Polvijärvi

Polvijärvi (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈpolʋiˌjærʋi]; literally "knee lake") is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the North Karelia region. The municipality has a population of 3,957 (30 June 2025)^[2] and covers an area of 958.32 square kilometres (370.01 sq mi) of which 154.22 km² (59.54 sq mi) is water.^[1] The population density is 4.92 inhabitants per square kilometre (12.7/sq mi). Neighbouring municipalities are Juuka, Kaavi, Kontiolahti, Liperi, Outokumpu.

Polvijärvi
Municipality
Polvijärven kunta Polvijärvi kommun
Polvijärvi health centre
Coat of arms
Location of Polvijärvi in Finland
Coordinates: 62°51.3′N 029°22′E
Country	Finland
Region	North Karelia
Sub-region	Joensuu
Charter	1876
Government
• Municipal manager	Pauli Vaittinen
Area  (2018-01-01)[1]
• Total	958.32 km2 (370.01 sq mi)
• Land	804.63 km2 (310.67 sq mi)
• Water	154.22 km2 (59.54 sq mi)
• Rank	98th largest in Finland
Population  (2025-06-30)[2]
• Total	3,957
• Rank	192nd largest in Finland
• Density	4.92/km2 (12.7/sq mi)
Population by native language [2]
• Finnish	98.5% (official)
• Others	1.5%
Population by age [3]
• 0 to 14	13.3%
• 15 to 64	52.8%
• 65 or older	33.9%
Time zone	UTC+02:00 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Website	www.polvijarvi.fi

The municipality is unilingually Finnish.

Polvijärvi is established in 1876.

Geography

Polvijärvi is located in North Karelia. Joensuu is located 42 kilometers away and Joensuu airport is located 34 kilometres away.

Polvijärven Natura 2000 sites include Viklinrimpi, Sisuslahti in Höytiäinen Teerisaari, Saariniemi-Tervalahti and Hanhisuo.^[4]

Notable people

• Heikki Soininen (1891–1957)
• Vilho Turunen (1923–1973)
• Jouni Kortelainen (born 1957)
• Annikka Mutanen (born 1965)