Every design for Joroinen

Joroinen lies in North Savo between Varkaus, Juva, Leppävirta, Pieksämäki and Rantasalmi, a rural municipality of wide fields and long views, crossed by a ridge that holds some of the largest groundwater areas in South Savo. Life gathers in two centres, the church village and Kuvansi, and the old Varkaus airport sits right beside the municipal centre, its terminal now home to the municipal offices.

What sets Joroinen apart is its manors. Frugård, Joroisniemi, Järvikylä, Koskenhovi, Kotka and Paajala are among the many estates that grew up here around the military officers' residences, and in the heyday of Savonian manor culture their owners formed a social circle that often spoke French. That is why Joroinen is still nicknamed the Paris of Savo. Farming mattered too: the bull's head on the coat of arms recalls a dairy and livestock school and the first livestock breeding association in Eastern Finland. Karhulahti kotiseutumuseo keeps the everyday side of the story.

The parish dish is kapapaisti, made from dried fish and pork, best eaten after a swim at Kolpan uimaranta on a warm summer afternoon.