Pihtipudas is a municipality of Finland

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

.

It is located in northern Central Finland

Central Finland

Central Finland is a region in Finland. It borders to the regions Päijänne Tavastia, Pirkanmaa, Southern Ostrobothnia, Central Ostrobothnia, Northern Ostrobothnia, Northern Savonia and Southern Savonia....

 along the highway 4

Finnish national road 4

Finnish national road 4 is a highway in Finland. It is the main route from Helsinki to Northern Finland and a major road link in the country. It runs from Erottaja in Helsinki to Sami Bridge in Utsjoki. The road is long...

 (E75

European route E75

European route E 75 is part of the International E-road network, which is a series of main roads in Europe.The E 75 starts from Vardø, Norway in the Barents Sea and runs south through Finland, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia and Republic of Macedonia to Sitia, Greece on...

), about 140 kilometre north of Jyväskylä

Jyväskylä

Jyväskylä is the capital of Central Finland and the largest city on the Finnish Lakeland, north-east of Tampere and north of Helsinki, on northern coast of lake Päijänne. The city has been continuously one of the most rapidly growing cities in Finland since World War II. The city is surrounded...

 in the province

Provinces of Finland

The state of Finland consisted of six provinces between the years 1997 and 2009. The provincial authority was part of the central government's executive branch, not directly elected. The system was created in 1634, and its makeup was changed drastically in 1997, when the number of the provinces...

 of Western Finland

Western Finland

Western Finland was a province of Finland from 1997 to 2010. It bordered the provinces of Oulu, Eastern Finland and Southern Finland. It also bordered the Gulf of Bothnia towards Åland.- History :...

. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of km2 of which km2 is water. The population density

Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 is PD/km2.

The municipality is unilingually Finnish

Finnish language

Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...

.
Pihtipudas is perhaps best known for the annual javelin carnival and Lauri "Tahko" Pihkala

Lauri Pihkala

Lauri Pihkala was the inventor of pesäpallo, the Finnish variant of baseball. He also competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics and in the 1912 Summer Olympics....

, the father of Finnish baseball. Putaanportti area offers plenty of services for travellers. Fish Art is a sales exhibition of taxidermic (mounted fish) – unique in Finland. Close to the service station there are shops – in a way factory outlets – specialised in sweets, leather bags and pottery products. Other tourist services are found in the central village and lakeside areas.

Attractions

The scenery and history of Pihtipudas are easy to be found hand in hand on the bridge of Heinäjoki.
Local museum and the church are next to each other in the center of Pihtipudas. Places worth mentioning are also Niemenharju area with well known dancing place, an old demarcation Rillankivi and lake Alvajärvi area.

External links

• Municipality of Pihtipudas – Official website