Imatra 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 southeastern Finland. Imatra is dominated by Lake Saimaa, the

Vuoksi River The Vuoksi (russian: Вуокса, historically: "Uzerva"; fi, Vuoksi; sv, Vuoksen) 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 r ...

and the border with Russia. On the other side of the border, away from the centre of Imatra, lies the Russian town of Svetogorsk.

St Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

is situated to the southeast, Finland's capital

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

is away and Lappeenranta, the nearest Finnish town, is away. Imatra belongs to the administrative province of

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 ...

and the region of

South Karelia South Karelia ( fi, Etelä-Karjala; sv, Södra Karelen) 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 Obla ...

. The main employers are pulp and paper manufacturer

Stora Enso Oyj Stora Enso Oyj (from sv, Stora and fi, Enso ) is a manufacturer of pulp, paper and other forest products, headquartered in Helsinki, Finland. The majority of sales takes place in Europe, but there are also significant operations in Asia and S ...

, the Town of Imatra, engineering steel manufacturer Ovako Bar Oy Ab, and the Finnish Border Guard. , the total number of employees was 12,423. , 1,868 employees were employed by the Town of Imatra. The town manager of Imatra is Ari Lindeman. The town's nicknames include Imis, Ibiza and Nahkalippis City (Leather Baseball Cap City). Because of the location near the border, Russian

tourists Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mo ...

are a common sight in the town, and Russian tourism greatly benefits the local business life. Most people shop at 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 believed to have originated from a

Pre-Finno-Ugric substrate Pre-Finno-Ugric substrate refers to substratum loanwords from unidentified non-Indo-European and non-Uralic languages that are found in various Finno-Ugric languages, most notably Sami. The presence of Pre-Finno-Ugric substrate in Sami languages ...

language. The

lightning Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electric charge, electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the land, ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous ...

symbols on Imatra's

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 latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

refer to the

power plant A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many pow ...

s that were started to be built in the early 1920s in both 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 a ...

rapids. The coat of arms was designed by , and the Imatra town council approved it on August 9, 1950. The

Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

approved the coat of arms for use on October 25 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 ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. During the Continuation War, 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 Lesogorsky (russian: Лесого́рский; fi, Jääski; sv, Jäskis) is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) in Vyborgsky District of Leningrad Oblast, located on the left bank of the Vuoksi River, on the Karelian Isthmus, near th ...

, Ruokolahti and Joutseno. Finland ceded 9% of its territory to the Soviet Union after the

Winter War The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...

. 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

PaSa Bandy is a

bandy Bandy is a winter sport and ball sport played by two teams wearing ice skates on a large ice surface (either indoors or outdoors) while using sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal. The international governing body for bandy is ...

club in Imatra. Imatra is the birthplace of

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

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 t ...

. In

motorsport Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...

history, Imatra is best known for its road races (former TT-race) from 1963 to 1986. From

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wors ...

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 bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

it was the home of the

Finnish motorcycle Grand Prix The Finnish motorcycle Grand Prix was part of the FIM Grand Prix motorcycle racing championship from 1962 to 1982. It was held at the Tampere Circuit in 1962 and 1963 before moving to the Imatra Circuit. Giacomo Agostini won the most Finnish Gr ...

. 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 International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

event. There is an annual indoor rowing race at Imatra, which attracts competitors from across Finland.

Transport

The national road 6, running from Koskenkylä in

Loviisa Loviisa (; sv, Lovisa ; formerly Degerby) is a municipality and town of inhabitants () on the southern coast of Finland. It is located from Helsinki and from Porvoo. About 43 per cent of the population is Swedish-speaking. The municipality co ...

to Kajaani via

Kouvola Kouvola () is a cities of Finland, city and Municipalities of Finland, municipality in southeastern Finland. It is located along the Kymijoki, Kymijoki River in the Regions of Finland, region of Kymenlaakso, kilometers east of Lahti, west of Lapp ...

, Lappeenranta, and

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 ...

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 (; 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 ...

. The Kouvola–Joensuu railway passes through Imatra, and the

Imatra railway station The Imatra railway station ( fi, Imatran rautatieasema, sv, Imatra järnvägsstation) is located in the town of Imatra, Finland, in the district of Mansikkala. It is located along the Kouvola–Joensuu railway, and its neighboring stations are ...

serves both passenger and freight transport. From the rail yard of this station is a fork onto the railway towards

Kamennogorsk Kamennogorsk (russian: Каменного́рск; known before 1948 by the Finnish name of Antrea (russian: А́нтреа; sv, S:t Andree)), is a town in Vyborgsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the Karelian Isthmus on the left ...

via

Vyborg Vyborg (; rus, Вы́борг, links=1, r=Výborg, p=ˈvɨbərk; fi, Viipuri ; sv, Viborg ; german: Wiborg ) is a town in, and the administrative center of, Vyborgsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Karelian Isthmus ne ...

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

is currently underway. The closest airport to Imatra is the Lappeenranta Airport, which is used by

Ryanair Ryanair is an Irish ultra low-cost carrier founded in 1984. It is headquartered in Swords, Dublin, Ireland and has its primary operational bases at Dublin and London Stansted airports. It forms the largest part of the Ryanair Holdings family ...

on several routes as well as irregular passenger flights to the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

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 Finnish Border Guard as well as hobbyist aviation activities.

Notable people

Marlo Koponen Marlo Koponen is a Finnish ice hockey defenceman who currently plays professionally in Finland for SaiPa of the SM-liiga The SM-liiga (marketed as just Liiga from 2013 on), (Finnish for ''League'') colloquially called the Finnish Elite League i ...

, 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 Lilli Katriina Paasikivi-Ilves (born in 1965 in Imatra, Finland) is the artistic director of the Finnish National Opera since 2013 and a mezzo-soprano. In her work, Paasikivi has set out to reshape the structures of opera and to find ways to co ...

, artistic director *

Jouni Pellinen Jouni Pellinen (born 11 May 1983) is a Finnish freestyle skier who specializes in the skicross discipline. He is a former alpine skier. He made his World Cup debut in December 2005 in Kranjska Gora, and collected his first World Cup points ...

, skier *

Jarmo Sandelin Jarmo Sakari Sandelin (born 10 May 1967) is a Swedish professional golfer who plays on the European Senior Tour. He had five European Tour wins and played in the 1999 Ryder Cup. Early life Sandelin was born in Imatra, Finland, but grew up in Sw ...

, professional golfer * Anneli Taina, politician *

Taiska Taiska or Hannele Aulikki Kauppinen, née Suominen (born June 9, 1955 in Imatra) is a Finnish singer of popular music. She is mostly known for her evergreen hit, "Mombasa" (1975), originally by Italian composer Fabio Frizzi Fabio Frizzi (born 2 ...

, singer

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Imatra is twinned with: *

Ludvika Ludvika () is a bimunicipal 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 Smedjebacken Municipality, where a ...

, Sweden * Salzgitter, Germany *

Zvolen Zvolen (; hu, Zólyom; german: Altsohl) is a town in central Slovakia, situated on the confluence of Hron and Slatina rivers, close to Banská Bystrica. It is surrounded by Poľana mountain from the East, by Kremnické vrchy from the West an ...

, Slovakia * Tikhvin, Russia *

Szigetvár Szigetvár (; hr, Siget; tr, Zigetvar; English: Islandcastle; german: Inselburg) is a town in Baranya County in southern Hungary. History The town's fortress was the setting of the Siege of Szigetvár in 1566. It was a sanjak centre at first ...

, Hungary *

Narva-Jõesuu Narva-Jõesuu (; russian: Усть-Нарва, ''Ust'-Narva'', Нарва-Йыэсуу, Усть-Нарова) is a town in Ida-Viru County, in northeastern Estonia. Geography It is located on the country's northern Baltic coast of the Gul ...

, Estonia

Gallery

File:Vuksi_River_,_Island_-_panoramio.jpg,

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 and Imatra Spa Hotel

References

External links

* *
Town 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