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 km2 of which 15.70 km2 is water. The population density was 8.4 inhabitants per km2. 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 (born 1934), philologist and university teacher External links Parikkala, Saari and Uukuniemi Populated places disestablished in 2005 Former municipalities of Finland