Pryazha (Russian: Пря́жа; Karelian: Priäžä; Finnish: Prääsä) is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) and the administrative center of Pryazhinsky District of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, located 12 kilometers (7.5 mi) from the Shuya River and 49 kilometers (30 mi) west of Petrozavodsk, the capital of the republic.

[2] It was first mentioned in the 17th century as the village of Pryazha or Padlovo (Падлово).

[citation needed] It was granted urban-type settlement status in 1962.

[4] 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.

A. Baranov Republican Hospital» with a rehabilitation treatment center was opened in Pryazha.