Jyväskylä () is a
city and
municipality located in
Central Finland, north-east of
Tampere and north of
Helsinki, on coast of lake
Päijänne and near lake
Keitele. It is the capital of
Central Finland. The site of many education-related firsts in Finland, Jyväskylä is known as a city of schools, the
Athens of
Finland. It is also famous for its many buildings designed by
Alvar Aalto. The city hosts
Neste Oil Rally Finland, which is part of the
World Rally Championship. It is also home of the annual
Jyväskylä Arts Festival.
As of , Jyväskylä had a population of .
The Jyväskylä sub-region includes Jyväskylä,
Laukaa,
Muurame,
Petäjävesi and
Toivakka.
, the city
mayor is
Markku Andersson.
History
In Jyväskylä region there are archeological findings from the stone age and cultivation has started already 3500 years ago. According to the oldest available taxation documents (
maakirja) there were seven estates in the Jyväskylä region in 1539. One of them, the estate of Mattila, alone possessed the areas stretching from the village of Keljo to the villages of Vesanka and Palokka. The oldest estate in Jyväskylä that has been held continuously by the same family is the estate of Lahti which emerged when the estate of Mattila was split for two brothers in 1600. The history of the estate of Lahti and the family of Lahti have had a significant impact on the development of Jyväskylä region. Lahdenrinne in the south-west corner of Jyväsjärvi lake belongs to the old heartland of the estate of Lahti.
The City of Jyväskylä was founded on
22 March,
1837 by Czar
Nicholas I of Russia and the infrastructure was essentially built from scratch. The original town was built between
Lake Jyväsjärvi (which is connected to Lake Päijänne) and the Jyväskylä ridge (Harju), and consisted of most of the current grid-style city centre. In the early 20th century, the town expanded several times. Most of today's Jyväskylä was built after the
Continuation war, when refugees from
Karelia and other parts of the country moved to the city and housing was badly needed. Today, Jyväskylä is growing fast - by approx. 1,000 inhabitants/year.
Säynätsalo was consolidated with Jyväskylä in 1993.
Jyväskylän maalaiskunta and
Korpilahti were consolidated with Jyväskylä on January 1, 2009.
Geography
Climate
Economy
Main sources of livelihood in Jyväskylä are educational and health care services,
paper machinery production, information technology and energy sector. Most important private employers are paper machinery producer
Metso ltd., retail trade company
Keskimaa, real estate service company
ISS, wind turbine gear manufacturer
Moventas and IT service company
Tieto.
The unemployment rate in Jyväskylä is 14.7% (7/2009), which is higher than average in Finland (10,7% in 7/2009), due to high number of students.
Sports
The University of Jyväskylä is the only university in Northern Europe with a faculty of sports. The faculty has been a key player to develop a strong sports culture in the city.
List of successful sport teams from Jyväskylä
- Kirittäret holds ten Finnish Championships in women's Finnish baseball league. Latest championship is from summer 2009.
- Happee plays floorball in the Finnish top division both in men's and women's league.
Education
Jyväskylä is a traditional education city. A number of firsts in Finnish education have taken place in Jyväskylä:
- The first Finnish-medium lyceum (high school) (1858) (lyceum being a Finnish equivalent of high school). Today the school is named
- The first Finnish-medium teacher training college (1863)
- The first Finnish-medium school for girls (1864)
- Finland's first Summer University (1914)
Due to this, among other things, the city earned the nickname
Athens of Finland.
The teacher training college later evolved into the College of Education (1934) and further into the multidisciplinary
University of Jyväskylä (1966).
The
University of Jyväskylä is one of the most popular universities in
Finland. Almost 16,000 students are enrolled to study for a Bachelor's or Master's degree, and the university also offers PhD programs in most of its subjects. Historically, the university has excelled in the study of education, but in the last few decades it has also gained respect in the sciences. It is the only university in Finland offering university-level education in sports, training sports teachers and coaches. Its IT program is the largest in the country in terms of attendance. Including school children, and the students in high schools, vocational schools, the university of applied sciences, known also for its IT program, and the university, the number of students and pupils in the city reaches 44,000, boosting Jyväskylä's reputation as a "student city".
Transport
Jyväskylä railway station is served by
VR direct trains to
Helsinki,
Pieksämäki,
Tampere,
Turku,
Vaasa and many other destinations in Finland. The station was extensively modernised in 2002.
Jyväskylä Airport was expanded in 2004. It's situated in
Tikkakoski, about north of Jyväskylä. It has direct flights to
Helsinki-Vantaa Airport.
The city is on crossroads of many main roads of Finland.
European route E75 passes the city from South to North and
E63 from Southeast to Northwest.
Jyväskylä harbour is home for many passenger ships operating on lake Päijänne.
Public transportation system is operated by
Jyväskylän liikenne and it is based on bus lines.
People
Artists
Politicians
- Minna Canth, writer, social activist, early women's right activist
- Väinö Voionmaa, Senator, Minister, Professor, member of Finnish Parliament
Athletes
International relations
Twin towns — Sister cities
Jyväskylä is
twinned with:
