Pieksämäki

Pieksämäki [ ˌ pie̯ksæ Mäki ] is a town with 19,405 inhabitants (as of 31 December 2012) in eastern Finland. It is located approximately 300 kilometers northeast of the capital, Helsinki, in the Lake District countryside Savo.

The place was built in 1930 under the name Pieksämä independently as a market town. In 1948, the market town was renamed Pieksänmäki, since 1962 the city has city rights. The surrounding area of the city was the rural municipality Pieksämäki ( Pieksämäen Maalaiskunta ), which merged with the municipalities Jäppilä and Virtasalmi to the municipality Pieksänmaa 2004. On January 1, 2007, Pieksämäki and Pieksänmaa combined. The new city is named Pieksämäki and the coat of arms of the former municipality Pieksänmaa.

Pieksämäki is one of the main transport hubs in Finland. Here cross the north-south connection from Kouvola after Kontiomäki and the east-west axis from Jyväskylä to Joensuu; also is Pieksämäki terminus both a railway line into Southeast Finnish Parikkala as well as the railway line Jyväskylä Pieksämäki.

The wooden church of Pieksämäki was built in 1753 according to plans by A. Sorsa.

Twinning

  • Denmark Faaborg - Midtfyn municipality, Denmark
  • Sweden Falkenberg, Sweden
  • Gyöngyös Hungary, Hungary
  • Norway Porsgrunn, Norway
  • Russia Shuya, Russia

Sons and daughters

  • Senja Pusula (* 1941), cross-country skier
  • Tommi Kovanen ( born 1975 ), ice hockey player
List of municipalities of Finland in which Finnish is not the sole official language Municipalities of Finland Finnish Lakeland Savonia (historical province) Shuya, Ivanovo Oblast Enonkoski Hirvensalmi Joroinen Juva Kangasniemi Mikkeli Pertunmaa Puumala Rantasalmi Savonlinna Sulkava
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