PROFILPELAJAR.COM

Pyhäjärvi
Pyhäjärvi
Town
	Pyhäjärven kaupunki; Pyhäjärvi stad
	Coat of arms
	Location of Pyhäjärvi in Finland
	Coordinates: 63°41′N 025°59′E / 63.683°N 25.983°E
Country	Finland
Region	North Ostrobothnia
Sub-region	Nivala–Haapajärvi
Charter	1866
Town privileges	1993
Seat	Pyhäsalmi
Government
• Town manager	Henrik Kiviniemi
Area (2018-01-01)
• Total	1,459.46 km2 (563.50 sq mi)
• Land	1,310.25 km2 (505.89 sq mi)
• Water	148.42 km2 (57.31 sq mi)
• Rank	53rd largest in Finland
Population (2024-10-31)
• Total	4,712
• Rank	172nd largest in Finland
• Density	3.6/km2 (9/sq mi)
Population by native language
• Finnish	97.5% (official)
• Swedish	0.2%
• Others	2.4%
Population by age
• 0 to 14	14.2%
• 15 to 64	50.3%
• 65 or older	35.5%
Time zone	UTC+02:00 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Website	www.pyhajarvi.fi

Pyhäjärvi (1993–1995 Pyhäsalmi) is a town and municipality in the south of Northern Ostrobothnia region, Finland. Pyhäjärvi also borders the Northern Savonia and Central Finland regions. The town belongs to the subregion of Nivala–Haapajärvi. Its seat is in Pyhäsalmi.

Neighbouring municipalities are Haapajärvi, Kiuruvesi, Kärsämäki, Pielavesi, Pihtipudas and Pyhäntä. As the highway 4 (E75), the highway 27 and the Ylivieska–Iisalmi railway all run through the town, Pyhäjärvi is well situated in an intersection of communication and transport services. The town has also an airfield.^[5]

The town of Pyhäjärvi was founded in 1866, and it was then named after Lake Pyhäjärvi, a lake of 125 square kilometres (48 sq mi) and rich in fish. Pyhäjärvi became officially a town in January 1993. The town has 4,712 inhabitants (31 October 2024),^[2] of whom some 60 percent live in the two population centres Pyhäsalmi and Ruotanen. It is the second smallest town of Finland in term of population after Kaskinen in the Ostrobothnia region.^[6]

Pyhäjärvi contains Europe's deepest base metal mine, the 1,444 metres (4,738 ft) deep Pyhäsalmi Mine from where zinc and copper is mined. Underground mining was due to end in 2019,^[6] but has been granted approximately 14 months more of mining activity due to an increase in demand for pyrite from Yara in Siilinjärvi.^[7] The on-surface refinery will be operational until 2025.^[8] The mine facilities and the associated infrastructure will be used for underground business and research under the Callio Pyhäsalmi project.^[8]^[9]