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Jyväskylä is a city and municipality located in Central Finland, 147 km from Tampere and 270 km from Helsinki, near the lakes Päijänne and Keitele. It is the center of the Jyväskylä Region. The site of many education-related firsts in Finland, Jyväskylä is known as a city of schools, the Athens of Finland, and is also famous for its many buildings designed by Alvar Aalto and for hosting Neste Oil Rally Finland, which is part of the World Rally Championship. The city is home of the annual Jyväskylä Arts Festival. As of 2008-01-01, Jyväskylä had a population of 86,527, while the Region of Jyväskylä had 164,958 inhabitants. Jyväskylän maalaiskunta (the rural municipality of Jyväskylä), which has its town hall, graveyard and the beautiful church Taulumäen kirkko all conveniently located in central Jyväskylä, will be consolidated with the city in 2009. After the consolidation there will be over 126,000 inhabitants in Jyväskylä. The Jyväskylä region includes Jyväskylä, Jyväskylän maalaiskunta, Laukaa, Muurame and Toivakka. |
