Leivonmäki is a former municipality of Finland in the Central Finland region. The municipality was consolidated with Joutsa in 2008. The population of Leivonmäki was 1,135 in 2007.
It is located south-east from Jyväskylä. It is known for its marshy grounds and its national park.
The municipality was unilingually Finnish.
Geography Bogs and other wetlands make up roughly or 48% of the former municipality's area, the average in Central Finland being 25%. The largest wetlands are Kivisuo, Haapasuo, Havusuo, Rokasuo and Höystösensuo.Vilkuna 1981, p. 18. Leivonmäki has fewer lakes than the Central Finnish average as it is located on a drainage divide area within the Kymijoki basin. The largest lake is Rutajärvi, which discharges into the Päijänne.Vilkuna 1981, p. 19. Villages The following villages have or have had their own school district:Vilkuna 1981, p. 467.
Etu-Ikola Havumäki Kirkonkylä Kivisuo Rutalahti Savenaho Taka-Ikola Tikanmäki Vartiamäki
A part of the municipality also belonged to the Vallaspelto school district, the village of Vallaspelto itself being part of Joutsa. Kurkijärvi also had its own short-lived school between 1933–1937.Vilkuna 1981, p. 464.
Naming and etymology The name of Leivonmäki was first attested in 1564 as Leijuomäki. is Finnish for "hill" and the parish church is located by a hill called Kuhasenmäki, which therefore may have originally been called Leivonmäki or Leivomäki. According to Väinö Voionmaa, Leivonmäki may also have been named after the Leivonen farm in the village of Anajala in Sääksmäki.
The initial element is most likely the word "skylark", though linguist Terho Itkonen also considered the possibility of the dialectal variant Levonmäki being the original form of the name. According to this explanation, the initial element would be (genitive: ) meaning "rest", referring to a resting place for cattle. However, the name is written with an i in most documents from the Swedish era, and the name was in use before the area was settled permanently – before cattle could have been kept in the area. The form Levonmäki may also be due to the Savonian pronunciation of as "leevo".
Twinnings Leivonmäki was twinned with the Estonian Haaslava Parish.
References
Literature
External links
Municipality of Joutsa – Official website