Pihtipudas

Pihtiputaan kunta

coat of arms	map
Basic data
State :	Finland
Landscape :	Central Finland
Administrative community :	Saarijärvi-Viitasaari
Geographical location	63 ° 23 '  N , 25 ° 34'  E Coordinates: 63 ° 23 '  N , 25 ° 34'  E
Surface:	1,247.47 km²
of which land area:	1,074.77 km²
of which inland waterways:	172.70 km²
Residents :	4,053 (Dec 31, 2018)
Population density :	3.8 inhabitants / km²
Municipality number :	601
Language (s) :	Finnish
Website :	www.pihtipudas.fi

Pihtipudas [ ˈpiçtiˌpudɑs ] is a municipality with 4053 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2018) in central Finland . It is located 135 kilometers north of Jyväskylä on the northern edge of the Finnish Lake District .

Around half of the community's residents live in the church village of Pihtipudas. It is located on an isthmus between the Alvajärvi Lakes in the northwest and Kolima in the southeast, which are connected by the Heinäjoki River . A stone bridge built between 1919 and 1924 leads across the river in the community center. The village also includes the widely scattered villages of Alvajärvi, Elämäjärvi, Ilosjoki, Kärväskylä, Muurasjärvi, Peninki, Rönny, Saani and Seläntaus.

The area around Pihtipudas has been populated since the Stone Age, the original nomadic Sami population was displaced or assimilated by Finnish settlers from the eastern Finnish Savo by the 16th century at the latest . The wooden church of the parish was built in 1783.

From a sporting point of view, Pihipudas is known as the birthplace of Lauri Pihkala , the inventor of the Finnish national sport Pesäpallo , as well as for an annual javelin throwing competition , the Pihtiputaan keihäskarnevaalit , held every summer . Pihtipudas is known throughout Finland as the home of the symbolic "Grandma from Pihtipudas" ( Pihtiputaan mummo ), a kind of Finnish counterpart to " Lieschen Müller ".

coat of arms

Description of the coat of arms : Two silver arrowheads in the silver and black diagonally square coat of arms.

politics

As in most rural areas of Finland, the Center Party is the strongest party in Pihtipudas . In the 2008 local elections she received almost half of the votes. In the municipal council, the highest decision-making body in local affairs, it has 13 of 27 members. The second largest parliamentary group is the Social Democrats with eight seats; the Left Alliance and the conservative National Assembly Party won two seats each .

Composition of the municipal council (2009–2012)

Political party	2008 election results	Seats
Center Party	45.9%	13
Social democrats	27.1%	8th
National rally party	13.4%	3
Left alliance	10.7%	3

Sons and daughters of the church

• Lauri Pihkala (1888–1981), track and field athlete, inventor of the pesäpallo
• Artturi Jämsén (1925–1976), politician of the Landbund ML
• Jorma Kinnunen (1941–2019), javelin thrower
• Saana Koljonen (* 1988), national volleyball player

Web links

Commons : Pihtipudas  - collection of images, videos and audio files

swell

1. ↑ (Finnish land surveying office): Suomen pinta-alat kunnittain January 1, 2011 (PDF file; 194 kB)
2. ↑ Statistical Office Finland: Table 11ra - Key figures on population by region, 1990-2018
3. ↑ Finnish Ministry of Justice: Result of the 2008 local elections