The town of Pyhäjärvi was founded in 1866, and it was then named after Lake Pyhäjärvi, a lake of 125 square kilometers (48 sq mi) and rich in fish. Pyhäjärvi became officially a town in January 1993. The town has 5,879 inhabitants (30 September 2012), of whom some 60 percent live in the two population centers Pyhäsalmi and Ruotanen
