Juuka

Juuka (Finnish: [ˈjuːkɑ]; Swedish: Juga) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the North Karelia region. The municipality has a population of 4,157 (31 December 2024)^[2] and covers an area of 1,846.58 square kilometres (712.97 sq mi) of which 344.78 km² (133.12 sq mi) is water.^[1] The population density is 2.77 inhabitants per square kilometre (7.2/sq mi).

Juuka Juga
Municipality
Juuan kunta Juga kommun
Juuka Church
Coat of arms
Location of Juuka in Finland
Coordinates: 63°14.5′N 029°15′E
Country	Finland
Region	North Karelia
Sub-region	Joensuu
Charter	1868
Government
• Municipal manager	Markus Hirvonen
Area  (2018-01-01)[1]
• Total	1,846.58 km2 (712.97 sq mi)
• Land	1,501.7 km2 (579.8 sq mi)
• Water	344.78 km2 (133.12 sq mi)
• Rank	43rd largest in Finland
Population  (2024-12-31)[2]
• Total	4,157
• Rank	186th largest in Finland
• Density	2.77/km2 (7.2/sq mi)
Population by native language [2]
• Finnish	96.4% (official)
• Others	3.6%
Population by age [3]
• 0 to 14	9.7%
• 15 to 64	52.6%
• 65 or older	37.6%
Time zone	UTC+02:00 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Website	www.juuka.fi

The municipality is unilingually Finnish.

Geography

Juuka as a whole consists of 20 villages. The large expanse of Juuka consists of:

• Ahmovaara
• Halivaara (Hali)
• Juuka
• Kannas
• Kajoo
• Kuhnusta
• Larinsaari
• Matara
• Nunnanlahti
• Paalasmaa
• Petrovaara
• Pihlajavaara
• Polvela
• Raholanvaara (Rahola)
• Timovaara
• Tuopanjoki
• Vaikko
• Vihtasuo
• Vuokko

The neighboring municipalities of Juuka are Kuopio, Kaavi, Kontiolahti, Lieksa, Nurmes, Polvijärvi and Rautavaara. The former neighboring municipalities are the Nurmes rural municipality, which was annexed to Nurmes in 1973, Pielisjärvi, which was also connected to Lieksa in 1973, and Säyneinen, which was annexed to Juankoski in 1971; Juankoski, on the other hand, was connected to Kuopio in 2017.

Etymology

Juuka means a river that flows through a lake.^[4] The village of Juuka dates back to the 16th century. In the late 19th century, settlements began to be settled along the roads and shops were established by the banks of the Lake Pielinen.^{[citation needed]}

The parish of Juuka was initially a prayer room separated from the parts of the parishes of Pielisjärvi and Nurmes and its own parish from 1873. The present church was completed in the 1850s, but was preceded by two earlier churches.^{[citation needed]}

Juuan Elli

Ellinpäivät is a scenario where in four days different associations, communities, and companies arrange events for each day. To get information about these events there is a notification in the newspaper Vaarojen Sanomat. In the paper there is info and a timetable for the events. The board selects the people in charge of the scenario. Elli refers to the figurehead of the scenario and a new figurehead is chosen every year.^{[citation needed]}

The events can include concerts, market events, the declaring of a new Elli, and a new event called “Juuret Juuassa –ryhmän Rehvit”. Essentially, the event is a car show where many retro cars and their drivers can be found. For that reason, it's often called a rally for older youngsters.^{[citation needed]}

Notable people

• Sakari Timonen
• Erkki Toivanen
• Tuula Peltonen
• Pia Lamberg, Miss Finland winner of 2011.
• Heikki Turunen, author living in Juuka.
• Eino Kettunen, composer. Most notable for Ievan Polkka.