Pielavesi

Pielavesi (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈpie̯lɑˌʋesi]) is a municipality of Finland. It is part of the Northern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of 3,944 (30 June 2025)^[2] and covers an area of 1,406.51 square kilometres (543.06 sq mi) of which 253.27 km² (97.79 sq mi) is water.^[1] The population density is 3.42 inhabitants per square kilometre (8.9/sq mi). The municipality is unilingually Finnish.

Pielavesi
Municipality
Pielaveden kunta Pielavesi kommun
Lepikon Torppa, the birthplace of Urho Kekkonen
Coat of arms
Location of Pielavesi in Finland
Coordinates: 63°14′N 026°45.5′E
Country	Finland
Region	Northern Savonia
Sub-region	Upper Savonia
Government
• Municipal manager	Sami Miettinen (since 2010)
Area  (2018-01-01)[1]
• Total	1,406.51 km2 (543.06 sq mi)
• Land	1,153.23 km2 (445.26 sq mi)
• Water	253.27 km2 (97.79 sq mi)
• Rank	65th largest in Finland
Population  (2025-06-30)[2]
• Total	3,944
• Rank	194th largest in Finland
• Density	3.42/km2 (8.9/sq mi)
Population by native language [2]
• Finnish	97.6% (official)
• Swedish	0.3%
• Others	2.2%
Population by age [3]
• 0 to 14	13.5%
• 15 to 64	48.9%
• 65 or older	37.6%
Time zone	UTC+02:00 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Website	pielavesi.fi/en/

The birchbark horns in the coat of arms are reminiscent of the times when they were used for signaling in a settlement that spread over large forest areas. They were also used to scare forest predators away from cattle while they were grazing in forest pastures. The golden trefoil crosses refers to the parts of three old church parishes that formed the Pielavesi parish. The coat of arms was designed by Ahti Hammar and Niilo Toikkanen, and was approved by the Pielavesi Municipal Council on July 26 and December 15, 1953. The Ministry of the Interior confirmed the coat of arms for use on January 23, 1954.^[4]

Geography

Neighbouring municipalities are Iisalmi, Keitele, Kiuruvesi, Maaninka, Pihtipudas, Pyhäjärvi, and Tervo.

On the north-western side of the village lies Lake Pielavesi.^[5]

Notable people

• Urho Kekkonen (1900-86), who served as President of Finland for 26 years, was born in Pielavesi in a log cabin called Lepikko torp (Lepikon torppa).
• Lauri Kokkonen, author and playwright
• Ilpo Saastamoinen, musician and composer
• Antti Ruuskanen, javelin thrower and Olympic medalist

Pielavesi is also well-known for its successful volleyball club, Pielaveden Sampo.