Iisalmi (; sv, Idensalmi) is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

and

municipality 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 the

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

of Northern Savonia in

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 ...

. It is located north of

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 ...

and south of Kajaani. The municipality has a population of (), which makes it the second largest of the five towns in Northern Savonia in population, only Kuopio being larger. It covers an area of of which is water. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

is . The municipality is unilingually Finnish. In the 2010s, Iisalmi is known as an export industry town, as well as a significant study town in the region.

History

Iisalmi traces its roots back to 1627, when the parish of Iisalmi was formed around the local church. The town's old wooden church, Gustav Adolf Church, was consecrated in 1780. In the 18th century, when

was under Swedish control,

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

was frequently at war with

Imperial Russia The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...

, and the area of Koljonvirta in Iisalmi was a battlefield on which one of the greatest Swedish victories occurred. However, Sweden lost its last war with Russia and had to surrender Finland to the Russian Empire in 1809. Iisalmi gained its status as town on October 20, 1891.Iisalmi: Historia
(in Finnish)

Geography

There are 111

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

s in the Iisalmi region, the largest of which are

Lake Onkivesi Onkivesi is a rather large lake of Finland. It belongs to the Vuoksi main catchment area. It is located in the Northern Savonia region and mostly in Lapinlahti municipality. Water in the lake is somewhat brownish partly due to natural inflows and ...

Lake Haapajärvi Lake Haapajärvi is a middle size lake in the area of Iisalmi, Northern Savonia, Finland. There are 38 lakes with the name Haapajärvi in Finland, with this particular lake being the largest in size. See also *List of lakes in Finland There ...

Lake Porovesi Porovesi is a medium-sized lake in the Vuoksi main catchment area. It is located in the Iisalmi town, Northern Savonia region in Finland.

and

Lake Nerkoo A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much lar ...

Economy

Olvi, the last big independent beer brewery in Finland, has its factory and headquarters in Iisalmi. (Other big Finnish breweries have been bought by multinational companies.)

Genelec Genelec Oy is a manufacturer of active loudspeaker systems based in Iisalmi, Finland. It designs and produces products especially for professional studio monitor, studio recording, mixing and mastering applications, broadcast, and movie producti ...

, a manufacturer of active monitors and loudspeakers] used in recording studios worldwide, has its factory and headquarters in Iisalmi. Normet, engineers and manufacturers of mechanised equipment for underground rock-mining and tunnelling, also has its factory and headquarters in Iisalmi. Headquarters is located in Espoo. Profile Vehicles makes ambulances and police cars. Iisalmi has its own Iisalmi railway station, railway station on the VR network. The line between Iisalmi and Oulu was electrified in December 2006, replacing diesel haulage of trains.

Culture

Events

Iisalmi, even though being a relatively small town, has many cultural events on small and somewhat larger scales. One memorable event, of the many, is "''Rompepäivät''", which translates as "the days of old junk and stuff". People gather together bringing various old items, from small sewing needles to old tractors, for everyone to see and many small things to be sold. A few old restored cars, trucks, motorcycles and tractors, some of them Finnish-made, are displayed for others to see. Here people talk about "good old times" or wonder over "ancient artifacts". Sometimes some of the finely restored machines are for sale to anyone interested to buy—of course if they can afford it. "''Oluset"'' is a music festival organized each July annually. The main sponsor is local brewery company Olvi. "''Oluset"'' roughly translates to "a few beers". Also a smaller festival, "''Limuset"'' (Little soft drink festival" is organize as well by Olvi. "''Limuset"'' is mainly dedicated to kids and young people, and no alcoholic drinks are sold in the area.

Food

Ravintola Kuappi - Veikonkatu 1 - Iisalmi - 2

In the 1980s, each of Savonia's municipalities voted for its own parish dishes. ''Muurinpohjalettu'', a thin

pancake A pancake (or hotcake, griddlecake, or flapjack) is a flat cake, often thin and round, prepared from a Starch, starch-based batter (cooking), batter that may contain eggs, milk and butter and cooked on a hot surface such as a griddle or fryi ...

or crêpe made of wheat and barley, were chosen as the traditional food of Iisalmi. According to the

Guinness Book of Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

, the world's smallest restaurant,

Kuappi Kuappi () is a restaurant in Iisalmi, Finland. According to ''Guinness World Records'', it is the smallest restaurant in the world. The building has a footprint of , of which is indoors. The building housing the restaurant was constructed in ...

, is located in Iisalmi.The world's smallest restaurants
'' Fox News'' 23 January 2013. Accessed on 30 June 2022.

Music

Currently the most famous Iisalmi-based band is a humorous country-rock orchestra Halavatun Papat. A rough translation of the name is "Damn Grandfathers". 20th-century composer Joonas Kokkonen was born here, as were singer-songwriter Jaakko Teppo and jazz pianist and composer

Jarmo Savolainen Jarmo Savolainen (24 May 1961 – 11 June 2009) was a Finnish jazz pianist and composer. He was born in Iisalmi, Eastern Finland, and first studied classical piano. He later turned his attention to jazz and studied at Berklee College of Mu ...

Sports

Iisalmi is best known for its football club, PK-37 and ice hockey club, IPK ( Iisalmen Peli-Karhut). Other known sports clubs are FBI (floorball club), Iisalmen palloveikot, Klubi-36, Iina, Iisalmen Visa and Koljonvirran ratsastajat (riding club). Iisalmi has many good locations for playing sports. There is a very nice frisbee golf place near the Paloisvuori ski center. There are also many good beaches in Iisalmi, for example Perttu's beach and the Beach of the City. Many beaches offer an opportunity for beach volleyball too. In winter time Iisalmi offers good ski trails and skating rinks; winter sports fans can also go downhill skiing and snowboarding at the Paloisvuori ski center. In addition, Iisalmi has good facilities for gym workouts, swimming, bowling and minigolf.

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Iisalmi is

twinned Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to: * In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so; * Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning * Twinning inst ...

with: * Notodden, Norway * Pécel, Hungary * Nyköping, Sweden * Lüneburg, Germany * Nykøbing Falster, Denmark * Kirishi, Russia * Võru, Estonia

References

External links

Official website of Iisalmi
{{authority control 1627 establishments in Sweden Cities and towns in Finland Grand Duchy of Finland Populated places established in 1627