Laukaa (; ) is a municipality of Finland. It is located next to Jyväskylä and is part of the Central Finland region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality is unilingually Finnish. The subject of the Laukaa's coat of arms refers to the municipality's abundant coniferous forests and Laukaa's location in the heart of Finland. The explanation of the coat of arms is "a red heart in a silver field, from which grows a three-pronged green conifer." The coat of arms was designed by Olof Eriksson and approved by the Laukaa Municipal Council at its meeting on June 6, 1955. The Ministry of the Interior confirmed the use of the coat of arms on September 5 of the same year. Geography Neighbouring municipalities are Hankasalmi, Jyväskylä, Konnevesi, Toivakka, Uurainen and Äänekoski. There are all together 129 lakes in Laukaa. Biggest lakes in Laukaa are Lievestuoreenjärvi, Kuusvesi, Leppävesi and Lake Uurainen. Villages Lankamaa Leinola Leppävesi Lievestuore Metsolahti Saarilampi Simuna Tarvaala Tervatehdas Tiituspohja Vehniä Vuontee Vihtasilta Vihtavuori Äijälä History The name of Laukaa likely comes from the now obsolete word lauas (genitive: laukaan), stream pool, in this case referring to the Koivulahti bay in the lake Saraavesi. The name is also related to that of the river Luga in Russia (), albeit only through the word from which the names are derived. The area of Laukaa was an important route to both the lake Keitele in the northwest and Rautalampi in the northeast. Laukaa itself was a part of the Rautalampi parish, gaining its first subordinate church in 1593. This church was located near modern Tarvaala (aka Laukkavirta), which was therefore the original center of Laukaa. The center shifted to the modern location in Pellosniemi sometime in the 17th century. Laukaa became a separate parish in 1628. It included Saarijärvi until 1639, Jyväskylä until 1837, Jyväskylän mlk (to which Toivakka was moved in 1871) and Sumiainen until 1868 and Äänekosken mlk until 1907 (administratively 1911). Saraakallio Stone Age rock paintings Saraakallio, the largest Stone Age rock painting site of Fennoscandia is located in Laukaa. The paintings consists of over 100 figures. The oldest paintings are about 6 600 years old. The most common themes in Saraakallio paintings are deer, human, and boat figures. Saraakallio rock paintings are made by using red paint, which is made of