Lappeenranta () is a
city and
municipality that resides on the shore of the lake
Saimaa in South-Eastern
Finland, about from the
Russian border. It belongs to the province of
Southern Finland and the region of
South Karelia. With approximately inhabitants () Lappeenranta is the largest city in Finland.
The neighboring municipality of
Joutseno was consolidated with Lappeenranta on 2009-01-01.
History
The town was chartered in
1649 by Queen
Christina of Sweden, legitimizing the trade at the then popular marketplace of
Lapvesi.
In
1741 the
battle of Villmanstrand was fought between the Swedish and Russian armies in the
Russo-Swedish War of 1741–1743. The battle ended in a Russian victory.
Services
Education
Lappeenranta has numerous schools at almost all levels of education, including the
Lappeenranta University of Technology, South Karelia University of Applied Sciences, the Army Academy (branch of the Finnish Defence Forces), South Karelia Vocational College and South Karelia Adult Education Centre.
Traffic
Lappeenranta is connected to its neighbor cities and municipalities by road, with railways heading to south and north.
During the summer season, when
Lake Saimaa and
Saimaa Canal are accessible by ships, there is a ship connection from Lappeenranta to
Vyborg, Russia.
There is also a mid-size
airport at Lappeenranta, which on a busy day serves circa 30 aircraft per day.
Economy
The city's main employers are the City of Lappeenranta,
UPM-Kymmene, South Karelia Central Hospital,
Lappeenranta University of Technology, Paroc,
Nordkalk, VR-Group,
Fazer, The Armed Forces and
Larox.
A large portion of the people working in Lappeenranta live in the neighbouring municipalities, mainly
Taipalsaari,
Lemi and
Savitaipale.
Sports
Lappeenrannan Veiterä, or just Veiterä, plays in the highest
bandy division and has been Finnish champion 4 times. The city hosted the first ever
Bandy World Championships for women in 2004.
Finland-Norway at the Bandy World Championships for Women, 2004.
Notable people
- Laila Hirvisaari (formerly Laila Hietamies) - novelist, has written a novel series about Lappeenranta and its people
Tourism
Autumn in Lappeenranta.
Lappeenranta is known as a summer city, mostly due to its closeness to the Lake
Saimaa. In addition, its inland location means that summers tend to be warmer and winters colder than along the coastal areas.
Lappeenranta, however, does have a healthy winter tourism industry. Various cabins around Lake Saimaa, as well as numerous snowmobile, skiing and sledding tracks draw a fair number of winter visitors.
The proximity of the
Russian border is increasingly visible in the number of Russian tourists visiting the city. In fact, Lappeenranta is closer (211 km) to
Saint Petersburg than
Helsinki, the capital of Finland (380 km). The presence of Russians is noticeable by the many Russian registered cars on the streets and the use of signs in shops with
Cyrillic letters.
Places and events
- The old fortress, with a number of museums, cafés and the oldest Russian Orthodox church in Finland.
- The central market place, where you can enjoy the local specialities, such as meat pies known as "Atomi" (atom) or "Vety" (hydrogen).
- The Night of The Fort, a two-day cultural festival held in early August.
- The annual Lappeenranta National Singing Contest.
- The "Huvisatama" (pleasure harbour) offers a wide variety of amusement during the summer.
- There are two private cinema theatre in Lappeenranta: Kino-Aula and Nuijamies.
International relations
Twin towns — Sister cities
Lappeenranta is
twinned with:
