Jyväskylä

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Jyväskylä
City
Jyväskylän kaupunki
Jyväskylä stad
City of Jyväskylä
Clockwise from top-left: Lutakko Square, Äijäl��nsalmi Strait, apartments in Lutakko, a courtyard in downtown Jyväskylä, the Jyväskylä City Church, and the old power station of Vaajakoski
Clockwise from top-left: Lutakko Square, Äijälänsalmi Strait, apartments in Lutakko, a courtyard in downtown Jyväskylä, the Jyväskylä City Church, and the old power station of Vaajakoski
Coat of arms of Jyväskylä
Coat of arms
Nickname(s): 
Athens of Finland; Capital of Finnish rap;[1][2] Capital of Finnish sport[3]
Jyväskylä is located in Finland
Jyväskylä
Jyväskylä
Location of Jyväskylä in Finland
Coordinates: 62°14.5′N 025°44.5′E / 62.2417°N 25.7417°E / 62.2417; 25.7417Coordinates: 62°14.5′N 025°44.5′E / 62.2417°N 25.7417°E / 62.2417; 25.7417
Country Finland
RegionKeski-Suomi Coat of Arms.svg Central Finland
Sub-regionJyväskylä sub-region
Charter1837
Government
 • City manager[4]
Area
 (2018-01-01)[5]
 • City1,466.35 km2 (566.16 sq mi)
 • Land1,170.99 km2 (452.12 sq mi)
 • Water295.35 km2 (114.04 sq mi)
 • Urban
99.25 km2 (38.32 sq mi)
Area rank61st largest in Finland
Population
 (2021-03-31)[6]
 • City143,400
 • Rank7th largest in Finland
 • Density122.46/km2 (317.2/sq mi)
 • Urban
117,974
 • Urban density1,188.7/km2 (3,079/sq mi)
Population by native language
 • Finnish96.7% (official)
 • Swedish0.2%
 • Others3%
Population by age
 • 0 to 1415.2%
 • 15 to 6466.2%
 • 65 or older18.6%
Time zoneUTC+02:00 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Municipal tax rate[9]20%
Unemployment rate11.8%
Websitewww.jyvaskyla.fi

Jyväskylä (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈjyʋæsˌkylæ]; Latin: Granivicus) is a city and municipality in Finland in the western part of the Finnish Lakeland. It is located about 150 km north-east from Tampere, the third largest city in Finland; and about 270 km north from Helsinki, the capital of Finland. The Jyväskylä sub-region includes Jyväskylä, Hankasalmi, Laukaa, Muurame, Petäjävesi, Toivakka, and Uurainen. Other border municipalities of Jyväskylä are Joutsa, Jämsä and Luhanka.

Jyväskylä is the largest city in the region of Central Finland and in the Finnish Lakeland; as of 31 March 2021, Jyväskylä had a population of 143,400.[6] The city has been one of the fastest growing cities in Finland during the 20th century,[10][11][12] when in 1940, there were only 8,000 inhabitants in Jyväskylä.

Elias Lönnrot, the compiler of the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala, gave the city the nickname "Athens of Finland". This nickname refers to the major role of Jyväskylä as an educational centre.[13] The works of the most famous Finnish architect Alvar Aalto can be seen throughout the city. The city hosts the Neste Oil Rally Finland, which is part of the World Rally Championship. It is also home of the annual Jyväskylä Arts Festival.

Etymology[]

The second part of the city's name, kylä, means village. The first part of the city's name, jyväs-, looks like the stem of an adjective *jyvänen, derived from jyvä, "grain" (compare Wiktionary). Alternatively, it has been associated with Taxus, a genus of yews, and the Old Prussian word juwis. It has also been speculated that the word jyväs refers to the sun's reflection of the surface of the water.[14]

History[]

Jyväskylä town square in the early 20th century
Kirkkopuisto Park in the early 20th century

In the Jyväskylä region, there are archeological findings from the Stone Age. According to the oldest available taxation documents (maakirja), there were seven estates on 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 continuously held by the same family is the estate of Lahti, which emerged when the estate of Mattila was split between two brothers in 1600.[15] 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.[16]

The City of Jyväskylä was founded on 22 March 1837, when Emperor of Russia and Grand Duke of Finland, Nicholas I of Russia, signed the charter of the city and the infrastructure was essentially built from scratch.[17] At the times Finnish military battalion participated under his rule in military operations against the Polish November Uprising and later in Hungary, Turkey and Bessarabia (today Moldova). While Nicholas I of Russia abolished many autonomous areas, it has been argued, that the loyalty of Finnish military influenced his approach towards Finnish autonomy.[18] 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.

The establishment of schools in the 1850s and '60s proved to be the most significant step in regards to the later development of Jyväskylä. The first three Finnish-speaking schools in the world were founded in Jyväskylä, the lycée in 1858, the teachers’ college in 1863, and the girls’ school in 1864. Well-trained teaching staff and pupils from different parts of the country changed the atmosphere of Jyväskylä irrevocably.[19]

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. During the 21st century Jyväskylä has grown fast – by over 1,000 inhabitants every year.[20]

Säynätsalo was consolidated with Jyväskylä in 1993, and Jyväskylän maalaiskunta and Korpilahti, for their part, on January 1, 2009.

Geography[]

Palokkajärvi two kilometres (1.2 miles) north from the city center is one of the numerous lakes in Jyväskylä.

Jyväskylä is located on the northern coast of Lake Päijänne, 147 kilometres (91 mi) north-east of Tampere, 148 kilometres (92 mi) south-west of Kuopio and 270 kilometres (170 mi) north of Helsinki. The hilly and forested terrain in Jyväskylä is surrounded by hundreds of lakes. To reach Jyväskylä from the east, one needs to go through or pass the hill Kanavuori, which used to host a military depot full of ammunition and armaments.

Jyväskylä is located in the Finnish Lakeland. There are 328 lakes in the city, and lakes and rivers constitute 20,1% (295 km2) of the total area of the city. The city's largest lakes are Päijänne, Leppävesi, Tuomiojärvi, Palokkajärvi, Luonetjärvi, and Alvajärvi-Korttajärvi. The city center is located on the shores of a small Jyväsjärvi.[21]

The landscape in Jyväskylä is hilly, forested and full of waters. The architect Alvar Aalto compared the hilly landscape of Jyväskylä to Toscana in Italy: "The slope of Jyväskylä ridge is almost like the mountain vineyards of Fiesole".[22]

Climate[]

The defined climate is a subarctic continental (Köppen: Dfc).[23] Because of its northern location, winters are long, snowy, cold, and dark. During midwinter, the city receives daylight for only around five hours. Summers are mild, with the average daily maximum temperature being 22 °C (72 °F) in July. During the summer, Jyväskylä experiences long daylight and white nights i.e. midnight twilight.[citation needed]

hideClimate data for Jyväskylä Airport (1981-2010 normals, extremes 1959 -present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 7.8
(46.0)
11.0
(51.8)
16.2
(61.2)
22.6
(72.7)
29.3
(84.7)
31.3
(88.3)
34.2
(93.6)
32.3
(90.1)
25.5
(77.9)
20.1
(68.2)
13.2
(55.8)
9.4
(48.9)
34.2
(93.6)
Average high °C (°F) −5.1
(22.8)
−4.7
(23.5)
0.4
(32.7)
7.0
(44.6)
14.8
(58.6)
19.0
(66.2)
21.8
(71.2)
19.0
(66.2)
13.0
(55.4)
6.4
(43.5)
0.3
(32.5)
−3.3
(26.1)
7.4
(45.3)
Daily mean °C (°F) −8.3
(17.1)
−8.5
(16.7)
−3.8
(25.2)
2.2
(36.0)
8.9
(48.0)
13.7
(56.7)
16.5
(61.7)
14.1
(57.4)
8.8
(47.8)
3.6
(38.5)
−2.0
(28.4)
−6.2
(20.8)
3.2
(37.9)
Average low °C (°F) −12
(10)
−12.7
(9.1)
−8.3
(17.1)
−2.7
(27.1)
2.7
(36.9)
7.9
(46.2)
10.9
(51.6)
9.2
(48.6)
4.7
(40.5)
0.8
(33.4)
−4.5
(23.9)
−9.5
(14.9)
−1.1
(29.9)
Record low °C (°F) −38.5
(−37.3)
−37.1
(−34.8)
−32.7
(−26.9)
−20.5
(−4.9)
−9.0
(15.8)
−3.3
(26.1)
1.1
(34.0)
−2.2
(28.0)
−9.2
(15.4)
−18.8
(−1.8)
−27.2
(−17.0)
−34.8
(−30.6)
−38.5
(−37.3)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 45
(1.8)
32
(1.3)
36
(1.4)
35
(1.4)
44
(1.7)
67
(2.6)
84
(3.3)
78
(3.1)
55
(2.2)
66
(2.6)
54
(2.1)
47
(1.9)
643
(25.3)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 23 18 17 12 13 15 15 16 16 19 22 23 209
Mean monthly sunshine hours 29 73 126 187 256 247 263 199 120 59 25 14 1,598
Source 1: FMI climatological normals for Finland 1981-2010[24]
Source 2: record highs and lows[25]

Demographics[]

A pedestrian street downtown

Population[]

Jyväskylä was the fastest growing Finnish city in the 20th century. The population has continued to grow rapidly in the 21st century.[10][11][12]

Year 1838 1850 1860 1900 1939 1952 1960 1970 1990 1997 2010
Population of Jyväskylä 189 Green Arrow Up.svg over 500 Green Arrow Up.svg over 1,000 Green Arrow Up.svg 3,000 Green Arrow Up.svg 10,091 Green Arrow Up.svg 31,504 Green Arrow Up.svg 42,768 Green Arrow Up.svg 59,954 Green Arrow Up.svg 66,431 Green Arrow Up.svg 75,353 Green Arrow Up.svg 130,816

Languages[]

96.7% of the population spoke Finnish as their first language in 2010. The share of Swedish speakers was 0.2%. Other languages made up the remaining 3% of the population.[citation needed]

Migration[]

In year 2019, there were about 7,650 foreigners in Jyväskylä.[26]

Largest groups of foreign residents[27]
Nationality Population (2018)
 Russia 1,867
 Sweden 750
 Afghanistan 475
 Iran 415
 Iraq 302
 Estonia 285
 Thailand 261
 China 241
 DR Congo 241
 Turkey 201

Military[]

Jyväskylä hosts the headquarters of the Finnish Air Force, in Tikkakoski. As a central location, it has traditionally been important base for military operations. Jyväskylä got also known as major firearms manufacturer (Tikkakoski) during the world wars, producing machine guns and ammunition.

According to reporting in Helsingin Sanomat, since the 1990s Jyväskylä has served as a signals intelligence collection site, primarily targeting military maneuvers around St. Petersburg.[28]

Economy[]

Once a factory, now a school, Schauman factory is now used by the Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences.
Agora Center is an example of the modern economy in Jyväskylä. It is a workplace for teachers, scientists, and IT workers.
Jyväskylä is a hub of IT. Innova Tower hosts multiple tech companies.

Because of excellent connections, Jyväskylä was a busy marketplace even before the first permanent settlements were founded in the current city centre.[29] The establishment of Finland's first three Finnish-speaking schools: the lycée in 1858, the teachers’ college in 1863, and the girls’ school in 1864 proved to be the most significant steps in regards to later development of Jyväskylä. Educational services became the heart of the economic growth of the city. In 1912 Wilhelm Schauman founded a plywood mill on the shores of Jyväsjärvi. Soon other kinds of forest based businesses opened factories and premises in the city. Thus, lumber, pulp, and paper became the second stronghold of the economy in Jyväskylä. Later, the high quality education and paper machinery industry tempted information technology businesses to settle in the city.[19]

Nowadays, the main sources of subsistence in Jyväskylä are educational and health care services, paper machinery production, information technology, and renewable energy. The most important private employers are paper machinery producer Metso ltd., retail trade company Keskimaa Cooperative Society, real estate service company ISS, and wind turbine gear manufacturer Moventas.[30] The biggest public employers are the City of Jyväskylä, the Central Finland Health Care District, the University of Jyväskylä, and the Air Force Academy.

As of 2010, only 1% of the labor force works on the primary sector, 21% on the secondary sector, and 78% on the service sector of the economy.[31]

In April 2012, the unemployment rate in Jyväskylä was 12.2%, which was higher than average in Finland (9.8% in 1/2012).[32] As of July 2012, there are about 61,000 jobs in Jyväskylä. The average income per income earner was €24,380 in 2010.[33]

In 2011, Jyväskylä topped in an image evaluation study among businesses. The city reached the highest score of large Finnish cities in the study, succeeding especially in the availability of skilled work force, on commercial services, on transport connections, and on geographical location.[34]

The Gross domestic product per capita in the city of Jyväskylä was €33,688 in 2005. The self-sufficiency in workplaces exceeded 100% in the city, raising the GDP per capita higher than the national average. The GDP per capita of the whole Jyväskylä region was €28,718 in 2007. The regional GDP per capita is lower than the Finnish national average, mainly due to high number of students and a relatively high unemployment rate.[35]

Culture[]

Jyväskylä City Church.
Functionalistic Säynätsalo Town Hall by Alvar Aalto is open also for visitors interested in his architecture.
A German biplane Stieglitz in the Aviation Museum of Central Finland

Museums[]

The Alvar Aalto Museum and the Museum of Central Finland form a center of culture in the immediate vicinity of the historical campus of the University of Jyväskylä. Both museums are designed by functionalist Alvar Aalto. The Alvar Aalto Museum displays the artist's most important work and design.[36] The Museum of Central Finland specializes in cultural history. It serves both as the town museum of Jyväskylä and the provincial museum of Central Finland.[37] In summer 2015 Alvar Aalto Foundation and the city of Jyväskylä launched an architect competition to connect the two museums.[38]

One of architect Aalto's most significant works, Säynätsalo Town Hall, is located in Säynätsalo island.[39]

The city hosts the Craft Museum of Finland, which presents a range of different handicraft techniques from across the country, as well as a centre dedicated to the conservation of textiles that serves private customers, museums and organisations. The National Costume Center of Finland forms a part of the museum.[40]

The Aviation Museum of Central Finland near the Jyväskylä Airport in Tikkakoski exhibits the aviation history of Finland.[41]

The University of Jyväskylä Museum is specialized in the history of the University and diversity of nature in Central Finland.[42]

Jyväskylä Art Museum, located the city centre is the regional art museum of Central Finland. In collaboration with the Centre for Creative Photography, the Jyväskylä Art Museum maintains The Ratamo Printmaking and Photography Centre. This centre consists of the Galleria Ratamo along with a printmaking workshop, photography studio and artist workspaces all situated in Jyväskylä's former roundhouse.[43]

In addition, historical churches in the city are open for public, most notables of them being the Taulumäki Church and the Jyväskylä City Church.

Theaters[]

The biggest theater in the city is the Jyväskylä City Theatre, designed by Alvar Aalto. It stands right in the center of the city.[44]

In addition to the City Theatre, more than dozen amateur drama companies serve audiences of all ages. The most popular theatres include:

  • Huoneteatteri (The Room Theatre), Sammonkatu 4
  • Jyväskylä University Student Theatre, Student Union Building, Keskussairaalantie 2
  • Jyväskylän kansannäyttämö, Sammonkatu 7
  • AdAstra Theatre, Koskenharjuntie 8
  • Teatterikone, Köhniönkatu 31
  • Jyväskylän teatteriyhdistys Kulissi, Siltakatu 25
  • Improvisaatioteatteri Ässiä Hatusta, University Campus, Student Union Building, Keskussairaalantie 2[45]

Music[]

In the 2010s, Jyväskylä earned a reputation as one of the most productive and high-quality rap music centers, and Jyväskylä has been titled in the media as the "capital of Finnish rap".[46][1] Gettomasa, among others, the rap artists from Jyväskylä who deserved their encouragement.[47][2]

Annual events[]

Petter Solberg on the Killeri super special stage of the Rally Finland
Members of Agent M performing in Jyrock festival in 2007.
  • Arctic and Fabulous Film Festival offers different forms and genres of Nordic film in the middle of most freezing winter season in February.[48]
  • Jyväskylä City's Birthday Week (last week of March) offers a number of concerts, theatre, exhibitions and debates around the city.[49]
  • Jyrock in April is an indie and alternative rock and pop festival.[50]
  • Lutakko liekeissä in August is a rock festival held in rock club Tanssisali Lutakko.[51]
  • Yläkaupungin Yö in May is one of the biggest annual street festivals of the city.[52]
  • Sataman Yö is an annual pop music festival organised one week before the midsummer in the harbour of Jyväskylä.[53]
  • Jyväskylä Arts Festival in the middle of July accommodates musicians, bands, contemporary circus, comedians, mimes, physical theatre, storytellers and film makers. It is one of the most well known festivals in Finland.[54]
  • Neste Oil Rally Finland in the end of July is the biggest annually organised event in Nordic countries and a part of the WRC World Rally Championships.[55]
  • Athenis Finlandiae organised in August is a cultural festival combining elements from ancient history, arts and science.[56]
  • Finlandia Marathon in the beginning of September is a marathon festival designed for everybody from a top athlete to an amateur jogger. Time of Dance – the largest annual festival of Finnish contemporary dance is taking place in the end of September.[57]
  • The International Print Triennial Graphica Creativa is organised every three years since 1975. It was the very first international graphic art exhibition in Finland. The latest triennial was organised in 2012.[58]

Sports[]

Goaltender Sinuhe Wallinheimo in an ice hockey match in Hippos 2007
Eino Kaakkolahti passing during a pesäpallo (Finnish baseball) match in 1958
Synergia-areena is the main ice hockey venue.
Jyväskylän Seudun Palloseura won the national bandy title in 2019. Here in the 2014 final.

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, which is why Jyväskylä is also dubbed the "capital of Finnish sport".[3]

The city hosts the Neste Oil Rally Finland (formerly known as the 1000 Lakes Rally). It is the biggest annually organised public event in the Nordic countries, gathering over 500,000 spectators every year. The rally has been held since 1951, first as a national competition, then from 1959 on as a European Rally Championship event and since the introduction of the World Rally Championship in 1973, as Finland's WRC event.

Hippos is a sports-oriented area in the district of Mäki-Matti, which holds many sports competitions every year.

Ice hockey venue Synergia-areena, Hippos Finnish baseball stadium, swimming hall AaltoAlvari, and many other primary sport venues of the city are located in , two kilometres (1.2 miles) away from the city centre. The Matti Nykänen ski jumping hill is located next to the Laajavuori ski resort just few kilometres west from the city centre. The main football stadium lies on the slopes of Harju just next to the city centre. The Killeri hippodrome on the western parts of the city serves different horse racing competitions. At winter time, amateur ice skaters can practice their skills in Viitaniemi or on the lake Jyväsjärvi, which has a 3.5 km (2.2 mi) long ice skating track.

The inventor of Finnish national sport pesäpallo, Lauri "Tahko" Pihkala, studied and lived in Jyväskylä. The Upper secondary school of Jyväskylän Lyseo hosted the historic event of first pesäpallo match in world in September 1920.[59][60]

Sports teams from Jyväskylä include:

  • JYP plays in the top-tier Finnish men's ice hockey league, SM-liiga. The team was the 2009 and 2012 Finnish Champion. The team also won the European Trophy in 2013 and the European Champions Hockey League tournament in 2018.
  • JyPK, Jyväskylän Pallokerho is a women's football team, playing as of 2020 in Kansallinen Liiga, the premier division of Finnish football.
  • FC Vaajakoski plays in Kakkonen, the third tier of the Finnish football league system.
  • FC Blackbird and Jyväskylän Jalkapalloklubi (JJK Jyväskylä) play in Kolmonen, the fourth tier of the Finnish football league system. JJK played in the premier division Veikkausliiga in 2017.
  • Jyväskylän Seudun Palloseura (JPS) plays in the highest bandy division, bandyliiga, and won in 2019 the national championship for the first time.[61][62] Their home arena is the Vehkalammen kenttä.
  • (JKU) is one of the leading track and field clubs in Finland.
  • is the most successful Finnish baseball team in history. Currently they play in the top division Superpesis.
  • plays water polo in the Finnish top division both in men and women.
  • (KaDy) plays futsal in the Finnish top league.
  • holds ten Finnish Championships in women's Finnish baseball league. Latest championship is from summer 2010.
  • plays in the top division of Finnish American football league.
  • plays floorball in the Finnish top division both in men's and women's league. Men's Finnish Championship in 2014.
  • plays basketball in the Finnish first division in men's league and in women's league
  • is the main freestyle skiing club.
  • (JHS) is one of the most well known cross-country skiing, ski-jumping, alpine skiing, snowboarding, Nordic combined and biathlon clubs in Finland.
  • Canoe Club: plays canoe polo, and practices whitewater slalom, canoe racing, wildwater canoeing and marathon kayaking..
  • : plays rugby union (rugby) at the highest national league. Former national champions.
  • : is the city's most successful martial arts and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu academy.
  • : is the biggest martial arts club in Central Finland. (judo, karate, kickboxing, t'ai chi, aikido, taido etc.)
  • is a well-known Taekwondo martial arts club in Jyväskylä since 1984.
  • plays futsal in the Finnish top league since 2013.
  • (JyLi Ry) competes in Ultimate, Disc golf and other disc sports.
  • (JSA) is the main cheerleading club.
  • Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, the official Toyota world rally team run by 4-time world champion and Jyväskylä native Tommi Mäkinen.

The city hosted the 2006 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship for Women Division B.

Government[]

The Jyväskylä City Hall

The city council of Jyväskylä is the main decision making body at the local level. Its 75 members are elected every fourth year in municipal elections. The city council elects the mayor. The current mayor is .[4]

Seat distribution in the city council[]

Party Seats 2021[63] 2021 2017 2012 2008 2004 2000 1996 1992 1988 1984 1980 1976
Social Democrats 13 19,1% 19,3% 24,1% 26,6% 29,9% 31,9% 33,7% 35,8% 33,3% 32,4% 33,0% 33,1%
National Coalition Party 13 18,3% 17,4% 18,6% 21,0% 20,0% 20,6% 22,9% 20,0% 25,7% 25,4% 25,7% 23,8%
Green League 12 17,4% 19,9% 11,1% 11,7% 11,5% 11,4% 10,3% 10,0% 2,8% 3,7% - -
Centre Party 9 13,6% 15,9% 17,0% 19,1% 19,1% 17,3% 13,3% 10,2% 12,1% 12,1% 9,7% 7,0%
Left Alliance 7 9,8% 10,1% 9,2% 8,5% 9,0% 9,6% 11,0% 13,3% 15,7% 16,5% 19,8% 22,1%
True Finns 9 12,9% 8,1% 11,6% 4,5% 0,3% - - 2,8% 4,2% 4,8% 1,1% 1,1%
Christian Democrats 4 5,7% 6,4% 5,7% 5,8% 6,3% 6,9% 7,1% 5,2% 4,0% 4,3% 5,4% 5,6%
Communist Party 0 2,2% 0,7% 1,2% 1,8% 2,4% 3,5% 1,9% 1996% 1992% - - -
Swedish People's Party 0 0,3% 0,1% 0,0% 0,2% 0,2% 0,2% 0,3% 0,4% 0,6% 0,6% 0,6% -
Pirate Party 0 - 1,4% 0,8% - - - - - - - - -
Others 0 3,3% 0,2% 0,2% 0,1% 0,1% 0,2% 1,5% 2,3% 1,7% 0,1% 4,7% 7,3%

The prevalence of the social democratic party can be explained in part by the Vaajakoski, a major industrial center historically that is currently part of Jyväskylä, and its heritage of industrial workers voting social democrats.

Jyväskylä was the only place during the 2017 municipal elections where the Green League was the largest party.[64]

Administrative division[]

The city of Jyväskylä is divided into fourteen wards (suuralueet; storområden), which are further divided into 89 districts. The ward division does not always follow district boundaries.

Lutakko is a neighbourhood close to the city centre.

The following is a listing of the 14 wards of Jyväskylä by population, as of November 2010[65]

Cityscape[]

Photo from Kärkistensalmi in Korpilahti
The downtown, as seen from Harju

Jyväskylä was founded in the northern end of the lake Päijänne at the crossroads of three major waterways. Lakes control the cityscape.[19] The city grid plan from 1833 by Jacob Leonard Boringh can be well recognised in the city center.[66] Nevertheless, due to very rapid population growth, the cityscape has gone through one of the most massive changes in all of Finland.[67]

Nowadays, Jyväskylä is a city of modern architecture. The city has more buildings designed by one of the best known international functionalist architects Alvar Aalto than any other city in the world.[68]

The establishment of schools in the 1850s and 1860s proved to be the most important step from the point of view of the later development of Jyväskylä.[19] The headquarters of the University of Jyväskylä are considered to be Aalto's masterpieces. Later, a modern architect Arto Sipinen, a pupil of Aalto, has influenced the cityscape since the 1970s by designing most of the new university buildings in the city.

The outskirts of the city are mainly populated by student apartments and single-family houses. Some of the most important buildings, like Säynätsalo Town Hall, designed by Aalto are located outside the city centre in Säynätsalo and Muuratsalo.

Consolidated areas Korpilahti, Jyväskylän maalaiskunta, Säynätsalo and also western parts of Jyväskylä are mainly countryside dominated by hilly forests and lakes.

A view from Lake Jyväsjärvi towards the city centre.
A 360 degree panorama of Jyväskylä taken from the Horisontti building. From left to right: Lutakko with the city centre and Harju in the background, lake Jyväsjärvi, Kuokkala bridge with Kuokkala neighbourhood and Kuokkala water tower in the background, and Ylistönrinne campus.

Education[]

University of Jyväskylä Ylistönrinne Campus

Jyväskylä is a traditional centre of education. Including school children, and the students in high schools, vocational schools, the university of applied sciences, and the universities, the number of students and pupils in the city reaches 45,000, boosting Jyväskylä's reputation as a "student city". Over 30% of the city population are students.[69] A number of firsts in Finnish education have taken place in Jyväskylä:

  • Jyväskylä Lyceum (Finnish: Jyväskylän Lyseon lukio) is the world's first junior secondary school with Finnish as the language of instruction.[70] It started its first term on 1 October 1858 and turned 160 years old in 2018. Lyceum still exists and is one of the three upper secondary schools in the city.
  • The first Finnish-medium teacher training college (1863)
  • The first Finnish-medium school for girls (1864)
  • Finland's first Summer University (1912)
Main building of the University of Jyväskylä designed by Alvar Aalto

Due to this, among other things, the city has 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. Today the University offers also Cyber Security degrees, in close co-operation with the Finnish Defence Forces.[71] According to the Ministry of Employment and the Economy the city has been acknowledged in 2013 as the Cyber Security City, providing a portfolio of Cyber Security related studies and activities.[72]

JAMK University of Applied Sciences has 8.000 students. It has four different units: School of Business and Services Management, School of Health and Social Studies, School of Technology and Teacher Education College.[73] HUMAK University of Applied Sciences educates cultural management in Jyväskylä.

Transport[]

S81 passing Pumperinmäki at Jyväskylä. Jyväskylä is in the crossroads of main road and railway networks.
Steamboat S/S Suomi leaving the Jyväskylä harbour.

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 is situated in Tikkakoski, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) north of Jyväskylä. It has regular direct flights to Helsinki Airport. The airport serves also as a military and charter airport.

The city is on crossroads of many main roads of Finland. Highway 4 (E75) passes the city from south to north, and Highway 9 (E63) from southeast to northwest. Highway 23 between Pori and Joensuu also runs through Jyväskylä.

is home to many passenger ships operating on lake Päijänne. During summer time, there are direct ship connections to Lahti, Jämsä, Suolahti, Viitasaari, and some other cities.

The public transportation system of Jyväskylä is managed by the city under the brand and operated under contract to the city by and Mennään Bussilla.[74] It is based on bus lines.

Former city managers[]

  • 1930–1935
  • 1935–1955
  • 1955–1959
  • 1959–1974
  • 1975–1994
  • 1994–2004
  • Markku Andersson 2004–2015[75]

Notable people[]

International relations[]

The Stavanger Park, close to the city center, is named after Jyväskylä's Norwegian twin city Stavanger.

Twin towns — Sister cities — Friendship cities[]

Jyväskylä is a member city of Eurotowns network[76] and is twinned with:[77]

  • Denmark Esbjerg Municipality, Denmark (1947)
  • Sweden Eskilstuna Municipality, Sweden (1947)
  • Hungary Debrecen, Hungary (1970)
  • China Jining, China (2018)
  • China Kunming, China (2005)
  • China Mudanjiang, China (1988)
  • Iceland Fjarðabyggð, Iceland (1958)
  • Japan Niiza, Japan (1997)
  • Germany Potsdam, Germany (1985)
  • Poland Poznań, Poland (1974)
  • Norway Stavanger, Norway (1947)
  • Estonia Tartu Parish, Estonia (1991)
  • Russia Yaroslavl, Russia (1966)

Gallery[]

See also[]

References[]

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Literature[]

History
  • Kokko, Marja (2007). Jyväskylän kaupungin historia 1965–2007 (in Finnish). Helsinki: City of Jyväskylä. ISBN 978-952-5332-96-4.
  • Tommila, Päiviö (1970). Jyväskylän kaupungin historia 1837–1965 (in Finnish). II. Jyväskylä: City of Jyväskylä. ISBN 951-95011-0-X.
  • Tommila, Päiviö (1972). Jyväskylän kaupungin historia 1837–1965 (in Finnish). I. Jyväskylä: City of Jyväskylä. ISBN 951-95011-2-6.

External links[]

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