Eastern Finland ( fi, Itä-Suomen lääni, sv, Östra Finlands län) was a

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

from 1997 to 2009. It bordered the provinces of

Oulu Oulu ( , ; sv, Uleåborg ) is a city, municipality and a seaside resort of about 210,000 inhabitants in the region of North Ostrobothnia, Finland. It is the most populous city in northern Finland and the fifth most populous in the country after: ...

Western Finland Western Finland ( fi, Länsi-Suomen lääni, sv, Västra Finlands län) was a province of Finland from 1997 to 2009. It bordered the provinces of Oulu, Eastern Finland and Southern Finland. It also bordered the Gulf of Bothnia towards Åland. ...

and

Southern Finland Southern Finland ( fi, Etelä-Suomen lääni, sv, Södra Finlands län) was a province of Finland from 1997 to 2009. It bordered the provinces of Western Finland and Eastern Finland. It also bordered the Gulf of Finland and Russia. History O ...

. It also bordered

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

to the east.

History

On September 1, 1997, the

Mikkeli Province The Mikkeli Province ( fi, Mikkelin lääni, sv, S:t Michels län) was a province of Finland from 1831 to 1997. The province was named after the city of Mikkeli. Parts of the province were transferred to the Central Finland Province in 1960. In ...

, the

Kuopio Province The Kuopio Province ( fi, Kuopion lääni, sv, Kuopio län, russian: Куопиоская губерния) was a province of Finland from 1831 to 1997. The province was named after its capital, city of Kuopio. History The predecessor of pro ...

and Northern Karelia Province were joined to form the new Eastern Finland Province. All the provinces of Finland were abolished on January 1, 2010.

Administration

The State Provincial Office was a joint regional authority of seven different ministries. It promoted national and regional objectives of the State central administration. Eastern Finland State Provincial Office had branch offices in

Mikkeli Mikkeli (; sv, S:t Michel; la, Michaelia) is a town and municipality in Finland. It is located in what used to be the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Etelä-Savo region. The municipality has a population of () (around 34,000 i ...

Joensuu Joensuu (; krl, Jovensuu; ) is a city and municipality in North Karelia, Finland, located on the northern shore of Lake Pyhäselkä (northern part of Lake Saimaa) at the mouth of the Pielinen River (''Pielisjoki''). It was founded in 1848. Th ...

, and

Kuopio Kuopio (, ) is a Finnish city and municipality located in the region of Northern Savonia. It has a population of , which makes it the most populous municipality in Finland. Along with Joensuu, Kuopio is one of the major urban, economic, and cult ...

Regions

Eastern Finland was divided into three regions: *

North Karelia North Karelia ( fi, Pohjois-Karjala; sv, Norra Karelen) is a region in eastern Finland. It borders the regions of Kainuu, North Savo, South Savo and South Karelia, as well as Russia's Republic of Karelia. It is the easternmost region of Fin ...

(''Pohjois-Karjala / Norra Karelen'') *

Northern Savonia North Savo (or Northern Savonia; fi, Pohjois-Savo; sv, Norra Savolax) is a region in eastern Finland. It borders the regions of South Savo, Central Finland, North Ostrobothnia, Kainuu, and North Karelia. Kuopio is the largest city in the regi ...

(''Pohjois-Savo / Norra Savolax'') *

Southern Savonia South Savo (or Southern Savonia; fi, Etelä-Savo; sv, Södra Savolax) is a region in the south-east of Finland. It borders the regions of North Savo, North Karelia, South Karelia, Kymenlaakso, Päijät-Häme, and Central Finland. The total are ...

(''Etelä-Savo / Södra Savolax'')

Municipalities in 2009 (cities in bold)

Eastern Finland was divided into 54

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in 2009. *

Enonkoski Enonkoski () is a municipality of Finland. It is encircled by the city of Savonlinna in the Southern Savonia region. It is the smallest municipality in Southern Savonia in terms of population. History Enonkoski was founded in 1882. Before that it ...

Heinävesi Heinävesi () is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the North Karelia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbouring municipalities are Savonlinna, Varka ...

Hirvensalmi Hirvensalmi is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Southern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbour municipalities: Joutsa, Kangasniem ...

Iisalmi Iisalmi (; sv, Idensalmi) is a town and municipality in the region of Northern Savonia in Finland. It is located north of Kuopio and south of Kajaani. The municipality has a population of (), which makes it the second largest of the five towns ...

Ilomantsi Ilomantsi ( krl, Il'manči or Ilomančči, sv, Ilomants) is municipality and a village of Finland. It is located in the North Karelia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population densi ...

Joroinen Joroinen is a municipality in the North Savo region of Finland. It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Northern Savonia sub-region. The municipality has a population of approximately 4,626 people and covers an area of ...

Juankoski Juankoski is a former town and municipality of Finland. In March 2014, the Juankoski city council decided that the town would merge with Kuopio in the beginning of 2017. Juankoski is located in the province of Eastern Finland, part of the Northern ...

Juuka Juuka (; sv, Juga) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the North Karelia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality is unilingually Finnish. ...

Juva Juva ( sv, Juva, also ) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Southern Savonia region some North-East of Helsinki. It was founded on 19 January 1442, and is the oldest parish/municipality in Finland whose exact date of birth is known ...

Kaavi Kaavi is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Northern Savonia region. Kaavi is also a part of historical Karelia. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . It is fr ...

Kangasniemi Kangasniemi is a municipality in the Southern Savonia region, Finland. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Kangasniemi is located on the Finnish national road 13, north ...

* Karttula *

Keitele Keitele is a municipality of Finland. It is part of the Northern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbour municipalities are Pielavesi, Pihtipudas, ...

Kerimäki Kerimäki is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated with the town of Savonlinna on January 1, 2013. It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Southern Savonia region. The municipality was unilingually Finni ...

* Kesälahti *

Kitee Kitee ( sv, Kides) is a town and a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the North Karelia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The populat ...

Kiuruvesi Kiuruvesi is a town and municipality of Finland located in the Northern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbour municipalities are Iisalmi, Pielavesi, ...

Kontiolahti Kontiolahti ( sv, Kontiolax; literally meaning "bear bay") is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the North Karelia regions of Finland, region, about north of Joensuu. The municipality has a population of () and ...

Lapinlahti Lapinlahti (; sv, Lapinlahti, also ) is a municipality of Finland. It is part of the Northern Savonia region, located north of the city of Kuopio. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The populati ...

Leppävirta Leppävirta () is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Northern Savonia region, south of Kuopio along the Finnish national road 5. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population densi ...

Lieksa Lieksa () is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the North Karelia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality is unilingually Finnish. ...

Liperi Liperi ( sv, Libelits) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the North Karelia region. Liperi is a community of () with the growth rate of 83 newcomers in 11 months in 2007. The population density is . The municipality covers an area of ...

Maaninka Maaninka ( sv, Maaninka, also ) is a former municipality in the region of Northern Savonia, in Finland. It was merged with the city of Kuopio on 1 January 2015. The municipality had a population of 3,747 (30 November 2014) and it covered an area ...

Mäntyharju Mäntyharju (, literally 'Pine Ridge') is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Southern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The coastline is almost . The population density ...

Nilsiä Nilsiä is a former small town and a municipality of Finland. It joined the city of Kuopio at the beginning of year 2013. It is located in the Northern Savonia region. The town has a population of (31 December 2012) and covers an area of of whic ...

Nurmes Nurmes is a town and municipality of Finland, located in the county of North Karelia. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The

Outokumpu Outokumpu Oyj is a group of international companies headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, employing 10,600 employees in more than 30 countries. Outokumpu is the largest producer of stainless steel in Europe and the second largest producer in the A ...

Pertunmaa Pertunmaa () is a municipality of Finland located in the Southern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbour municipalities are Hartola, Heinola, Hirv ...

Pieksämäki Pieksämäki () is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the Southern Savonia region, about north of Mikkeli, east of Jyväskylä and south of Kuopio. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The ...

Pielavesi Pielavesi is a municipality of Finland. It is part of the Northern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality is unilingually Finnish. Geography ...

Polvijärvi Polvijärvi (; literally "knee lake") is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the North Karelia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbouring municipaliti ...

Punkaharju Punkaharju is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated with the town of Savonlinna on January 1, 2013. It was located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Southern Savonia region. The municipality had a population of ...

Puumala , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = , area_land_km2 = , area_water_km2 = , area_rank = , population_as_of = , population_footnotes = , population_total = , population_density_km2 = , population_rank = , demographics_type1 = , demograph ...

Rantasalmi Rantasalmi is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Southern Savonia region, northwest of Savonlinna and northeast of Mikkeli. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density i ...

Rautalampi Rautalampi is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Northern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality is unilingually Finnish. Neigh ...

Rautavaara Rautavaara is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Northern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality is unilingually Finnish. Tiili ...

Ristiina Ristiina (; in Swedish language, Swedish also known as ''Kristina'') was a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It was founded in 1649 and it was named after Kristina Stenbock, the wife of Governor-General in the Swedish Realm, Gover ...

Rääkkylä Rääkkylä (; Swedish also ) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the North Karelia region. The municipality has a population of (), which make it the smallest municipality in North Karelia ...

Savonlinna Savonlinna (, , ; sv, Nyslott, lit=New Castle) is a town and a municipality of inhabitants in the southeast of Finland, in the heart of the Saimaa lake region, which is why the city is also nicknamed the "Capital of Saimaa". Together with Mikke ...

Siilinjärvi Siilinjärvi () is a municipality of Finland. It is located in Northern Savonia, north of the city of Kuopio, which largely surrounds Siilinjärvi. Another neighbour municipality with Kuopio is Lapinlahti. The name, in Finnish, apparently transla ...

Sonkajärvi Sonkajärvi (; formerly known as ''Rutakko'') is a municipality of Finland. It is located in Northern Savonia region, north of Kuopio. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . ...

Sulkava Sulkava is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Southern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbouring municipalities are Juva, Puumala, R ...

Suonenjoki Suonenjoki (; literally means "vein's river") is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the Northern Savonia region, southwest of the Kuopio city. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The pop ...

Tervo Tervo is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Northern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of (), making it Northern Savonia's least populous municipality. It covers an area ...

Tohmajärvi Tohmajärvi () is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the North Karelia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality is unilingually Finnish. Neig ...

Tuusniemi Tuusniemi is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the North Savo region, east of Kuopio. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is Neighbour municipalities are Heinäv ...

Valtimo Valtimo () is a former municipality of Finland. It was merged with the town of Nurmes on 1 January 2020. It was located in the North Karelia region. In 2019, the municipality had a population of 2,140 and covered an area of , of which was wa ...

Varkaus Varkaus (before year 1929 ''Warkaus'') is a Middle- Savonian industrial town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Northern Savonia region, between city of Kuopio and town of Savonlinna. ...

Varpaisjärvi Varpaisjärvi is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated with the municipality of Lapinlahti on January 1, 2011. The municipality was located in the Northern Savonia region in the province of Eastern Finland. It had a population of ...

Vesanto Vesanto is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Northern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbour municipalities are Keitele, Konnevesi, ...

Vieremä Vieremä is a municipality of Finland in the Northern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Municipality is unilingually Finnish. Ponsse, one of the world ...

Former municipalities (disestablished before 2009)

* Anttola * Eno *

Haukivuori Haukivuori is a List of former municipalities of Finland, former municipality of Finland located in the provinces of Finland, province of Eastern Finland and part of the Southern Savonia regions of Finland, region. The municipality had a populati ...

Jäppilä Jäppilä () is a former municipality of Finland. On 1 January 2004, it was merged to Pieksämäen maalaiskunta and Virtasalmi to form the new municipality of Pieksänmaa, which merged with the town of Pieksämäki in 2007. The village of Jäpp ...

Kangaslampi Kangaslampi is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated to Varkaus on 1 January 2005. It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Northern Savonia region. The municipality had a population of 1,611 (31 Dece ...

Kiihtelysvaara Kiihtelysvaara is a former municipality of Finland. On 1 January 2005 it was consolidated, together with Tuupovaara, with the city of Joensuu. It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the North Karelia region. The munici ...

Mikkelin mlk Mikkelin maalaiskunta (abbreviated ''Mikkelin mlk'', sv, Sankt Michels landskommun) is a former municipality of Finland located in the modern region of Southern Savonia. Together with Anttola, it was consolidated with the town of Mikkeli in 200 ...

* Pieksämäen mlk *

Pieksänmaa Pieksänmaa is a former municipality of Finland. It became part of the town of Pieksämäki in 2007. Pieksänmaa was formed in 2004 when the municipalities of Pieksämäen maalaiskunta, Jäppilä and Virtasalmi were consolidated to a single mu ...

Pyhäselkä Pyhäselkä is a former municipality of Finland, now part of Joensuu. It seat was located in ''Hammaslahti''. Pyhäselkä is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the North Karelia region. The municipality had a population ...

Savonranta Savonranta is a former municipality of Finland. It became part of Savonlinna in early 2009. It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Southern Savonia region. The municipality had a population of 1,263 (2003) and cov ...

Tuupovaara Tuupovaara (''Kovero'' until 1913) is a former municipality of Finland, located in the province of North Karelia. It was consolidated, together with Kiihtelysvaara, into the municipality of Joensuu on January 1, 2005. The municipality had a popu ...

Vehmersalmi Vehmersalmi is a former municipality of Finland. It has been a part of the city of Kuopio since January 1, 2005. It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Northern Savonia region. The municipality had a population of 2, ...

Virtasalmi Virtasalmi is a former municipality of Finland. On January 1, 2004, it was joined to the new municipality of Pieksänmaa with Jäppilä and Pieksämäen maalaiskunta Pieksämäen maalaiskunta is a former municipality of Finland. On January 1, ...

* Värtsilä

Governors

* Pirjo Ala-Kapee 1997–2009

Heraldry

The coat of arms of Eastern Finland was composed of the arms of Savonia and Karelia.

References

External links

Eastern Finland State Provincial Office
- Official site
Video about travelling in Koli area

Pielis.ru — По Восточной Финляндии и дальше ...
{{Coord, 62, N, 28, E, type:adm1st_region:FI, display=title Provinces of Finland (1997–2009) States and territories established in 1997 States and territories disestablished in 2009