Alajärvi (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈɑlɑˌjærʋi]; lit. 'lower lake') is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the South Ostrobothnia region. The town has a population of 9,084 (31 October 2024)[2] and covers an area of 1,056.74 square kilometres (408.01 sq mi) of which 47.99 km2 (18.53 sq mi) is water.[1] The population density is 9.01 inhabitants per square kilometre (23.3/sq mi). The town is unilingually Finnish.
Alajärvi | |
|---|---|
Town | |
| Alajärven kaupunki Alajärvi stad | |
 Alajärvi Church | |
 Coat of arms | |
 Location of Alajärvi in Finland | |
| Coordinates: 63°00′N 023°49′E / 63.000°N 23.817°E | |
| Country |  Finland |
| Region | South Ostrobothnia |
| Sub-region | Järviseutu sub-region |
| Charter | 1869 |
| Town privileges | 1986 |
| Government | |
| • Town manager | Vesa Koivunen |
| Area (2018-01-01)[1] | |
• Total | 1,056.74 km2 (408.01 sq mi) |
| • Land | 1,008.77 km2 (389.49 sq mi) |
| • Water | 47.99 km2 (18.53 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 78th largest in Finland |
| Population (2024-10-31)[2] | |
• Total | 9,084 |
| • Rank | 106th largest in Finland |
| • Density | 9.01/km2 (23.3/sq mi) |
| Population by native language | |
| • Finnish | 95.3% (official) |
| • Swedish | 0.2% |
| • Others | 4.5% |
| Population by age | |
| • 0 to 14 | 17.4% |
| • 15 to 64 | 54.3% |
| • 65 or older | 28.3% |
| Time zone | UTC+02:00 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+03:00 (EEST) |
| Website | alajarvi |
The municipality of Lehtimäki was consolidated with Alajärvi on 1 January 2009.
Geography
editThe neighboring municipalities of Alajärvi are Alavus, Kuortane, Kyyjärvi, Lappajärvi, Lapua, Perho, Soini, Vimpeli and Ähtäri.
Villages
editIn 1967, Alajärvi had eight legally recognized villages (henkikirjakylät):[6]
- Alajärvi
- Kurejoki
- Menkijärvi
- Möksy
- Savonkylä
- Tarvolankylä
- Päällysaho
- Vimpeli
Economy
editIn 2018, 11.2% of the workforce of Alajärvi worked in primary production (agriculture, forestry and fishing), 29.9% in secondary production (e.g. manufacturing, construction and infrastructure), and 57.1% in services. In 2019, the unemployment rate was 9.3%, and the share of pensioners in the population was 33.0%.[7]
Though a small town, Alajärvi has a few shops, namely K-Supermarket, Tokmanni, Lidl and a few others. In 2013 a public natatorium was opened, which also includes a weight room.
Urban areas
editIn 2019, out of the total population of 9,562, 5,846 people lived in urban areas and 3,641 in sparsely populated areas, while the coordinates of 75 people were unknown. This made Alajärvi's degree of urbanization 61.6%.[8] The urban population in the municipality was divided between three urban areas as follows:[9]
| # | Urban area | Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alajärvi central locality | 5,029 |
| 2 | Lehtimäki | 570 |
| 3 | Luoma-aho | 247 |
Climate
editAlajärvi has a subarctic climate (Dfc).
| Climate data for Alajärvi Möksy (1991-2020 normals, records 1959-present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 7.8 (46.0) |
10.0 (50.0) |
14.1 (57.4) |
23.2 (73.8) |
29.8 (85.6) |
32.1 (89.8) |
33.6 (92.5) |
30.8 (87.4) |
27.0 (80.6) |
19.8 (67.6) |
11.2 (52.2) |
8.1 (46.6) |
33.6 (92.5) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −7.4 (18.7) |
−7.9 (17.8) |
−4.0 (24.8) |
2.0 (35.6) |
8.3 (46.9) |
13.2 (55.8) |
15.9 (60.6) |
13.8 (56.8) |
8.7 (47.7) |
3.0 (37.4) |
−1.4 (29.5) |
−4.9 (23.2) |
3.3 (37.9) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −42.0 (−43.6) |
−45.5 (−49.9) |
−36.0 (−32.8) |
−22.2 (−8.0) |
−10.0 (14.0) |
−6.6 (20.1) |
−2.7 (27.1) |
−6.8 (19.8) |
−9.5 (14.9) |
−23.4 (−10.1) |
−32.1 (−25.8) |
−37.2 (−35.0) |
−45.5 (−49.9) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 42 (1.7) |
33 (1.3) |
34 (1.3) |
34 (1.3) |
48 (1.9) |
72 (2.8) |
79 (3.1) |
75 (3.0) |
61 (2.4) |
64 (2.5) |
54 (2.1) |
50 (2.0) |
646 (25.4) |
| Average precipitation days | 11 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 121 |
| Source: https://www.ilmatieteenlaitos.fi/ilmastollinen-vertailukausi | |||||||||||||
Demographics
editIn 2020, 17.4% of the population of Alajärvi was under the age of 15, 54.3% were aged 15 to 64, and 28.3% were over the age of 64. The average age was 46.1, above the national average of 43.4 and regional average of 44.7. Speakers of Finnish made up 96.8% of the population and speakers of Swedish made up 0.1%, while the share of speakers of foreign languages was 3.0%. Foreign nationals made up 2.8% of the total population.[10]
The chart below, describing the development of the total population of Alajärvi from 1975 to 2020, encompasses the municipality's area as of 2021.
|
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| Source: Statistics Finland[11] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Culture
editThe Alajärvi Church, also known as the Church of Gabriel, was designed by Carl Ludvig Engel and completed in 1836.[12]
There are several buildings in the town and surrounding area designed by architect Alvar Aalto, both from the very early and later stages of his career: the Youth Association building (1919), Myllykangas farmhouse alterations (1920), Villa Väinölä (1926), Villa Flora (Aino Aalto, 1926), Municipal Hospital (1928), Grave memorials in the Church of Gabriel cemetery (1918, 1940, 1944), and the Administrative Centre (1965-1970) and Library (design 1966, built 1991).[13][14]
The town is home to the Nelimarkka Museum. The museum was built by the painter Eero Nelimarkka. It was designed by his friend, the architect Hilding Ekelund.[15]
The men's pesäpallo club Alajärven Ankkurit competes in the Superpesis national league, playing at Kitro Stadium.
Notable people
edit- Reijo Hongisto
- Martti Korkia-Aho
- Matti Luoma-aho
- Eero Nelimarkka
- Eino Ojajärvi
- Verner Thomé
- Reijo Vähälä
Also, Alvar Aalto spent summers in Alajärvi in his youth and even lived there until his marriage in 1925.[14]
Gallery
edit-
The sun in Alajärvi, Finland.
-
Lake Alajärvi, 2017
-
Alajärvi municipal border sign
-
Alajärvi plains
-
field in Alajärvi, 2014
-
Supermarket in Alajärvi
References
edit- ^ a b "Area of Finnish Municipalities 1.1.2018" (PDF). National Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
- ^ a b "Finland's preliminary population figure was 5,635,560 at the end of October 2024". Population structure. Statistics Finland. 2024-11-19. ISSN 1797-5395. Retrieved 2024-11-22.
- ^ "Population growth biggest in nearly 70 years". Population structure. Statistics Finland. 2024-04-26. ISSN 1797-5395. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
- ^ "Population according to age (1-year) and sex by area and the regional division of each statistical reference year, 2003–2020". StatFin. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
- ^ a b "Luettelo kuntien ja seurakuntien tuloveroprosenteista vuonna 2023". Tax Administration of Finland. 14 November 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
- ^ Korpela, Kalevi; Mäkinen, Vesa; Papunen, Pentti (1967). "Alajärvi". Suomenmaa: maantieteellis-yhteiskunnallinen tieto- ja hakuteos. 1: Ahlainen–Hausjärvi. Helsinki: WSOY.
- ^ "Municipal key figures 1987-2020 (with the 2021 regional division)". StatFin. Statistics Finland. Archived from the original on 2021-04-26. Retrieved 28 April 2021. (2018 and 2019)
- ^ "Degree of urbanisation by area, 2019". StatFin. Statistics Finland. Archived from the original on 2019-11-26. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
- ^ "Population in urban settlements and sparsely populated areas by age, sex and municipality, 2019". StatFin. Statistics Finland. Archived from the original on 2019-11-26. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
- ^ "Key figures on population by region, 1990-2020". StatFin. Statistics Finland. Archived from the original on 2019-04-06. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
- ^ "Population according to age (1-year) and sex by area, 1972-2020". StatFin. Statistics Finland. Archived from the original on 2019-05-25. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
- ^ "Gabrielin kirkko - Alajärven kirkko". AlajarvenSeurakunta.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 4 October 2020.
- ^ "Alvar Aalto in Alajärvi". AlvarAalto.fi. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
- ^ a b Vuorio, Jukka (23 August 2024). "Tiedätkö miltä näyttää Alvar Aallon ensimmäinen rakennus? Alajärven pikkukaupunki on täynnä Aallon arkkitehtuuria". Seura (in Finnish). Retrieved 30 August 2024.
- ^ "Nelimarkka-Museo". www.nelimarkka-museo.fi. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
External links
editMedia related to Alajärvi at Wikimedia Commons Alajärvi travel guide from Wikivoyage
- Town of Alajärvi – Official website