Kuopio (, ) is a Finnish

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be de ...

and

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 ...

located in the region of

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 ...

. It has a population of , which makes it the most populous municipality in Finland. Along with

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. T ...

, Kuopio is one of the major urban, economic, and cultural hubs of

Eastern Finland Eastern Finland ( fi, Itä-Suomen lääni, sv, Östra Finlands län) was a province of Finland from 1997 to 2009. It bordered the provinces of Oulu, Western Finland and Southern Finland. It also bordered Russia to the east. History On Septe ...

. At the end of 2018, its urban area had a population of 89,307. Kuopio has a total area of , of which is water and half is forest. Though the city's

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using ...

is a spread-out , the city's

urban area An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities, ...

s are populated comparably densely (urban area: 1,618 /km²), making Kuopio Finland's second-most densely populated city. Kuopio is known nationwide as one of the most important study cities and centers of attraction and growth, but on the other hand, the history of Kuopio has been characterized by several municipality mergers since 1969, as a result of which Kuopio now includes much countryside; Kuopio's population surpassed 100,000 when the town of Nilsiä joined the city at the beginning of 2013, and when Maaninka joined Kuopio at the beginning of 2015, Kuopio became Finland's largest

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modulati ...

producing community and Finland's second largest

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quant ...

producing community. In addition, at the end of the 2010s, Kuopio was noted for numerous large projects, which are the largest nationwide after the

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 ...

's metropolitan area. With the large tourist center in Tahkovuori, Kuopio has also grown into a major tourist city. Kuopio Airport, located in the

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 trans ...

municipality that almost surrounded by Kuopio, is Finland's fifth-busiest airport, with over 235,000 passengers in 2017. According to Kuntarating 2017 survey, Kuopio has the most satisfied residents among the 20 largest cities, and according to the 2018 survey, Kuopio is the best city for real estate investors. In the ''Kuntien imago 2018'' survey, Kuopio ranks second among large cities of Finland after

Seinäjoki Seinäjoki (; "Wall River"; la, Wegelia, formerly sv, Östermyra) is a city located in South Ostrobothnia, Finland; east of Vaasa, north of Tampere, west of Jyväskylä and southwest of Oulu. Seinäjoki originated around the Östermyra b ...

of South Ostrobothnia. In ''T-medias attraction and influence of the ten biggest cities study in 2021 and 2022, Kuopio is the second most attractive city in Finland, with

Tampere Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclo ...

holding the first place. Kuopio was the European Region of Gastronomy in 2020. It is also known as home of ''

Kalakukko Kalakukko is a traditional Finnish dish from the region of Savonia made from fish (e.g., perch, vendace, loach, smelt, or salmon) baked inside a loaf of bread. Kalakukko is especially popular in Kuopio, capital city of the Northern Savonia r ...

'', a

traditional food Traditional foods are foods and dishes that are passed on through generations or which have been consumed for many generations. Traditional foods and dishes are traditional in nature, and may have a historic precedent in a national dish, regio ...

of Savonia, which is why Kuopio is also known by the nickname the "Promised Land of Kalakukko".

Etymology

Several explanations are behind the name ''Kuopio''. The first is that in the 16th century, a certain influential person named Kauhanen in Tavinsalmi changed his name to Skopa and the people's pronunciation was ''Coopia'' and finally ''Cuopio''. The second explanation is that it comes from the verb ''kuopia'', meaning "paw", as when a

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million ...

paws the ground with its

hoof The hoof (plural: hooves) is the tip of a toe of an ungulate mammal, which is covered and strengthened with a thick and horny keratin covering. Artiodactyls are even-toed ungulates, species whose feet have an even number of digits, yet the ru ...

. A third explanation is that it came from a certain Karelian man's name ''Prokopij'', from Ruokolahti in the Middle Ages. This explanation is the most likely, and is supported by the Research Institute for the Languages of Finland.

Heraldry

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in it ...

of Kuopio was designed in 1823 by drawing by the town councilor Karl Hårdh or possibly his artist son, Adolf Hårdh. The coat of arms was approved for use in 1823 by the Kuopio Magistrate in accordance with the order of

Alexander I of Russia Alexander I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first King of Congress Poland from 1815, and the Grand Duke of Finland from 1809 to his death. He was the eldest son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. The son of Gra ...

. The coat of arms building, which represents Kuopio Cathedral, has often been mistakenly considered to be Kuopio City Hall, completed in 1886. The current design of the coat of arms is the handwriting of architect Seppo Ruotsalainen. The coat of arms in its current form was approved at a meeting of Kuopio City Council on 25 November 1957, and 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" * Ministr ...

confirmed the coat of arms and its explanation on 12 June 1958.

History

In the 1550s, under the influence of

Mikael Agricola Mikael Agricola (; c. 1510 – 9 April 1557) was a Finnish Lutheran clergyman who became the de facto founder of literary Finnish and a prominent proponent of the Protestant Reformation in Sweden, including Finland, which was a Swedish territ ...

, a church and a parish were founded in Kuopionniemi. Governor Peter Brahe founded the city of Kuopio in 1653, but the official date is recognized as 17 November 1775, when King

Gustav III of Sweden Gustav III (29 March 1792), also called ''Gustavus III'', was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of Adolf Frederick of Sweden and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Prussia. Gustav was a vocal opponent of what ...

ordered the formal establishment of the city. The period of Russian rule (1809–1917) brought notable transportation development within Eastern Finland. The

Saimaa Canal The Saimaa Canal ( fi, Saimaan kanava; sv, Saima kanal; russian: Сайменский канал) is a transportation canal that connects lake Saimaa with the Gulf of Finland near Vyborg, Russia. The canal was built from 1845 to 1856 and opene ...

(1856) opened up a summer route towards the Baltic Sea, and the

Savonia railway The Savonian railway ( fi, Savon rata, sv, Savolaxbanan) is a 1,524 mm (5 ft) railway in Finland. Beginning in Kouvola, it connects southern Finland with the eastern regions of South Savo and North Savo via the cities of Pieksämäki, Kuopio an ...

(1889) improved transport in winter. Kuopion asema

After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the city's population grew significantly, due in part to the settlement of Karelian evacuees and the high birth rate. The rapid growth of the population forced the expansion of schools; at the end of the 1940s, support was also provided for

school transport Student transport is the transporting of children and teenagers to and from schools and school events. School transport can be undertaken by school students themselves (on foot, bicycle or perhaps horseback; or for older students, by car), th ...

s and the provision of free

school meal A school meal or school lunch (also known as hot lunch, a school dinner, or school breakfast) is a meal provided to students and sometimes teachers at a school, typically in the middle or beginning of the school day. Countries around the world ...

s (the poor people had received it in Kuopio since 1902). The large number of young people and the occasional lack of activity also gave rise to various phenomena in the city, such as the Kuopio Market Riot in 1965. In the 1960s, the first construction of the actual suburb, Puijonlaakso, began. Since then, the new areas have each grown in turn: in the 1960s, Puijonlaakso and Tiihotar (as part of Saarijärvi); In the 1970s Saarijärvi, Kelloniemi and Levänen; In the 1980s, Jynkkä and Neulamäki. The municipality of Maaninka joined the city of Kuopio in 2015, the town of Nilsiä in 2013, and

Karttula Karttula is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated with the city of Kuopio on 1 January 2011. The municipality was located in the Northern Savonia region. It had a population of 3,483 (31 October 2010) and covered a land area o ...

in 2011, as did Vehmersalmi in 2005, Riistavesi in 1973, and

Kuopion maalaiskunta Kuopion maalaiskunta was a municipality in eastern Finland in Kuopio Province. The municipality was disbanded in early 1969. Most of the area of Kuopion maalaiskunta was connected to the city of Kuopio, but two villages of Kuopion maalaiskunta, K ...

in 1969.

Geography

The city is surrounded by Lake

Kallavesi Kallavesi is a medium-sized lake in Northern Savonia, eastern Finland located around the town of Kuopio. Combined with the lakes Suvasvesi, Juurusvesi–Akonvesi, Muuruvesi, Melavesi, and Riistavesi Kallavesi forms an lake system named Iso-Kalla. ...

, and several parts of it are built on islands. With an area of Lake Kallavesi is the tenth largest lake in Finland. In the wake of the Yoldia Sea, which followed the

Weichselian glaciation The Weichselian glaciation was the last glacial period and its associated glaciation in northern parts of Europe. In the Alpine region it corresponds to the Würm glaciation. It was characterized by a large ice sheet (the Fenno-Scandian ice sheet) ...

and preceded the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and fr ...

, there are ancient beaches up to 140 m above the current sea level, of which the current Lake Kallavesi is 82 m above sea level. Kuopio's ample waterfronts and islands are also used in the ''Saaristokaupunki'' (lit. ''Archipelago city'') -project, the biggest residential area currently being built in Finland. Saaristokaupunki will accommodate a total of 14,000 inhabitants in 2015. All houses will be situated no more than from the nearest lakeshore. Kuopio Market Square is the undisputed center of the city and the city center follows a densely built grid pattern with several parks and narrow gutter streets. The environment of the city is quite distinctive; the surface shapes of the waterfront-lined center are so variable that a flat property is a desired rarity.Kuopion kaupungin tekninen virasto: Kuopio 2009 suunnittelee ja rakentaa (2009) The settlement has spread outside the center of Kuopio according to a dense and sparse finger model that is affordable for

public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typic ...

, and the new districts have been built in a municipal drive at once; for example, the Saaristokaupunki was banned for building for the previous 25 years,
and this Kuopio zoning tradition has a long history. Due to the above-mentioned factors, the

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), 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 ...

of the Kuopio city center is the highest in Finland. With the surrounding lakes, the

shoreline A shore or a shoreline is the fringe of land at the edge of a large body of water, such as an ocean, sea, or lake. In physical oceanography, a shore is the wider fringe that is geologically modified by the action of the body of water past ...

in Kuopio is 4,760 kilometers. The terrain is also characterized by rich forests, and the clear center of the Kuopio's lund forest is mainly located in the area between Kuopio, Nilsiä and

. Of the Finnish municipalities, Kuopio has the second largest number of summer cottages and

holiday home A holiday cottage, holiday home, vacation home, or vacation property is accommodation used for holiday vacations, corporate travel, and temporary housing often for less than 30 days. Such properties are typically small homes, such as cottage ...

s. In 2013, the number of summer cottages was 8,684. The number of summer homes in Kuopio has increased in recent years due to municipal associations. Due to the abundance of water bodies, Kuopio also has a remarkably favorable climate compared to the latitude. The annual sum of the effective temperature is about as high in Kuopio as in places further south than, for example,

and

Lahti Lahti (; sv, Lahtis) is a city and municipality in Finland. It is the capital of the region of Päijänne Tavastia (Päijät-Häme) and its growing region is one of the main economic hubs of Finland. Lahti is situated on a bay at the southern ...

Subdivisions

There are more than 50 districts and villages in Kuopio. # Väinölänniemi # Vahtivuori # Maljalahti #

Multimäki Multimäki is a central district in the heart of Kuopio, Finland. Many of Kuopio's most significant attractions, including the Kuopio's Market Square and Market Hall, (also known as Hatsala Cemetery)Kuopionlahti # Hatsala # Niirala # Haapaniemi # Itkonniemi # Männistö # Linnanpelto #

Saarijärvi Saarijärvi () is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the Central Finland region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbouring municipalities are ...

# Puijonlaakso #

Savilahti Savilahti is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Eero Savilahti (born 1992), Finnish ice hockey player *Mika Savilahti (born 1963), Finnish sprint canoer See also *Savilahti Stone Sacristy The Stone Sacristy is located on Por ...

# Peipposenrinne # Inkilänmäki # Särkiniemi # Kettulanlahti # Rahusenkangas # Rönö # Rypysuo # Päiväranta # Julkula # Sorsasalo # Kelloniemi # Levänen # Jynkkä # Neulamäki # Puijo # Niuva # Neulaniemi # Kolmisoppi # Neulalampi # Petonen # Litmanen #

Pirtti Pirtti () is a district of Kuopio, 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 ...

# Pitkälahti # Saaristokaupunki # Lehtoniemi # Rautaniemi #

Hiltulanlahti Hiltulanlahti is a rural village and urban area in the southern part of Kuopio, Finland, right next to the European route E63. At the end of 2011, the area had 242 inhabitants. Hiltulanlahti is located about 15 kilometers south of the center of K ...

# Kiviharju # Vanuvuori # Melalahti # Kurkimäki # Vehmersalmi #

# Nilsiä # Tahko # Maaninka #

Keskisaari Keskisaari (in Finnish ‘keski’ means middle and ‘saari’ means island) is a place name and family name in Finland. There are a number of places called Keskisaari around Finland, including Lappee (Lapvesi) and Koivisto (Björkö) in Carel ...

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 ...

Säyneinen Säyneinen is a village and a former municipality of Finland at the time of its existence in the Kuopio Province, now in Northern Savonia. Together with Muuruvesi, it was consolidated with Juankoski in 1971, since 2017 part of Kuopio. Geograph ...

# Puutossalmi # Pellesmäki

Climate

Kuopio falls in the subarctic climate zone ( Köppen "Dfc"), closely bordering on

continental Continental may refer to: Places * Continent, the major landmasses of Earth * Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US * Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US Arts and entertainment * ''Continental'' (a ...

due to its warm summers. Winters are long and cold, with average highs staying below freezing from November until March, and summers are short and relatively mild. Most precipitation occurs in the late summer and early fall. The summers are relatively warm for its latitude, especially the lows. This is due to influence from the lake, making it much warmer on summer nights than in areas away from water. In winter, maritime moderation is eliminated as the lake freezes over.

Demographics

Kuopio is the eighth largest city in Finland in term of its population. At the beginning of 2021, the population was 120,246, compared to only about 10,000 at the beginning of the 20th century. There are around 5,200 foreign citizens (31 December 2020). The average age of Kuopio residents is 40,6 years (2014).

Religion

The largest church denomination in Finland,

Evangelical Lutheran Church Evangelical Lutheran Church can refer to many different Lutheran churches in the world. Among them are the following: U.S. * Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, a mainline Protestant denomination in Chicago, Illinois * Evangelical Lutheran Chu ...

has a diocese in Kuopio, which is shepherded by bishop

Jari Jolkkonen Jari Juhani Jolkkonen (born 5 March 1970) is a Finnish prelate who has been bishop of the Diocese of Kuopio since May 2012. Biography Born in Ilomantsi, Jolkkonen graduated as an undergraduate in 1989 and later gained a Master of Science in Th ...

. One of the most significant Lutheran churches in the city is the Kuopio Cathedral, completed in 1816. Kuopio is home of the

Finnish Orthodox Church The Orthodox Church of Finland ( fi, Suomen ortodoksinen kirkko, lit=Finnish Orthodox Church; sv, Ortodoxa kyrkan i Finland, lit=Orthodox Church in Finland; ) is an autonomous Eastern Orthodox archdiocese of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Consta ...

where its primate, archbishop of Karelia and all Finland Leo (Makkonen) is seated. This is an autonomous jurisdiction affiliated with the Patriarchate of Constantinople. It is the only mainstream Orthodox faction to celebrate Easter on the Latin date. The late

Archbishop Paul In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdioc ...

had been successful in producing literature of popular theology. The city is also the location of RIISA- Orthodox Church Museum of Finland. Kuopio also has an Islamic mosque. Muslims from various parts of the world and certain Finnish Muslims live in Kuopio. The town is also home to the first Burmese

Buddhist monastery Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and g ...

in Finland, named the Buddha Dhamma Ramsi Monastery.

Economy

Kauppakeskus Matkus - C-sisäänkäynti - Hiltulanlahti - Kuopio - m

Kuopio's economic structure is very diverse. In 2008, there were about 4,200 enterprises in Kuopio, of which approximately 180 were export companies. These provided about 45,000 jobs. In 2016, this grew to a total of about 5,050 companies, of which more than 190 also trade abroad. There are a total of 50,877 jobs. The business service of the City of Kuopio plays a significant role in the development of Kuopio's business life. The business service promotes the development of companies operating in Kuopio and improves the operating environments of companies. The most important thing in developing operating environments is to improve the supply of estate and business premises. The

Kuopio University Hospital Kuopio University Hospital (KUH; fi, Kuopion yliopistollinen sairaala, KYS, sv, Kuopio universitetssjukhus) is a teaching hospital of the University of Eastern Finland along Puijonlaaksontie at the Puijonlaakso district in Kuopio, Finland. It ...

(KUH) is Kuopio's second largest employer after the City of Kuopio; in 2011, KUH employed a total of 4,113 people.

Tourism 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 ...

is of great importance to Kuopio's business life; the Rauhalahti

camping site A campsite, also known as a campground or camping pitch, is a place used for overnight stay in an outdoor area. In British English, a ''campsite'' is an area, usually divided into a number of pitches, where people can camp overnight using ten ...

is one indication of Kuopio's expertise, as it is the only five-star camping site in Finland. The city has also a comprehensive hotel offer for tourism, one of the most notable is Hotel Savonia, part of the

Best Western Best Western International, Inc. owns the Best Western Hotels & Resorts brand, which it licenses to over 4,700 hotels worldwide. The franchise, with its corporate headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona, includes more than 2,000 hotels in North America. ...

hotel chain, in the Puijonlaakso district. Arranging accommodation and program services gives many jobs. Kuopio's Entrepreneurs (''Kuopion Yrittäjät''), the local association of Savonia Entrepreneurs (''Savon Yrittäjät''), operates in Kuopio. Technology Centre Teknia Ltd Microteknia area

Technology Centre Teknia Ltd Microteknia area

The most significant recent business projects are the centralization of

Honeywell Honeywell International Inc. is an American publicly traded, multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It primarily operates in four areas of business: aerospace, building technologies, performance ma ...

's Finnish operations in Kuopio, the completion of Ark Therapeutics' gene medicine plant, the marine industry concentration built by Bella Boats at the Marine Park in Haapaniemi's Siikaniemi and the construction of

Junttan Junttan Oy is a Finnish company that designs and manufactures hydraulic piling equipment. The Junttan product range consists of the world's leading pile driving rigs, multipurpose piling and drilling rigs A drilling rig is an integrated sys ...

's EUR 15 million assembly plant at Kylmämäki at the end of 2008. The site of Junttan's current factory in Särkilahti will have space for a large shopping center. The 9.7-hectare plot purchased by Savocon and TKD Finland for EUR 11 million has a building right for 58,500 square meters. The two companies plan to invest a total of about 40 million euros in the project. A significant industrial player is also Savon Sello company in Sorsasalo, which is currently owned by Powerflute Oyj. One of the biggest projects and investments of recent years is the preparation of the construction of Finnpulp's largest and most modern

softwood Scots Pine, a typical and well-known softwood Softwood is wood from gymnosperm trees such as conifers. The term is opposed to hardwood, which is the wood from angiosperm trees. The main differences between hardwoods and softwoods is that the s ...

pulp mill A pulp mill is a manufacturing facility that converts wood chips or other plant fiber sources into a thick fiber board which can be shipped to a paper mill for further processing. Pulp can be manufactured using mechanical, semi-chemical, or fu ...

in Kuopio. The most significant retail investments are the Prisma

hypermarket A hypermarket (sometimes called a hyperstore, supercentre or superstore) is a big-box store combining a supermarket and a department store. The result is an expansive retail facility carrying a wide range of products under one roof, including ...

completed in December 2007 and the Päiväranta's

K-Citymarket sv, Kesko Abp , logo = Kesko logo.svg , logo_size = 150px , type = Julkinen osakeyhtiö , traded_as = , foundation = , location_city = Helsinki , location_country = Finland , key_people = Mikko Helander (President and CEO), Esa Kii ...

completed in August 2008. A hardware store Kodin Terra was opened in Pitkälahti, as well as the Ikano Group's

Matkus Shopping Center The Matkus Shopping Center ( fi, Kauppakeskus Matkus) is a shopping mall in the southern part 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 ...

in the

area in November 2012 and an

IKEA IKEA (; ) is a Dutch multinational conglomerate based in the Netherlands that designs and sells , kitchen appliances, decoration, home accessories, and various other goods and home services. Started in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA has been ...

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...

in May 2013.

Culture

Kuopio is known as the cultural center of Eastern Finland. One of Kuopio's most important cultural venues are the Kuopio Museum, the

Kuopio Art Museum 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 ...

and the Kuopio City Theatre in the city center. A wide range of musical (from kindergarten to doctorate-level studies) and dance education is available and the cultural life is active. Notable events include ANTI – Contemporary Art Festival, Kuopio Dance Festival, Kuopio Rockcock, Kuopio Wine Festival, Kuopio Marathon and Finland Ice Marathon in winter. A notable place, however, to enjoy the local flavor of Kuopio life and food is Sampo, a fish restaurant loved by locals and tourists as well. Kuopio is known for its association with a national delicacy, Finnish fish pastry (

), and the dialect of

Savo Savo may refer to: Languages * Savo dialect, forms of the Finnish language spoken in Savonia * Savo language, an endangered language spoken on Savo People * Savo (given name), a masculine given name from southern Europe (includes a list of peo ...

, as well as the hill of Puijo and the Puijo tower. Besides being a very popular outdoor recreation area, Puijo serves also as a stage for a yearly World Cup

ski jumping Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the fin ...

competition. In inhabitants of Kuopio have a special reputation: they are known as jovial and verbally joking. Within the Savo culture, the onus is placed on the listener to interpret the story. Niuvanniemi a historical

psychiatric hospital Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociat ...

is also located in the western part of the city in the Niuva district. During the 2000s, Kuopio has placed very well in a number of image, popularity and city-attractiveness surveys. In 2007 it was placed third, behind

and

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 ...

Sports

Kuopio bid for the

2012 Winter Youth Olympics The 2012 Winter Youth Olympic Games (german: Olympische Jugend-Winterspiele 2012), officially known as the I Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG), were an international multi-sport event for youths that took place in Innsbruck, Austria, on 13–22 ...

, a youth sports festival in the tradition of the Olympics. It became a finalist in November 2008, but ultimately lost to

Innsbruck, Austria Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol and the fifth-largest city in Austria. On the River Inn, at its junction with the Wipp Valley, which provides access to the Brenner Pass to the south, it had a po ...

. Kuopio's image as a small city with a large University and many active young people was considered a model of what the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swis ...

seeks for the Games. *

KalPa Kalevan Pallo (KalPa) is a professional ice hockey team which competes in the Finnish Liiga. They play in Kuopio, Finland at the Olvi Areena. Team history Established in 1929 as ''Sortavalan Palloseura'' in Sortavala, the club relocated to Kuop ...

(

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) 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. In ice hockey, two o ...

) *

KuPS Kuopion Palloseura (or KuPS) is a Finnish football club, based in the ninth most populated city of Finland, Kuopio. KuPS plays in Finland's Premier League, Veikkausliiga. KuPS has won the Finnish championship six times, the Finnish Cup 4 time ...

( football) * Kuopion Taitoluistelijat (

figure skating Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the Figure skating at the 1908 Summer Olympics, 1908 Olympics ...

) * Puijon Hiihtoseura (

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee ...

nordic combined Nordic combined is a winter sport in which athletes compete in cross-country skiing and ski jumping. The Nordic combined at the Winter Olympics has been held since the first ever Winter Olympics in 1924, while the FIS Nordic Combined World Cup ...

biathlon The biathlon is a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. It is treated as a race, with contestants skiing through a cross-country trail whose distance is divided into shooting rounds. The shooting rounds are not ti ...

) *Puijon Pesis (

pesäpallo Pesäpallo (; sv, boboll, both names literally meaning "nest ball", colloquially known in Finnish as pesis, also referred to as Finnish baseball) is a fast-moving bat-and-ball sport that is often referred to as the national sport of Finland a ...

) * Kuopion Reippaan voimistelijat (

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, s ...

) *Finland Ice Marathon (

ice skating Ice skating is the self-propulsion and gliding of a person across an ice surface, using metal-bladed ice skates. People skate for various reasons, including recreation (fun), exercise, competitive sports, and commuting. Ice skating may be per ...

event) * Kuopio Steelers (

american football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

) *Kuopio Skating club, Kuopion Luisteluseura KuLs (figure skating) * Welhot (

floorball Floorball is a type of floor hockey with five players and a goalkeeper in each team. Men and women play indoors with sticks and a plastic ball with holes. Matches are played in three twenty-minute periods. The sport of bandy also played a role ...

) *

Linkki Linkki is a basketball club in Finland, based in Kuopio. Its men's representative team and the A-boys' teams played in the men's league series in the 2019–2020 season. At its best, Linkki's men's representative team has played at the second hig ...

(

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

)

Transport

The city has a nationally unique feature in its street network, where every other street is reserved for pedestrian and cycle traffic, so-called "rännikatu" (derived from the Swedish ''gränd'', alley). These streets provide pedestrians a calm environment away from vehicular traffic. This setup dates back to Kuopio's first town plan by Pehr Kjellman in 1776. Originally, rännikadut were created as a fire barrier to prevent a possible fire escalating in a mainly wood-constructed city. Two Finnish highways cross Kuopio:

Finnish national road 5 Finnish national road 5 ( Finnish:''Valtatie 5'' or ''Viitostie'', Swedish: ''Riksväg 5'') is a main route connecting Lusi (Heinola) in the south of the country to Sodankylä in the north. It is 905 kilometres long. National road 5 forms part ...

(Vt 5; part of E63 in the northern side of city), which extends south to

and north to

Sodankylä Sodankylä (; sme, Soađegilli ; smn, Suáđigil; sms, Suäʹđjel) is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the Regions of Finland, region of Lapland (Finland), Lapland, and lies at the northern end of Finnish ...

, and Finnish national road 9 (Vt 9; part of E63 in the western side of city), which extends west to

Turku Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...

and east to the

Niirala checkpoint Niirala is a district in the city of Kuopio, Finland, and it has a population of about 3,500. Niirala is now a popular residential area due to its good location between the Kuopio University and the city center. Niirala's main street is Niiralan ...

on the Finnish-Russian border. The

Blue Highway Blue Highway is an American contemporary bluegrass band formed in 1994 and based in Tennessee. The band's albums include ''Wondrous Love'' (2003), ''Marbletown'' (2005), and ''Original Traditional'' (2016). Background After helping found the ...

passes through Kuopio. It is an international tourist route from

Mo i Rana Mo i Rana () is a city, and the administrative centre of the municipality of Rana, in Nordland county, Norway. It is located in the Helgeland region of Nordland, just south of the Arctic Circle. Some of the city's suburbs include Båsmoen and ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

Pudozh Pudozh (russian: Пудож; krl, Puudoži; vep, Pudož; fi, Puudosi or ') is a town and the administrative center of Pudozhsky District of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, located on the Vodla River east of Petrozavodsk, but traveling by th ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

via Sweden and

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 Bo ...

. Long-distance transport connections from Kuopio include

Pendolino Pendolino (from Italian ''pendolo'' "pendulum", and ''-ino,'' a diminutive suffix) is an Italian family of tilting trains used in Italy, Spain, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Finland, Russia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, the UK, the US ...

and

InterCity InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to regional, local, or commuter trains) generally call at ma ...

trains from Kuopio railway station to several destinations around Finland, operated by VR, as well as multiple daily departures from Kuopio Airport on

Finnair Finnair ( fi, Finnair Oyj, sv, Finnair Abp) is the flag carrier and largest airline of Finland, with its headquarters in Vantaa on the grounds of Helsinki Airport, its hub. Finnair and its subsidiaries dominate both domestic and internatio ...

. The passenger harbour of the port of Kuopio, located on the shore of Lake Kallavesi, is the busiest port for passenger traffic in the

Vuoksi 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 ri ...

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

and the Finnish Lakeland.

Education

Kuopio has always been a city of education. Some of the first schools offering education in Finnish (such as the School for the Blind in 1871, and the Trade School in 1887) were established in Kuopio. Currently the most important institutions are the

University of Eastern Finland The University of Eastern Finland ( fi, Itä-Suomen yliopisto) is a university in Finland founded in 2010 with campuses in Joensuu and Kuopio. History The Finnish Parliament passed the Universities Act on June 16, 2009, which, among other things ...

, the Savonia University of Applied Sciences, Vocational College of Northern Savonia and the Kuopio department of the

Sibelius Academy The Sibelius Academy ( fi, Taideyliopiston Sibelius-Akatemia, sv, Sibelius-Akademin vid Konstuniversitetet) is part of the University of the Arts Helsinki and a university-level music school which operates in Helsinki and Kuopio, Finland. It al ...

. One of the oldest schools in the city are Kuopio Lyceum High School, which was officially established in 1872, but was originally built in 1826 and designed by

Carl Ludvig Engel Carl Ludvig Engel, or Johann Carl Ludwig Engel (3 July 1778 – 14 May 1840), was a German architect whose most noted work can be found in Helsinki, which he helped rebuild. His works include most of the buildings around the capital's monumental ...

. Kuopio is known as a strong center of health (e.g. it has the biggest yearly enrollment rate of medical students in Finland), pharmacy, environment, food & nutrition (all legalized Clinical and Public Health Nutritionists in Finland graduate from the University of Eastern Finland), safety (education in Emergency Services is centered in Kuopio) and welfare professions, as the major organisations University of Kuopio (now part of the

since January 2010.), Savonia University of Applied Sciences and Technopolis Kuopio are particularly oriented to those areas.

Notable people

International relations

Kuopio 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 15 cities around the world. It also has one twin county,

Lääne-Viru County Lääne-Viru County ( et, Lääne-Viru maakond or ''Lääne-Virumaa'') is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is in northern Estonia, on the south coast of the Gulf of Finland. In Estonian, ''lääne'' means western and ''ida'' means east or eastern ...

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

Twin towns – Sister cities