Uurainen (, also ) is a municipality of Finland.

It is part of the Central Finland region. The municipality has a population of ()

Villages

Settlements:

{|

|

  • Kotaperä
  • Linnanperä
  • Pohjanperä
  • Kelloperä
  • Haukimäki
  • Kyynämöinen
  • Hepomäki
  • Höytiä
  • Tehlo
  • Kirkonkylä
  • Hiirola

|

  • Jokihaara
  • Vihtaperä
  • Oikarinperä
  • Murtoperä
  • Kummunkylä
  • Pirttiperä
  • Myllyperä
  • Kangashäkki
  • Sälliperä
  • Hirvaskylä

|}

Register villages:

The area of modern Uurainen was devoid of a permanent settled population in the Middle Ages. In the 15th and early 16th centuries, these lands were held as hunting grounds by Tavastians. The first settler of Uurainen was Paavo Minkkinen, who in 1548 established a farm named Salmela in the hunting grounds of Heinäjoensuu, owned by the men of the village of Laitikkala in Kulsiala (nowadays in Pälkäne). This area would later become the register village of Kuukkajärvi. Paavo Minkkinen, like almost all settlers of Uurainen, was a Savonian. The Minkkinen family likely originated from Pellosniemi near modern Mikkeli.

The first register villages to be established in the area were Kuukkajärvi and Akonjärvi, both of which were first mentioned in 1561. Akonjärvi was merged into Kuukkajärvi in 1586.

Uurainen was originally a part of the parish of Saarijärvi. It was mentioned in 1741 under the Swedish name Uhrais. The area got its own chapel in 1801 and was variously called Uurainen, Kuukkajärvi, Kuukka and Minkkilä. The area had multiple names as the vicarage (pappila) was located in the register village of Uurainen while the church was located in the village of Kuukkajärvi on the lands of the Minkkilä farm.

Uurainen became a separate parish in 1868, though the separation effectively happened in 1887. The northern part of Nyrölä, which at that time included Höytiä, was transferred from the Jyväskylä parish to Uurainen in 1868.

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File:Finnish lake summertime.jpg|Lake Kuorejärvi

File:Uuraisten kirkon tapuli.jpg|The belfry of the Uurainen Church

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References

  • Municipality of Uurainen – Official website