Saarijärvi

Saarijärvi lies among the lakes and forests of central Finland. In the sixteenth century the district formed part of the great inland parishes; a chapel was established at Palvasalmi in 1628 and an independent parish followed in 1639. The name Saarijärvi became established around 1690. A second church was built in 1694, but Russian troops burned the chaplain's residence during the Great Northern War in 1714.