Jyväskylä
—  City  —
Jyväskylän kaupunki
Ylistö Bridge, towards Mattilanniemi campus
Coat of arms
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
Region	Central Finland
Sub-region	Jyväskylä sub-region
Charter	1837
Government
- City manager	Markku Andersson
Area (2009-01-01)[1]
- City	1,466.48 km2 (566.2 sq mi)
- Land	1,171.23 km2 (452.2 sq mi)
- Water	295.25 km2 (114 sq mi)
Area rank	66th largest in Finland
Population (2009-06-30)[2]
- City	128,114
- Density	109.38/km2 (283.3/sq mi)
- Metro	170,475
Population rank	7th largest in Finland
Population by native language [3]
- Finnish	96.7% (official)
- Swedish	0.2%
- Others	3%
Population by age [4]
- 0 to 14	16.4%
- 15 to 64	69.8%
- 65 or older	13.8%
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
- Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Municipal tax rate[5]	18.5%
Website	www.jkl.fi

Jyväskylä (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈjyvæsˌkylæ]) is a city and municipality located in Central Finland, 147 kilometres (91 mi) north-east of Tampere and 270 kilometres (170 mi) 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 30 June 2009, Jyväskylä had a population of 128,114.^[2]

The Jyväskylä sub-region includes Jyväskylä, Laukaa, Muurame, Petäjävesi and Toivakka.

As of 2006^[update], the city mayor is Markku Andersson.

Contents 1 History 2 Geography 2.1 Climate 3 Economy 4 Sports 5 Education 6 Transport 7 People 8 Artists 9 Politicians 10 Athletes 11 International relations 11.1 Twin towns — Sister cities 11.2 Friendship cities 12 See also 13 References 14 External links

[edit] 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.

[edit] Geography

[edit] Climate

Weather data for Jyväskylä
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	−5.3 (22)	−5.0 (23)	0.2 (32)	6.0 (43)	14.5 (58)	19.3 (67)	21.3 (70)	18.4 (65)	12.3 (54)	6.0 (43)	0.2 (32)	-3.5 (26)	7.0 (45)
Average low °C (°F)	−12.3 (10)	−12.9 (9)	−8.4 (17)	-3.2 (26)	2.4 (36)	8.1 (47)	10.4 (51)	8.9 (48)	4.2 (40)	0.3 (33)	−4.9 (23)	−10.0 (14)	-1.4 (29)
Precipitation mm (inches)	43 (1.69)	31 (1.22)	37 (1.46)	37 (1.46)	38 (1.5)	59 (2.32)	79 (3.11)	88 (3.46)	63 (2.48)	60 (2.36)	57 (2.24)	47 (1.85)	638 (25.12)
Source: Climatological statistics for the normal period 1971–2000[6] 2009-07-07

[edit] 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. [1]

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. [2]

[edit] 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

• JYP is the current Finnish Champion in ice hockey.
• Jyväskylän Jalkapalloklubi (FC JJK) plays in the Finnish Football League the top division of Finnish football.
• Jyväskylän Seudun Palloseura, or just JPS, plays in the highest bandy division.
• Jyväskylän Kiri is the most successful Finnish baseball team in history. Currently they play in the top division Superpesis.
• Kirittäret holds ten Finnish Championships in women's Finnish baseball league. Latest championship is from summer 2009.
• Jyväskylän seudun Jaguaarit plays in the top division of Finnish American football league.
• Happee plays floorball in the Finnish top division both in men's and women's league.

[edit] 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 Jyväskylän Lyseon Lukio
• 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".

[edit] 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 20 kilometres (12 mi) 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.

[edit] People

[edit] International relations

[edit] Twin towns — Sister cities

Jyväskylä is twinned with:

• Esbjerg, Denmark (1947)
• Eskilstuna, Sweden (1947)
• Debrecen, Hungary (1970)
• Fjarðabyggð, Iceland (1958)
• Niiza, Japan (1997)
• Potsdam, Germany (1985)
• Poznań, Poland (1974)
• Stavanger, Norway (1947)
• Yaroslavl, Russia (1966)^[7]

[edit] Friendship cities

• Jalapa, Nicaragua (1988)
• Mudanjiang, China (1988)^[7]
• Kunming, China ^[7]

[edit] See also

• Asteroid 1500 Jyväskylä (named after the town by its Finnish discoverer, Yrjö Väisälä).

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jyväskylä

• City of Jyväskylä – International version of the official website
• Map of Jyväskylä
• Region of Jyväskylä Tourist Information
• University of Jyväskylä
• An artistic photography gallery of the city

v • d • e Municipalities of Central Finland Municipalities Äänekoski · Hankasalmi · Jämsä · Joutsa · Jyväskylä · Kannonkoski · Karstula · Keuruu · Kinnula · Kivijärvi · Konnevesi · Kuhmoinen · Kyyjärvi · Laukaa · Luhanka · Multia · Muurame · Petäjävesi · Pihtipudas · Saarijärvi · Toivakka · Uurainen · Viitasaari Former municipalities Jämsänkoski · Jyväskylän maalaiskunta · Konginkangas · Korpilahti · Koskenpää · Leivonmäki · Pihlajavesi · Pylkönmäki · Säynätsalo · Sumiainen · Suolahti Central Finland · Western Finland · Finland

v • d • e 50 most populous urban areas in the Nordic countries  Denmark ·  Finland ·  Iceland ·  Norway ·  Sweden 1.  Stockholm 1,252,000 2.  Copenhagen 1,167,569 3.  Helsinki 1,027,635 4.  Oslo 876,391 5.  Gothenburg 510,500 6.  Malmö 258,000 7.  Turku 248,598 8.  Århus 228,700 9.  Bergen 227,752 10.  Tampere 209,748 11.  Reykjavík 195,000 12.  Stavanger 189,828 13.  Trondheim 160,072 14.  Odense 152,100 15.  Uppsala 144,839 16.  Oulu 137,370 17.  Jyväskylä 128,114 18.  Aalborg 122,461 19.  Västerås 107,000 20.  Fredrikstad 101,698 21.  Lahti 100,444 22.  Örebro 98,200 23.  Linköping 97,400 24.  Drammen 96,563 25.  Kuopio 91,845 26.  Helsingborg 91,500 27.  Kouvola 88,396 28.  Skien 86,923 29.  Jönköping 84,400 30.  Norrköping 83,600 31.  Pori 75,562 32.  Lund 76,200 33.  Umeå 75,600 34.  Joensuu 72,167 35.  Esbjerg 71,900 36.  Lappeenranta 70,210 37.  Gävle 68,700 38.  Kristiansand 67,547 39.  Hämeenlinna 66,257 40.  Borås 63,400 41.  Södertälje 60,300 42.  Eskilstuna 60,200 43.  Randers 59,842 44.  Rovaniemi 59,274 45.  Vaasa 58,607 46.  Täby 58,593 47.  Karlstad 58,500 48.  Seinäjoki 56,578 49.  Kolding 56,249 50.  Halmstad 55,688