Rautjärvi

Rautjärvi
Municipality
Rautjärven kunta
Rautjärvi kommun
Simpele church in Rautjärvi
Location of Rautjärvi in Finland
Coordinates: 61°26′N 029°21′E / 61.433°N 29.350°E / 61.433; 29.350
Country Finland
RegionSouth Karelia
Sub-regionImatra
Charter1871
SeatSimpele
Government
  Municipal managerHarri Anttila
Area
 (2018-01-01)
  Total
401.89 km2 (155.17 sq mi)
  Land351.47 km2 (135.70 sq mi)
  Water50.25 km2 (19.40 sq mi)
  Rank219th largest in Finland
Population
 (2025-03-31)
  Total
2,983
  Rank213th largest in Finland
  Density8.49/km2 (22.0/sq mi)
Population by native language
  Finnish93.9% (official)
  Others6.1%
Population by age
  0 to 149.1%
  15 to 6450.8%
  65 or older40.1%
Time zoneUTC+02:00 (EET)
  Summer (DST)UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Websitewww.rautjarvi.fi

Rautjärvi (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈrɑu̯tˌjærʋi]) is a municipality in the South Karelia region of Finland. The municipality has a population of 2,983 (31 March 2025) and covers an area of 401.89 square kilometres (155.17 sq mi) of which 50.25 km2 (19.40 sq mi) is water. The population density is 8.49 inhabitants per square kilometre (22.0/sq mi). More than half of Rautjärvi's residents live in Simpele, the administrative center of the municipality.

The neighboring municipalities of Rautjärvi are Parikkala and Ruokolahti, while to the east is the Russian border. The municipality is unilingually Finnish. Rautjärvi is mostly well known as the birthplace of legendary sniper Simo Häyhä, a hero of the Winter War of World War II.