title: Saari, Finland
text: # Saari, Finland
  
  Saari (literally Island) is a former municipality of Finland.
  
  It was located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the South Karelia region. The municipality had a population of 1,411 (2003) and covered an area of 183.08 $km^2$ of which 15.70 $km^2$ is water. The population density was 8.4 inhabitants per $km^2.$
  
  The municipality was unilingually Finnish.
  
  Saari was annexed to Parikkala and Uukuniemi municipalities on 1 January 2005. The new municipality was named Parikkala.
  
  ## Notable people
  
  * Aleksanteri Aava (1883–1956), poet
  * Jorma Härkönen (born 1956), middle-distance runner
  * Olavi Litmanen (born 1945), footballer and the father of Jari Litmanen
  * Suvi Mikkonen (born 1988), taekwondo practitioner
  * Tuomo Pekkanen [fi] (born 1934), philologist and university teacher
  