Tohmajärvi

Tohmajärvi (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈtohmɑˌjærʋi]) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the North Karelia region. The municipality has a population of 3,925 (30 June 2025)^[5] and covers an area of 895.36 square kilometres (345.70 sq mi) of which 57.62 km² (22.25 sq mi) is water.^[1] The population density is 4.68 inhabitants per square kilometre (12.1/sq mi). The municipality is unilingually Finnish.

Tohmajärvi
Municipality
Tohmajärven kunta Tohmajärvi kommun
Kemie, the central village of Tohmajärvi.
Coat of arms
Location of Tohmajärvi in Finland
Coordinates: 62°14′N 30°20′E
Country	Finland
Region	North Karelia
Sub-region	Central Karelia
Charter	1869
Seat	Kemie
Government
• Municipal manager	Olli Riikonen
Area  (2018-01-01)[1]
• Total	895.36 km2 (345.70 sq mi)
• Land	837.82 km2 (323.48 sq mi)
• Water	57.62 km2 (22.25 sq mi)
• Rank	93rd largest in Finland
Population  (2025-06-30)[2]
• Total	3,925
• Rank	195th largest in Finland
• Density	4.68/km2 (12.1/sq mi)
Population by native language [3]
• Finnish	93.4% (official)
• Swedish	0.3%
• Others	6.3%
Population by age [4]
• 0 to 14	12.8%
• 15 to 64	53.8%
• 65 or older	33.4%
Time zone	UTC+02:00 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Website	www.tohmajarvi.fi/en/web/english

Neighbouring municipalities are Joensuu, Kitee and Rääkkylä. The municipality of Värtsilä was consolidated with Tohmajärvi in 2005. Sortavala, a town in the Karelia, Russia, is located 81 kilometres (50 mi) south of Tohmajärvi.

Tohmajärvi is located along the Blue Highway, which is an international tourist route from Mo i Rana, Norway to Pudozh, Russia via Sweden. The border crossing to Russia, Niirala, is in Värtsilä, now part of Tohmajärvi.

One of the most significant highways in Tohmajärvi is Highway 9, which runs west through Joensuu, Kuopio, Jyväskylä and Tampere to Turku. The Blue Highway follows this highway to Tohmajärvi.

Climate

Tohmajärvi has a subarctic climate (Köppen: Dfc).

Climate data for Tohmajärvi Kemie (1991-2020 normals, extremes 1959-present)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	5.9 (42.6)	7.4 (45.3)	13.1 (55.6)	24.7 (76.5)	29.6 (85.3)	32.3 (90.1)	35.4 (95.7)	31.8 (89.2)	26.9 (80.4)	18.9 (66.0)	11.3 (52.3)	8.6 (47.5)	35.4 (95.7)
Mean maximum °C (°F)	2.5 (36.5)	2.4 (36.3)	7.8 (46.0)	16.2 (61.2)	24.1 (75.4)	26.8 (80.2)	28.1 (82.6)	26.2 (79.2)	20.6 (69.1)	12.8 (55.0)	7.0 (44.6)	3.3 (37.9)	29.1 (84.4)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	−5.5 (22.1)	−4.9 (23.2)	0.6 (33.1)	7.2 (45.0)	14.8 (58.6)	19.4 (66.9)	22.1 (71.8)	19.8 (67.6)	13.8 (56.8)	6.2 (43.2)	0.5 (32.9)	−2.9 (26.8)	7.6 (45.7)
Daily mean °C (°F)	−8.6 (16.5)	−8.8 (16.2)	−4.0 (24.8)	2.2 (36.0)	8.9 (48.0)	13.9 (57.0)	16.6 (61.9)	14.3 (57.7)	9.3 (48.7)	3.4 (38.1)	−1.7 (28.9)	−5.5 (22.1)	3.3 (38.0)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	−12.2 (10.0)	−12.8 (9.0)	−8.8 (16.2)	−2.9 (26.8)	2.4 (36.3)	7.6 (45.7)	10.7 (51.3)	9.0 (48.2)	5.0 (41.0)	0.5 (32.9)	−4.2 (24.4)	−8.7 (16.3)	−1.2 (29.8)
Mean minimum °C (°F)	−29.3 (−20.7)	−28.9 (−20.0)	−22.8 (−9.0)	−12.8 (9.0)	−5.2 (22.6)	−0.2 (31.6)	3.8 (38.8)	1.1 (34.0)	−3.2 (26.2)	−9.8 (14.4)	−16.1 (3.0)	−23.7 (−10.7)	−32.5 (−26.5)
Record low °C (°F)	−42.4 (−44.3)	−39.4 (−38.9)	−37.0 (−34.6)	−28.8 (−19.8)	−13.6 (7.5)	−4.1 (24.6)	−0.4 (31.3)	−4.1 (24.6)	−9.0 (15.8)	−20.1 (−4.2)	−29.3 (−20.7)	−37.3 (−35.1)	−42.4 (−44.3)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	53 (2.1)	43 (1.7)	39 (1.5)	31 (1.2)	44 (1.7)	70 (2.8)	80 (3.1)	87 (3.4)	67 (2.6)	71 (2.8)	60 (2.4)	62 (2.4)	707 (27.7)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm)	12	10	9	7	9	11	11	11	11	13	13	13	130
Source 1: FMI normals 1991-2020[6]
Source 2: Record highs and lows 1959- present[7]

Notable people

• Anna Easteden, actress and model
• Katri Helena, singer
• Siiri Rantanen, skier
• Seppo Räty, javelin thrower
• Algot Untola, author and journalist

See also

• Lake Tohmajärvi
• Tohmajärvi Church