Imatra is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, located in the southeastern interior of the country. Imatra is located in the region of

South Karelia South Karelia (or ''Southern Karelia'', ; ) is a Regions of Finland, region of Finland. It borders the regions of Kymenlaakso, Southern Savonia, South Savo and North Karelia, as well as Russia (Republic of Karelia and Leningrad Oblast). Hist ...

, on

Lake Saimaa Saimaa ( , ; ) is a lake located in the Finnish Lakeland area in southeastern Finland. With a surface area of approximately , it is the largest lake in Finland, and the fourth-largest natural freshwater lake in Europe. The name Saimaa likely co ...

and the

River Vuoksi The Vuoksi (, historically: "Uzerva"; ; ; ) is a river running through the northernmost part of the Karelian Isthmus from Lake Saimaa in southeastern Finland to Lake Ladoga in northwestern Russia. The river enters Lake Ladoga in three branches, ...

. The population of Imatra is approximately , while the

sub-region A subregion is a part of a larger geographical region or continent. Cardinal directions are commonly used to define subregions. There are many criteria for creating systems of subregions; this article is focusing on the United Nations geoscheme ...

has a population of approximately . It is the most populous

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in Finland. Imatra lies on the border with Russia. On the other side of the border, away from the centre of Imatra, lies the Russian town of

Svetogorsk Svetogorsk (, ) is an industrial town in Vyborgsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the Karelian Isthmus, on the Vuoksi River. It is located from the border with Finland, from the Finnish town of Imatra, and from St. Pe ...

. The city of St. Petersburg is situated to the southeast, the Finnish capital

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

is away and

Lappeenranta Lappeenranta (; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of South Karelia. It is located in the southeastern interior of the country and in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Lappeenranta is approximately , while the Lappeenranta sub-r ...

, the nearest Finnish city, is away. The main employers are the pulp and paper manufacturer Stora Enso Oyj, the City of Imatra, the engineering steel manufacturer

Ovako Ovako AB is a European manufacturer of engineering steel for customers e.g. in the bearing, transportation and manufacturing industries. Since 2018, Ovako has been owned by Nippon Steel Corporation. The production is based on recycled steel scr ...

Bar Oy Ab and the

Finnish Border Guard The Finnish Border Guard (FBG, ; ) is the agency responsible for enforcing the security of Finland's borders. Duties Main duties of the Finnish Border Guard: * Protecting the land borders and territorial waters of Finland from unauthorised e ...

. , the total number of employees was 12,423. , 1,868 people were employed by the City of Imatra. The city's nicknames include Imis, Ibiza and Nahkalippis City (leather baseball cap city). Due to its location close to the border, Russian tourists are a common sight in the city, and Russian

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

is a boon to the local economy. Most people shop in Imatra, and Imatra's tax-free sales are the third largest among Finnish cities (only Helsinki and Lappeenranta are ahead). The name of Imatra is thought to derive from a pre-Finno-Ugric language. The lightning symbols on Imatra's coat of arms refer to the power plants that were built in the early 1920s at the Tainionskoski and

Imatrankoski Imatrankoski (The Imatra Rapids) are rapids on the Vuoksi in Imatra, Finland. It has been a famous tourist attraction since the late 1700s. Imatrankoski is also one of the National landscapes of Finland. Since 1929, the rapids has been blocked by ...

rapids. The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

was designed by and approved by the Imatra Town Council on 9 August 1950. The

Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the ...

approved the coat of arms for use on 25 October of the same year.

History

An Art Nouveau or Jugend style castle, currently known as Imatran Valtionhotelli (''Imatra State Hotel''), was built near the rapids in 1903 as a hotel for tourists from the Russian Imperial capital

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

. During the

Continuation War The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet–Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union during World War II. It began with a Finnish declaration of war on 25 June 1941 and ended on 19 ...

, Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim met with Adolf Hitler in secrecy near the town for the former's 75th birthday. Imatra was founded in 1948 on the territory of three municipalities – Jääski,

Ruokolahti Ruokolahti (; ; literally translated the " Reed Bay") is a municipality of Finland, situated in south-eastern Finland, in the region of South Karelia. Neighbouring municipalities are Imatra, Lappeenranta, Taipalsaari, Puumala, Sulkava, Punkaharju, ...

and

Joutseno Joutseno () is a former town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the South Karelia region. The municipality was unilingually Finnish. Joutseno was consolidated with Lappeenranta on 1 Jan ...

. Finland ceded 9% of its territory to the Soviet Union after the

Winter War The Winter War was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peac ...

. Jääski lost 85% of its territory and it was decided that a new municipality, Imatra, should be established on the remaining 15% of Jääski and some areas of Ruokolahti and Joutseno. This is why the Imatra coat of arms has three flashes – in honour of those previous municipalities that granted areas to it. It gained its municipal charter in 1971.

Sport

The men's

pesäpallo Pesäpallo (; ; , colloquially known in Finnish as pesis and also referred to as Finnish baseball) is a fast-moving bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport that is often referred to as the national sport of Finland and has some presence in other ...

club Imatran Pallo-Veikot competes in the

Superpesis The Superpesis is the highest level of the Finnish pesäpallo league system. Contested by 13 clubs in men's league and 12 clubs in women's league, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Ykköspesis. Seasons usually run from ...

national league, playing at Ukonniemi Stadium.

Ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

club Imatran Ketterä plays in second-tier

Mestis Mestis (from , meaning 'Championship series', stylized as MEST1S) is the second-highest men's ice hockey league in Finland. The league was established by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association in 2000 to replace the I-divisioona ('First Division ...

. Imatra is the birthplace of

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

players Jussi Markkanen and

Petteri Nokelainen Petteri Antti Nokelainen (born January 16, 1986) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey forward who played over 200 games in the National Hockey League (NHL). He concluded his professional career in returning to his original club, SaiPa of ...

. In

motorsport Motorsport or motor sport are sporting events, competitions and related activities that primarily involve the use of Car, automobiles, motorcycles, motorboats and Aircraft, powered aircraft. For each of these vehicle types, the more specific term ...

history, Imatra is best known for its

road races Road racing is a North American term to describe motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held on a closed circuit—generally, a purpose-built racing facility—or on a street circuit that uses temporarily closed public ...

(former TT-race) from 1963 to 1986. From

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

it was the home of the

Finnish motorcycle Grand Prix The Finnish motorcycle Grand Prix was part of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, FIM Grand Prix motorcycle racing championship from 1962 to 1982. It was held at the Tampere Circuit in 1962 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, 1962 a ...

. Racing on the Imatra road circuit ended after fatal accident during the 1986 European Championship event. Racing resumed in 2016 as an International Road Racing Championship event. There is an annual indoor rowing race at Imatra, which attracts competitors from across Finland.

Culture

The Black & White Theatre has produced more than 20 performances, the movie "Murderer" and organized from 2004 Black & White Theatre Festival in Imatra.

Transport

The national road 6, running from Koskenkylä in

Loviisa Loviisa (; ; formerly Degerby) is a town in Finland, located on the southern coast of the country. Loviisa is situated in the eastern part of the Uusimaa region. The population of Loviisa is approximately , while the Loviisa sub-region, sub-regi ...

Kajaani Kajaani (; ), is a town in Finland and the regional capital of Kainuu. Kajaani is located southeast of Oulujärvi, Lake Oulu, which drains into the Gulf of Bothnia through the Oulujoki, Oulu River. The population of Kajaani is approximately , w ...

via

Kouvola Kouvola () is a city in Finland and the administrative capital of Kymenlaakso. It is located in the southeastern interior of the country. The population of Kouvola is approximately . It is the most populous municipality in Finland, and the 17th m ...

, and

Joensuu Joensuu (; ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Karelia. It is located in the eastern interior of the country and in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Joensuu is approximately , while the sub-region has a population ...

passes through Imatra. Also in Imatra is a crossing point over the Russian border, which is also the ending point of primary road 62 from

Mikkeli Mikkeli (; ; ; ) is a List of cities and towns in Finland, city in, and the regional capital of, South Savo, Finland, located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population is approximately , while the Mikkeli sub-region of Southern Savonia has a populat ...

. The Kouvola–Joensuu railway passes through Imatra, and the Imatra railway station serves both passenger and freight transport. From the rail yard of this station is a fork onto the railway towards Kamennogorsk via

Vyborg Vyborg (; , ; , ; , ) is a town and the administrative center of Vyborgsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Karelian Isthmus near the head of Vyborg Bay, northwest of St. Petersburg, east of the Finnish capital H ...

. The planning of the initiation of regular international passenger traffic between Imatra and

has stopped due to Russia's war against Ukraine. The closest airport to Imatra is the Lappeenranta Airport, which is used by

Ryanair Ryanair is an Irish Low-cost carrier#Ultra low-cost carrier, ultra low-cost airline group headquartered in Swords, County Dublin, Ireland. The parent company, Ryanair Holdings plc, includes subsidiaries Ryanair , Malta Air, Buzz (Ryanair), Buzz ...

on several routes as well as irregular passenger flights to the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

and cargo flights to Russia. The

Immola Airfield Immola Airfield is an airfield in Imatra, Finland, about northeast of Imatrankoski, the centre of Imatra. History Planning of the airfield began in 1933, and the airfield was opened in 1936. Before and during the Second World War, the airfield ...

is also present, serving the

as well as hobbyist aviation activities.

Notable people

* Marlo Koponen, ice hockey player *

Jarmo Koski Jarmo Koski (2 July 1951 in Imatra, South Karelia) is a Finnish actor. He starred as Seppo Taalasmaa in the half-hour soap opera ''Salatut Elämät'' from 1999 to 2013 and briefly in 2017 and from 2020 to 2021. Dubbed movies, Finnish voice He ...

, actor * Arvo Kyllönen, wrestler * Jussi Markkanen, ice hockey player *

, ice hockey player * Lilli Paasikivi, artistic director * Jouni Pellinen, skier * Jarmo Sandelin, professional golfer *

Anneli Taina Anneli Taina (born June 21, 1951) is a Finnish politician who was Minister of Defence and Minister of Housing for the Finnish Government, and then Governor of the Southern Finland Province. Career Anneli Taina was born on June 21, 1951, in Ima ...

, politician *

Taiska Taiska or Hannele Aulikki Kauppinen, née Suominen (born 9 June 1955 in Imatra) is a Finland, Finnish singer of popular music. She is mostly known for her evergreen hit, "Mombasa (song), Mombasa" (1975), originally by Italian composer Fabio Frizzi ...

, singer

International relations

Sister cities: *

Ludvika Ludvika () is a bimunicipal Urban areas in Sweden, city and the seat of Ludvika Municipality, Dalarna County within the country of Sweden, with 14,498 inhabitants in 2010. Overview The conurbation of Ludvika extends over the border of Smedjebacke ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

Salzgitter Salzgitter (; Eastphalian dialect, Eastphalian: ''Soltgitter'') is an independent city#Germany, independent city in southeast Lower Saxony, Germany, located between Hildesheim and Braunschweig. Together with Wolfsburg and Braunschweig, Salzgitte ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Zvolen Zvolen (; ; ) is a city in central Slovakia, situated on the confluence of Hron and Slatina rivers. It is famous for several historical and cultural attractions. It is surrounded by Poľana mountain from the East, by Kremnické vrchy from the ...

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

Tikhvin Tikhvin (; Veps: ) is a town and the administrative center of Tikhvinsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on both banks of the Tikhvinka River in the east of the oblast, east of St. Petersburg. Tikhvin is also an industrial ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

(frozen since 2022 due to Russia attacking Ukraine) *

Szigetvár Szigetvár (; ; ) is a town in Baranya County in southern Hungary. The name is a compound word composed of ''Sziget'' (Island) + ''vár'' (castle). In October 2011, the city received the title ''Civitas Invicta'' from the Hungarian Parliament. T ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

Narva-Jõesuu Narva-Jõesuu is a seaside resort town in northeast Estonia. It is located by the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, on the west bank of the Narva River, which forms the Estonia–Russia international border. Narva-Jõesuu marks the northea ...

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

Jiaxing Jiaxing (), alternately romanized as Kashing, is a prefecture-level city in northern Zhejiang province, China. Lying on the Grand Canal of China, Jiaxing borders Hangzhou to the southwest, Huzhou to the west, Shanghai to the northeast, and the p ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Sister cities: *

Beihai Beihai (; Postal romanization: Pakhoi) is a prefecture-level city in the south of Guangxi, People's Republic of China. Its status as a seaport on the north shore of the Gulf of Tonkin has granted it historical importance as a port of internati ...

Co-operation cities: *

Nizhyn Nizhyn (, ; ) is a city located in Chernihiv Oblast of northern Ukraine along the Oster River. The city is located north-east of the national capital Kyiv. Nizhyn serves as the capital city, administrative center of Nizhyn Raion. It hosts the ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

Gallery

File:Imatran kaupungintalo 3.JPG, Imatra Town Hall File:Vuksi_River_,_Island_-_panoramio.jpg,

Vuoksi River The Vuoksi (, historically: "Uzerva"; ; ; ) is a river running through the northernmost part of the Karelian Isthmus from Lake Saimaa in southeastern Finland to Lake Ladoga in northwestern Russia. The river enters Lake Ladoga in three branches ...

File:Imatrankosken_kuohuja.jpg,

hydroelectric power plant File:Imatrankoski_2017_15.jpg, Nature around Imatrankoski File:Imatrankosken_ratapiha.JPG, Imatrankoski rail yard File:South_Karelia,_Finland_-_panoramio_(9).jpg, Imatra in winter File:Imatran_kylpylä.jpg, Lake

Saimaa Saimaa ( , ; ) is a lake located in the Finnish Lakeland area in southeastern Finland. With a surface area of approximately , it is the largest lake in Finland, and the fourth-largest natural freshwater lake in Europe. The name Saimaa likely co ...

and Imatra Spa Hotel File:Imatra - Pehr Adolf Kruskopf - Finland framställdt i teckningar - 64.jpg, Illustration of Imatra in Finland framstäldt i teckningar edited by

Zacharias Topelius Zacharias Topelius (; 14 January 181812 March 1898) was a Finnish author, poet, journalist, historian, and rector of the University of Helsinki who wrote novels related to Finnish history. He wrote his works exclusively in Swedish, although th ...

and published 1845-1852.

References

External links

* *
City of Imatra
– Official site
goSaimaa.com – Travel information about Imatra
{{authority control Cities and towns in Finland Populated places established in 1948 Finland–Russia border crossings