Puumala

Puumala
Municipality
Puumalan kunta
Puumala kommun
Coat of arms of Puumala
Motto(s): 
Saimaan kaunein, Suomen kuumin. (English: The most beautiful in Saimaa, the hottest in Finland.)[1]
Location of Puumala in Finland
Location of Puumala in Finland
Coordinates: 61°31.5′N 028°11′E / 61.5250°N 28.183°E / 61.5250; 28.183
Country Finland
RegionSouthern Savonia
Sub-regionMikkeli sub-region
Charter1868
Government
 • Municipal managerMatias Hildén
Area
 (2018-01-01)[2]
 • Total1,237.75 km2 (477.90 sq mi)
 • Land794.11 km2 (306.61 sq mi)
 • Water443.17 km2 (171.11 sq mi)
 • Rank102nd largest in Finland
Population
 (2024-08-31)[3]
 • Total2,100
 • Rank251st largest in Finland
 • Density2.64/km2 (6.8/sq mi)
Population by native language
 • Finnish96.8% (official)
 • Swedish0.3%
 • Others2.9%
Population by age
 • 0 to 146.8%
 • 15 to 6449.2%
 • 65 or older44%
Time zoneUTC+02:00 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Websitewww.puumala.fi

Puumala (Finnish: [ˈpuːmɑlɑ]) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Southern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of 2,100 (31 August 2024)[7] and covers an area of 1,237.75 square kilometres (477.90 sq mi) of which 443.17 km2 (171.11 sq mi) is water.[2] The population density is 2.64 inhabitants per square kilometre (6.8/sq mi).

The municipality is unilingually Finnish.

The main road route through the region is route 62, which connects to Mikkeli to the north and Imatra to the south. Until the year 1995 a cable ferry connected the two sides of Puumalansalmi-strait. In 1995, a 781-metre-long (2,562 ft) bridge replaced the ferry. The bridge is a very dominant structure when looking Puumala town center from a distance.

Puumala has relatively good services compared to the amount of population. In the town center is situated a post office, an Alko store, a kiosk, several supermarkets and a few restaurants. The reason for the survival of these entrepreneurs is the arrival of summer inhabitants who triple the population of Puumala during the season.

In June 1788, Swedish soldiers wearing uniforms of the Imperial Russian Army, staged an attack against the town. This would allow King Gustav III to declare a defensive war against the Russian Empire, as Swedish law prohibited starting offensive wars without approval by the Riksdag.

The subject of Puumala's coat of arms refers to the local history: in the Treaty of Åbo in 1743, Puumala became a border parish, but due to its strategic location, the narrow Puumalansalmi has been the scene of several battles since the 16th century, which the flaming bombshells on the coat of arms refer to. The coat of arms was designed by Tapio Vallioja, and the Puumala municipal council approved it at its meeting on September 24, 1962. The Ministry of the Interior approved the coat of arms for use on April 18, 1963.[8][9]

The Puumala virus is named after this place as it was first isolated from samples from the Puumala area.

  1. ^ YLE: Mikä on sinun kotikuntasi iskulause? (in Finnish)
  2. ^ a b "Area of Finnish Municipalities 1.1.2018" (PDF). National Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  3. ^ "Finland's preliminary population figure was 5,625,011 at the end of August 2024". Population structure. Statistics Finland. 2024-09-24. ISSN 1797-5395. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  4. ^ "Population growth biggest in nearly 70 years". Population structure. Statistics Finland. 2024-04-26. ISSN 1797-5395. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  5. ^ "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.
  6. ^ a b "Luettelo kuntien ja seurakuntien tuloveroprosenteista vuonna 2023". Tax Administration of Finland. 14 November 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  7. ^ "VÄESTÖTIETOJÄRJESTELMÄ REKISTERITILANNE 31.1.2012" (in Finnish and Swedish). Population Register Center of Finland. Archived from the original on 3 October 2013. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
  8. ^ Suomen kunnallisvaakunat (in Finnish). Suomen Kunnallisliitto. 1982. p. 157. ISBN 951-773-085-3.
  9. ^ "Sisäasiainministeriön vahvistamat kaupunkien, kauppaloiden ja kuntien vaakunat I:12 Puumala" (in Finnish). Kansallisarkiston digitaaliarkisto. Retrieved July 27, 2022.