Jyväskylä was founded by Tsar Nicholas I in 1837. The small city is located on the north side of the Jyväsjärvi lake, which is linked by a narrow strait, the Aijälänsalmi, with Lake Päijänne, Finland's second largest lake and its deepest, to the south. Jyväskylä is an important traffic junction, the administrative and cultural hub of central Finland and an industrial town (woodworking, metalworking), which is also noted for its trade fairs.