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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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Keuruu
Keuruu (Finnish: [ˈkeu̯ruː]; Swedish: Keuru) is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Central Finland region. The municipality has a population of 9,131 (31 October 2024) and covers an area of 1,430.57 square kilometres (552.35 sq mi) of which 172.4 km (66.6 sq mi) is water. The population density is 7.26 inhabitants per square kilometre (18.8/sq mi). The town center and Haapamäki village are both the most populated places in Keuruu.

The municipality is unilingually Finnish. The municipality of Pihlajavesi was consolidated with Keuruu in 1969.

Geography

Lake Yltiä in Keuruu

Neighbouring municipalities are Jämsä, Multia, Mänttä-Vilppula, Petäjävesi, Virrat and Ähtäri.

There are 316 lakes in Keuruu such as Keuruun Kaituri, Hallinjärvi, and Kolonjärvi, but the largest of which are Keurusselkä-Ukonselkä, Pihlajavesi, and Liesjärvi.

History

Keuruu was originally known as Keuru. This name is first mentioned in 1552 as a wilderness used for hunting by the people of Sääksmäki. The northern part of the modern municipality was held by the people of Kangasala instead. Savonians settled the area in 1564, but some Tavastians also moved to their hunting grounds in the same area. At the time, it was possible to distinguish Savonians and Tavastians just by their names: Savonians had surnames usually ending in -nen, while that was not the case with the names of Tavastians. Out of the eleven original settlers, six were Savonians (surnames Karjalainen, Koponen, Manninen, Pynnänen, Ruoranen, Tiusanen) and five Tavastians.

The village was first mentioned in 1567 as Köyris. It was a part of the Ruovesi parish since 1571 and until 1636. By 1571, 31 new Savonian settlers had moved into the area while only two Tavastians remained, but more Tavastians came in the 17th century. The Savonians mostly came from Rautalampi and Laukaa. The Savonians and Tavastians later mixed, the local Savonian dialect is a relic of this. The southern part held by Sääksmäki was added to the new Keuruu parish in 1640.

Multia and Pihlajavesi were originally parts of the Keuruu parish. Multia was split off in 1872 and Pihlajavesi in 1910. However Pihlajavesi rejoined Keuruu in 1969. The villages of Kivijärvi and Niemisvesi in Ähtäri were originally villages of the Keuruu parish.

Culture

Sights and events

The old church in Keuruu is a wooden church built in the 18th century. It now serves as a museum. The summer Keuruu Market is a popular summer event. Over the years, performers have seen e.g. Matti Nykänen and Danny. Every summer, the Pentecostal Midsummer Conference in the Great Book brings together Christians from all over Finland and the world. The home port of the MS Elias Lönnrot paddle steamer is in Keuruu. The science space is a permanent exhibition space established in Keuruu for the former Karimo school, where technology is presented mainly to young people.

Food

In the 1980s, Keuruu's traditional parish dishes were the "gutter meat" fried in a wooden trough, a sweetened potato casserole, and bread called varituinen or varilimppu.

Notable people

Prime Minister Kalevi Sorsa

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Finland

Twin towns – Sister cities

Keuruu is twinned with:

See also

References

Notes
  1. ^ "Area of Finnish Municipalities 1.1.2018" (PDF). National Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  2. ^ "Finland's preliminary population figure was 5,635,560 at the end of October 2024". Population structure. Statistics Finland. 19 November 2024. ISSN 1797-5395. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  3. ^ "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.
  4. ^ "Luettelo kuntien ja seurakuntien tuloveroprosenteista vuonna 2023". Tax Administration of Finland. 14 November 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  5. ^ "Pihlajavesi ennen ja nyt" (in Finnish). Keskisuomalainen. 15 December 2014. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  6. ^ "Keuruu". Järviwiki. Finland's Environmental Administration. 2012. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
  7. ^ "SuomalainenPaikannimikirja_e-kirja_kuvallinen.pdf" (PDF). kaino.kotus.fi (in Finnish). p. 157. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  8. ^ "Keuruun pitäjän historia, kirj. Aksel Warén" (PDF). keuruunveraja.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  9. ^ Keuruun vanha kirkko – Museovirasto (in Finnish)
  10. ^ YLE: Historiallinen siipirataslaiva uhkaa rapistua satamaan (in Finnish)
  11. ^ YLE: Siipiratasalus Elias Lönnrotille liikkuu Keurusselällä myös ensi kesänä (in Finnish)
  12. ^ http://www.tiedetila.fi/tiedetila/aloitus.htm (in Finnish)
  13. ^ Jaakko Kolmonen (1988). Kotomaamme ruoka-aitta: Suomen, Karjalan ja Petsamon pitäjäruoat (in Finnish). Helsinki: Patakolmonen. p. 89. ISBN 951-96047-3-1.
  14. ^ "Välissuhted" (in Estonian). Jõgeva linn. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  15. ^ "Szarvas Town". szarvas.hu. Retrieved 1 September 2010.

Media related to Keuruu at Wikimedia Commons Keuruu travel guide from Wikivoyage

  • Town of Keuruu – Official website (in Finnish)
  • Keuruun Pallo – A football club, infamous for losing their every single game in the Finnish division 2 (in Finnish)
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