Sysmä

Sysmä (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈsysmæ]) is a municipality of Finland. It is situated in the Päijät-Häme region. The municipality has a population of 3,492 (26 October 2023)[2] and covers an area of 936.18 square kilometres (361.46 sq mi) of which 269.14 km2 (103.92 sq mi) is water.[1] The population density is 5.24 inhabitants per square kilometre (13.6/sq mi). Neighbouring municipalities are Asikkala, Hartola, Heinola, Kuhmoinen, Luhanka, and Padasjoki. The municipality is unilingually Finnish.

Not to be confused with village in Outokumpu.
Sysmä
Municipality
Sysmän kunta
Sysmä kommun
Sunset at Lake Päijänne and Päijätsalo natural park
Sunset at Lake Päijänne and Päijätsalo natural park
Coat of arms of Sysmä
Coat of arms
Location of Sysmä in Finland
Location of Sysmä in Finland
Coordinates: 61°30′N 025°41′E
Country Finland
RegionPäijänne Tavastia
Sub-regionHeinola sub-region
Founded1442
Government
 • Municipal managerMarketta Kitkiöjoki
Area
 (2018-01-01)[1]
 • Total936.18 km2 (361.46 sq mi)
 • Land667.04 km2 (257.55 sq mi)
 • Water269.14 km2 (103.92 sq mi)
 • Rank128th largest in Finland
Population
 (2023-10-26)[2]
 • Total3,492
 • Rank204th largest in Finland
 • Density5.24/km2 (13.6/sq mi)
Population by native language
[3]
 • Finnish97.1% (official)
 • Swedish0.2%
 • Others2.6%
Population by age
[4]
 • 0 to 148.3%
 • 15 to 6448.4%
 • 65 or older43.2%
Time zoneUTC+02:00 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Websitewww.sysma.fi

Itä-Häme newspaper is established in Sysmä.

According to historians, the word sysmä means either a "dark forest" or an "uninhabited wilderness."[5] Sysmä is also a lake in Joroinen and another lake in Ilomantsi.

History

The first settlers in the area came from Sääksmäki, as evidenced by village names such as Voipala in Sysmä, which is named after Voipaala in Sääksmäki. Rapala may also be named after Rapola.

Sysmä was first mentioned in 1442, when it was already a separate parish. Jämsä was separated from it on the same year. Sysmä was a large parish, though most of its northern lands lacked a permanent population. The northern parts were eventually settled by Savonians and in 1561, the area became the Rautalampi parish which included most of modern Central Finland north of the Päijänne; from Toivakka to Pihtipudas.

The original dialect spoken in Sysmä was a Tavastian dialect. It was replaced by a Savonian dialect soon after Ivar Tawast killed 400 peasants from Sysmä, Jämsä and Kuhmoinen in Padasjoki during the Cudgel War. Many farms in Sysmä were left without owners, so they were taken by Savonian settlers.[6]

Sysmä was also occasionally known in documents as Sysmäki due to association with the word mäki (hill), compare Kärsämäki which used to be Kärsämä.

Hartola was a part of Sysmä until 1784. At the time, the Hartola parish also included Joutsa, Luhanka, Leivonmäki and the western part of Pertunmaa.

[7]

Population

Sysmä has suffered chronic, steady population decline over the last 50 years. It has many alternative homes, used principally as holiday homes.

Some villages

Joutsjärvi, Karilanmaa, Kinnarila, Koivisto, Liikola, Nikkaroinen, Nuoramoinen, Onkiniemi, Otamo, Rapala, Ravioskorpi, Taipale, Unaja, Valittula, and Vintturi.

Attractions

Many summer events are held in Sysmä during which the population could even triple seasonally.

  • One of the most popular events is called Sysmän suvisoitto.[8]
  • Kammiovuori mountain where is seven meters high glacial erratic Sysmän Linta[9]
  • Another glacial erratic in Sysmä is Onkiniemen liikkuva kivi.[10]

Famous people

References
  1. "Area of Finnish Municipalities 1.1.2018" (PDF). National Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  2. "Preliminary population statistics 2023, September". StatFin. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  3. "Demographic Structure by area as of 31 December 2022". Statistics Finland's PX-Web databases. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  4. "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.
  5. Lähilehti (no 46), 21 October 2020. Retrieved 6 April 2022. (in Finnish)
  6. "Jämsän murteen historiaa - Kotimaisten kielten keskus". kotus.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  7. "SuomalainenPaikannimikirja_e-kirja_kuvallinen.pdf" (PDF). kaino.kotus.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  8. http://www.suvisoitto.fi/ Sysmän Suvisoitto
  9. Facta2001, WSOY, 1981. (in Finnish)
  10. Maailman ja Suomen Suuratlas, p. 315. WSOY, Instituto Geografico Agostini, Novara, Igda, 1985. ISBN 951-0-12598-9. (in Finnish)

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