Luhanka (, also ) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Central Finland region. The municipality has a population of ()

Mimicking the badger in the coat of arms of Luhanka, the permanent residents include the official animal mascot of the municipality, Sisu the Badger (Sisu-mäyrä).

Geography

thumb|left|Hopeasalmi, Lake Päijänne

Neighboring municipalities are Hartola, Joutsa, Jyväskylä, Jämsä, Kuhmoinen and Sysmä.

There are all together 61 lakes in Luhanka. Biggest lakes in Luhanka are Päijänne, Tammijärvi-Hauha and Jutilanjärvi.

History

Luhanka was first mentioned as a village within the Sysmä parish in 1462. The village gets its name from the lake Luhankjärvi or Luhankajärvi, the name of which comes from the word luha, a variant of luhta, a word which refers to a type of swamp. -nka is a derivational suffix, which is also found in other place names such as Puolanka and Maaninka.

It was granted a chapel in 1767 and became a separate parish in 1864. Due to the small population of the municipality, the parish of Luhanka became subordinate to the parish of Joutsa in 2006.

Notable people

  • Politician Hertta Kuusinen was born in Luhanka in 1904
  • Writer Kreetta Onkeli has spent childhood in Luhanka
  • Composer Toni Edelmann lived in Luhanka

References

  • Municipality of Luhanka – Official homepage