ludvig Runeberg. Juho Hyytiäinen, the great grandfather of Pamela Anderson, left the village in 1908, emigrating to the American continent.
In the 1980s, the traditional parish dishes of Saarijärvi were suutarinpaisti ("cobbler's roast") made by vendace and mashed potatoes called perupuuro, rutabaga-made porridge with lingonberries preserved in water, and charred fish.