Päijänne

Template:Short description Template:Infobox body of water

Päijänne ({{#invoke:IPA|main}}) is the second largest lake in Finland (Template:Convert). The lake drains into the Gulf of Finland via the Kymi River. The major islands are from north to south Vuoritsalo, Muuratsalo, Onkisalo, Judinsalo, Edessalo, Taivassalo, Haukkasalo, Vehkasalo, Mustassalo, Virmailansaari and Salonsaari. The largest island is Virmailansaari. The word saari means an island. Salo once meant a great island, nowadays it means a great forest area.

The largest city on the shores of Päijänne is Jyväskylä in the North. The city of Lahti is connected to Päijänne through Lake Vesijärvi and Vääksy canal.

An underground aqueduct, Päijänne Water Tunnel, connects the lake to Vantaa, providing the Greater Helsinki area with water. The deepest point in any lake in Finland is in Päijänne (Template:Convert).

The name of Lake Päijänne comes possibly from a Pre-Finno-Ugric substrate language.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Transportation

Päijänne is a famous boating, canoeing and sailing attraction. The Template:Convert long lake is connected by canals to Lake Keitele, Lake Vesijärvi and to Lake Ruotsalainen. Length of the open waterway for ships is Template:Convert. Construction of canals connecting Päijänne to the Baltic Sea has been discussed for decades. Nevertheless, the plan is still to be materialized.

Until the 1940s Lake Päijänne was a major transportation channel in the Central Finland. Numerous ships transported passengers and freight between the villages and cities on the shores of Päijänne. Nowadays, passenger transportation is rather a tourist attraction on the lakelands than the fastest way connecting the cities and villages. One of the most popular passenger transportation routes in summertime is between the cities of Lahti and Jyväskylä.

**Present day passenger ships on Päijänne**
Name	Built	Passengers	Length	Width	Speed	Home harbour
M/S Aino	1922	90	17,20 m	4,10 m	11 knots	Lahti<ref name="www.lahdenjarvimatkailu.fi">{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
M/S Elbatar	1984	90	16,08 m	4,78 m	11 knots	Padasjoki<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
M/S Charlotte						Padasjoki
M/S Happy Days						Lahti
M/S Hilja	1902	60				Jyväskylä, charter ferry<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
M/S Jenni-Maria II	1970	30	15,30 m	3,80 m	15 knots	Sysmä
M/S Katrilli		80				Jyväskylä, charter ferry<ref name="www.paijanne-risteilythilden.fi">{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
M/S Kymppi		77				Jyväskylä, charter ferry<ref name="www.paijanne-risteilythilden.fi"/>
S/S Laitiala	1903	130	26,7 m	6,64 m		Lahti, charter ferry<ref name="www.lahdenjarvimatkailu.fi"/>
M/S Meininki	1970	30				Jyväskylä, charter ferry<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
M/S Minni						Jyväskylä
M/S Päijänne		50	20 m	5 m		Jyväskylä, charter ferry<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
M/S Rhea			43 m	8,2 m		Jyväskylä<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
M/S Rosetta						Lahti, charter ferry<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
M/S Ruotsalainen			22,10 m	5,32 m		Asikkala
M/S Salome			18,90 m	4,35 m		Lahti, charter ferry
M/S Suometar		199				Jyväskylä<ref name="www.paijanne-risteilythilden.fi"/>
M/S Suomen Neito		199				Jyväskylä<ref name="www.paijanne-risteilythilden.fi"/>
M/S Suomen Suvi	1993	199				Jyväskylä<ref name="www.paijanne-risteilythilden.fi"/>
S/S Suomi	1906	199	31,60 m	2,13 m		Jyväskylä<ref name="www.paijanne-risteilythilden.fi"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
M/S Terhi		199				Heinola
M/S Tuulikki II		170				Jämsä<ref name="www.paijannematkat.com">{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
M/S Tuulikki III		80				Jämsä<ref name="www.paijannematkat.com"/>
M/S Wellamo	1990	190				Lahti<ref name="www.lahdenjarvimatkailu.fi"/>

Tourism

There are 16,000 cottages on the shores of Päijänne. Most of the cottages are private owned and have a separate sauna cottage.<ref name="www.talouselama.fi">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In addition to cottage tourism Päijänne attracts fishing, sailing, canoeing, rowing, paddling, trekking, ice-skating, snow mobile and nature tourists. The National Parks of Päijänne and Leivonmäki alone has tens of thousands of visitors every year.

The Clear and Drinkable Lake Päijänne South Association won a Tourism and Environment award presented by the European Union Commission in 1995.<ref name="www.loma-paijanne.fi">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

National Parks

Päijänne National Park (Template:Langx) is a national park in the southern parts of Lake Päijänne. It consists of 50 unbuilt islands and parts of inhabited islands. The national park has been established in 1993 and has an area of Template:Convert.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Leivonmäki National Park is situated few kilometres North East from the Northern part of Lake Päijänne. It is one of the youngest national parks in Finland.

Cities and towns upon Lake Päijänne

From North to South

Gallery

Kalkkinen canal
Pulkkilanharju and Karisalmi Bridge in Asikkala
Vääksy canal between Päijänne and Lake Vesijärvi
View from Hill Satasarvinen in Muuratsalo, Jyväskylä
Kärkinen bridge in Korpilahti, Jyväskylä during the Päijännepurjehdus sailing competition
Tugboat pulling logs in Päijänne in 1930s
Päijänne from the Puolakanvuori hill in 1948
Passenger steam ships S/S Jyväskylä, S/S Suomi, S/S Taru and S/S Tehi in Pihlajakoski harbour, Kuhmoinen in 1938
Vaajakoski canal in the Northern end of Lake Päijänne