Pryazha

Pryazha (Пря́жа; Priäžä; Prääsä) is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) and the administrative center of Pryazhinsky District of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, located 12 km from the Shuya River and 49 km west of Petrozavodsk, the capital of the republic. As of the 2010 Census, its population was 3,675.

History
It was first mentioned in the 17th century as the village of Pryazha or Padlovo (Падлово). It was granted urban-type settlement status in 1962.

Administrative and municipal status
Within the framework of administrative divisions, Pryazha serves as the administrative center of Pryazhinsky District, of which it is a part. As a municipal division, Pryazha, together with three rural localities, is incorporated within Pryazhinsky Municipal District as Pryazhinskoye Urban Settlement.

Tourism
The Blue Highway, an international tourist route, starts in Mo i Rana, Norway, goes through Sweden and Finland, and then through Pryazha, before ending in Pudozh.

Health care
There is a Pryazhinskaya central district polyclinic in the village. In 2005, a branch of the state healthcare institution «V. A. Baranov Republican Hospital» with a rehabilitation treatment center was opened in Pryazha.

Inpatient departments of the hospital:


 * department of speech pathology and neurorehabilitation for 60 beds;
 * therapeutic for 30 beds;
 * surgical with 22 beds with an operating unit and intensive care unit.