Jyväskylä: A student city in Finland where Aalto architecture and a lake are in harmony

The city of Jyväskylä is located in the Lakeland region of south-central Finland.

In addition to the art facilities created by famous Finnish architects, the city is known for its thriving education industry.

Spectacular lakes and natural scenery also surround the city.

In this article, I would like to introduce you to Jyväskylä, Finland, a city of beautiful lakes and architecture.

Characteristics of Jyväskylä

Jyväskylä is located in Central Suomi province in south-central Finland, in an area known as Lakeland.

As the name “Lakeland” implies, Jyväskylä is surrounded by nearly 3,700 lakes, including Lake Päijänne, which spreads out in the center of the city.

The name “Jyväskylä” means “lake village” in the Sami language, the language of the indigenous Sami people of Finnish Lapland.

Jyväskylä was founded in 1837 by the then-Russian Tsar Nicholas I. 

Today, Jyväskylä is a city with a solid educational industry, including the University of Jyväskylä, and is also known for the architectural design of Alvar Aalto.

The city associated with architect Alvar Aalto

Alvar Aalto was a leading Finnish architect and designer of the 20th century.

Aalto’s designs ranged from urban planning to glassware. He is also regarded as a master of modernist architecture in Scandinavia.

He is so famous in Finland that his portrait was chosen for the banknotes before the introduction of the euro.

Aalto’s modern architectural design pursues functional beauty, and his curved glassware and chairs are still highly acclaimed worldwide.

Jyväskylä is where Alvar Aalto first set up his office and began his career.

Many of the buildings in Jyväskylä were designed by Aalto.

Aalto’s modernist architecture creates a beautiful cityscape.

The Alvar Aalto Museum is also located in Jyväskylä, where visitors can view exhibits related to Aalto, such as building design documents.

Student city with a well-developed education industry

Jyväskylä is known as a student city with a thriving education industry.

The population is about 140,000, of which about 50,000, or 30%, are students.

The University of Jyväskylä, founded in 1934, is one of the most prestigious universities in Finland, with the second largest number of master’s degree holders in the country.

The original school was founded in 1863 as the first Finnish language teacher training school in Finland.

To give some historical background, Sweden ruled Finland for about 700 years, from the 12th century to the beginning of the 19th century.

As a result, Swedish was, for a long time, the language of the intelligentsia and the ruling class in Finland.

The University of Jyväskylä, which has contributed to the development of Finnish as a native language, is famous not only for its history and achievements but also for the design of its school buildings.

The architecture of the university campus was designed by Alvar Aalto, whom we mentioned earlier.

The brick school building incorporates Aalto’s architectural design, and its modern interior is sophisticated.

Conclusion

Jyväskylä is a student city with the University of Jyväskylä.

It also features several Aalto architectural buildings

In addition, it has a lovely quiet atmosphere surrounded by magnificent forests and lakes. It is said that Jyväskylä has a unique charm not found in urban areas such as Helsinki.