Pyhtää

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The medieval church of Pyhtää/Pyttis. Lithography by Johan Knutson, mid 19th century

Pyhtää in Finnish or Pyttis in Swedish is a municipality of Finland.

It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Kymenlaakso (Swedish Kymmenedalen) region. The municipality has a population of 5,209 (2003) and covers an area of 297.27 km² (114.78 mi²) of which 8.92 km² (3.44 mi²) is water. The population density is 18.1 inhabitants per km² (46.9/mi²).

The municipal office is situated at Siltakyläntie 175, 49220 Siltakylä (Swedish Brobyvägen 175, 49220 Broby).

The medieval church (as opposed to the municipality) is situated in the village of Itäkirkonkylä/Österkyrkoby ("East Church Village"). During the Reformation, the rather beautiful and moving pictures on the walls were whitewashed over. Some years ago, they were rediscovered and the whitewash removed. The village lies just to the East of the westernmost tributary of the Kymi (Swedish Kymmene) River and was at one time on the border between Russia and Sweden established by the Peace of Turku (Swedish Åbo) in 1743. Indeed, on the Western side of the river is a municipality called Ruotsinpyhtää ("Swedish Pyhtää") known as Strömfors in Swedish.

The municipality is bilingual, with majority being Finnish and minority Swedish speakers.