Kintaus

History

Before being settled in the mid-16th century, the lands of modern Kintaus were held as hunting grounds by land-owning farmers from Pälkäne and Akaa. At least two possessions are known from a listing made in the early 1550s: one belonging to Olavi Pekanpoika from the village of Töykänä (Pälkäne) and another to Lauri Pekanpoika from Taipale (Akaa). The village of Kintaus was established in 1554 by three Savonian settlers named Heikki Simonen, Paavo Minkkinen and Mikko Marttinen. However, by 1561 all three had left the area, now inhabited by Pekka Honkonen, Niilo Honkonen, Juho Silvonen and Paavo Metsonen. By 1572, only Paavo Metsonen had remained in Kintaus, now accompanied by three new settlers named Niilo Pekkanen, Antti Räihä and Olli Tourunen. It was around this time when the farms of Kintaus acquired their later names, respectively Metsola, Pekkala, Räihä and Rautiala. Five new farms were established in the early 17th century: Veitsikkä and Vasikkala in 1607, Kytölä and another Veitsikkä in 1611, and one with an unknown name in 1617. Out of these farms, Metsola (Ahola), Rautiala, Vasikkala and Kytölä are located in modern Ylä-Kintaus. The amount of farms in Kintaus grew quickly during the 18th and 19th centuries, as old farms were divided and new ones were established on uninhabited lands during the Great Partition. By 1860, there were 29 independent farms and 45 tenant farms in the village. The Koskensaari ironworks were established in 1850 after Alexander Juslén, who had until then owned the Korkeakoski ironworks in Pielavesi, moved to Kintaus. Initially wrought iron was produced using local bog iron, but after the ironworks were modernized in 1876, pig iron imported from Sweden began to be used instead. Mechanical production of nails and horseshoes began in…

Geography

Kintaus is located in the eastern part of Petäjävesi, away from the municipal center and from Jyväskylä. Both the Finnish national road 18/23 and Haapamäki–Jyväskylä railway pass through the village, being significant elements of its landscape along with the lake Ala-Kintaus. Other lakes or ponds include Kipponen, Rautajalka, Vehkalampi and Lauttalampi, all of which are part of the Jämsänjoki watershed. Much of the area is forested, with fields being found only around the village center. On 31 December 2023, the urban area of Kintaus had a population of 266, a surface area of and a population density of . The urban area includes the densely populated part of Kintaus southwest of the lake Ala-Kintaus. Kintaus was one of Petäjävesi's official land register villages (), which covered most of eastern Petäjävesi around Ala-Kintaus and Ylä-Kintaus, including the modern villages of Liisalanperä and Ylä-Kintaus. Register villages often did not correspond to local definitions of villages and were officially abolished in 2014.

Most-observed species

• Common Chaffinch

  Fringilla coelebs Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  891
• Brimstone

  Gonepteryx rhamni (Linnaeus, 1758) · Insecta
  665
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  603
• Whooper Swan

  Cygnus cygnus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  575
• Redwing

  Turdus iliacus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  568
• Willow Warbler

  Phylloscopus trochilus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  557
• Siberian Flying Squirrel

  Pteromys volans (Linnaeus, 1758) · Mammalia
  523
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  506