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 def ...

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 ...

South Karelia South Karelia ( fi, Etelä-Karjala; sv, Södra Karelen) is a region of Finland. It borders the regions of Kymenlaakso, South Savo and North Karelia, as well as Russia (Republic of Karelia and Leningrad Oblast). Historical province ''For his ...

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 n ...

Lake Saimaa Saimaa ( , ; sv, Saimen) is a lake located in the Finnish Lakeland area in southeastern Finland. At approximately , it is the largest lake in Finland, and the fourth largest natural freshwater lake in Europe. The name Saimaa likely comes from a ...

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 ...

urban center 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, ...

Imatra Imatra is a town and municipality in southeastern Finland. Imatra is dominated by Lake Saimaa, the Vuoksi River and the border with Russia. On the other side of the border, away from the centre of Imatra, lies the Russian town of Svetogorsk. ...

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 ...

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 ...

Lauritsala Lauritsala () is a former Finnish market town in the South Karelia region. It was closed down on 1 January 1967 and was incorporated into Lappeenranta. The present district of Lauritsala comprises only the center of the former town. History L ...

Nuijamaa Nuijamaa (; literally translated the " club land") is a former municipality in the province of South Karelia in Finland. The municipality had inhabitants and an area of 136 km² in 1988. Nuijamaa was a Finnish-speaking municipality. Nuija ...

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 Ja ...

Ylämaa Ylämaa (; literally translated the "Highland") is a former municipality of Finland, located in the province of Southern Finland as part of the South Karelia region. It was consolidated with Lappeenranta on January 1, 2010.Russian tourists in Finland after Helsinki and it competes with Helsinki for the largest share of tax-free sales in Finland. Lappeenranta is a model for renewable energies and a clean living environment. Lappeenranta was the only Finnish city among the 14 finalists in the international Earth Hour City Challenge 2014, organized by WWF. In 2009, Lappeenranta was rated the fourth best in the comparison of the largest Finnish cities, while in the 2008 survey Lappeenranta was ranked fifth. In a survey conducted in 2011 for business representatives, Lappeenranta ranked 17th among Finnish cities in terms of image. Opened in 1918,

Lappeenranta Airport Lappeenranta Airport ( fi, Lappeenrannan lentoasema) is an international airport in Lappeenranta, Finland. It is 2.5 kilometers southwest of the city center and Lappeenranta Central Station. Opened in 1918, Lappeenranta Airport is the oldest a ...

, located in the center of the city, is the oldest airport still in operation in Finland.

History

Pollen analysis has shown that the modern-day

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 ...

of Lappeenranta has been continuously inhabited for at least 2,000 years. Lappeenranta's original core settlement, Lapvesi, later Lappee, was originally formed around a headland jutting into Lake

Saimaa Saimaa ( , ; sv, Saimen) is a lake located in the Finnish Lakeland area in southeastern Finland. At approximately , it is the largest lake in Finland, and the fourth largest natural freshwater lake in Europe. The name Saimaa likely comes from a ...

, the site of the present fortress. The public market was established here, which became so important as a trading place that general Governor Count

Per Brahe the Younger Count Per Brahe the Younger (18 February 1602 – 12 September 1680) was a Swedish soldier, statesman, and author. He served as Privy Councillor from 1630, Lord High Steward from 1640, as well as Governor-General of Finland in 1637–1640 and 1 ...

proposed that the Swedish government should grant town privileges to Lapvesi. The town was chartered in 1649 by

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

Christina of Sweden Christina ( sv, Kristina, 18 December ( New Style) 1626 – 19 April 1689), a member of the House of Vasa, was Queen of Sweden in her own right from 1632 until her abdication in 1654. She succeeded her father Gustavus Adolphus upon his death ...

. At the time, Lapvesi was an important port for

tar Tar is a dark brown or black viscous liquid of hydrocarbons and free carbon, obtained from a wide variety of organic materials through destructive distillation. Tar can be produced from coal, wood, petroleum, or peat. "a dark brown or black bit ...

. Between 1721 and 1743, Lappeenranta was the capital of

Kymmenegård and Nyslott County Kymmenegård and Nyslott County ( sv, Kymmenegårds och Nyslotts län, fi, Savonlinnan ja Kymenkartanon lääni) was a county of Sweden from 1721 to 1747. In 1721, following the Great Northern War, the southern parts of the counties of Viborg ...

and during this period the Swedes built the fortress out in stages. In 1741, the

Battle of Villmanstrand The battle of Villmanstrand was fought during the Russo-Swedish War on 3 September 1741, when Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the large ...

was fought between the Swedish and Russian armies in the Russo-Swedish War of 1741–1743. The battle ended in a Russian victory. The town was pillaged, wooden structures including the provincial chancellery were burnt and the ecclesiastical archives damaged. Lappeenranta, along with a portion of

Old Finland Old Finland ( fi, Vanha Suomi; rus, Ста́рая Финля́ндия, r=Staraya Finlyandiya; sv, Gamla Finland) is a name used for the areas that Russia gained from Sweden in the Great Northern War (1700–1721) and in the Russo-Swedis ...

, was ceded by Sweden to

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 ...

per the

Treaty of Turku A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal pers ...

. Following the creation of the

Grand Duchy of Finland The Grand Duchy of Finland ( fi, Suomen suuriruhtinaskunta; sv, Storfurstendömet Finland; russian: Великое княжество Финляндское, , all of which literally translate as Grand Principality of Finland) was the predecessor ...

in 1809, Old Finland (including Lappeenranta) was joined to the Grand Duchy in 1812 as a gesture of goodwill by

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 ...

. Lappeenranta incorporated the neighbouring municipalities of Lappee and

Lauritsala Lauritsala () is a former Finnish market town in the South Karelia region. It was closed down on 1 January 1967 and was incorporated into Lappeenranta. The present district of Lauritsala comprises only the center of the former town. History L ...

on 1 January 1967,

Nuijamaa Nuijamaa (; literally translated the " club land") is a former municipality in the province of South Karelia in Finland. The municipality had inhabitants and an area of 136 km² in 1988. Nuijamaa was a Finnish-speaking municipality. Nuija ...

on 1 January 1989,

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 Ja ...

on 1 January 2009, and

Ylämaa Ylämaa (; literally translated the "Highland") is a former municipality of Finland, located in the province of Southern Finland as part of the South Karelia region. It was consolidated with Lappeenranta on January 1, 2010.genitive In grammar, the genitive case (abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive can al ...

of ''Lappee'' (the name of the original core town) and the common noun ''ranta'' which means "

shore 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 a ...

". The history of Lappeenranta includes the rural municipality of

Lappee Lappee is an old parish and a former municipality of Finland in the South Karelia region, originally in the Viipuri Province and after the Second World War, the Kymi Province. It was consolidated with Lappeenranta in 1967 together with Lauritsala ...

and the

hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to de ...

Lapvesi. The Swedish name ''Villmanstrand'' contains the words ''vildman'' meaning "wild-man" and ''strand'' also meaning "shore". A wild-man is depicted on Lappeenranta's coat of arms.

Geography

Located on the southern shore of Lake

Saimaa Saimaa ( , ; sv, Saimen) is a lake located in the Finnish Lakeland area in southeastern Finland. At approximately , it is the largest lake in Finland, and the fourth largest natural freshwater lake in Europe. The name Saimaa likely comes from a ...

, Lappeenranta's neighboring municipalities on the Finnish side are Imatra,

Lemi Lemi is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the South Karelia region. The municipality has a population of (), which make it the smallest municipality in South Karelia in terms of population. It covers an area of of which is water. The ...

,

Luumäki Luumäki () is a municipality of Finland. Its seat is in the Taavetti village. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the South Karelia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is ...

,

Miehikkälä Miehikkälä is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Kymenlaakso region. The municipality has a population of (), which make it the smallest municipality in Kymenlaakso in terms of popula ...

,

Ruokolahti Ruokolahti (; sv, Ruokolax; 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, ...

and

Taipalsaari Taipalsaari is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the South Karelia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Nei ...

, and on the Russian side, the neighbors are Seleznjovo,

Svetogorsk Svetogorsk (russian: Светого́рск) 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 Finnish–Russian border, from the Finnish town o ...

and

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 ...

.

Climate

It currently has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

of the warm-summer type (

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

: ''Dfb''), formerly in the continental subarctic zone (''Dfc'') on older data. The summers are longer, although rarely hot, and usually warm. Some of the warmest summers in the country can be found here, due to its orientation: southern but inland. Being in an eastern part of

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 ...

, the winters are often harsh but still mild. Anchorage has some similarities by being of marine influence of hot currents and at the same time of the marginal continentality. But Lappeenranta is still able to receive heat waves that cross

Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the area' ...

in a warmer climate than cool.

Climate changes

Between 2000 and 2017 the temperature change was greater than the whole previous century, with +1.2 °C (higher values than

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 ...

or Oulu). Since 2000 the number of warm days (> 24 °C) has become 2 per year, while the 1900 data indicates only 2 days per decade. From the first half of the twentieth century the days above 24 °C changed from rare to occasional in the second half to regular in the present century. There was also a 17.5 decrease in temperature below -1 °C for the same comparison period. 2015 was the hottest year since 1900. Having one of the less than 50 days with freezing days. Work to reduce the temperature increase has been carried out, the city is again among the best 45 cities in the world in the WWF City Challenge 2016. One of the goals is to reduce

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide (chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is transpar ...

by 30% by 2020 and zero emissions by 2050.

Economy

The city's main employers are the: * City of Lappeenranta *

Fazer Fazer () is one of the largest corporations in the Finnish food industry. The company was founded by Karl Fazer in 1891, as a "French-Russian confectionery" in central Helsinki. Today, it employs over ten thousand people across Finland, Sweden, R ...

*

Lappeenranta University of Technology LUT University ('' English:'' Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology LUT) ('' Finnish'': Lappeenrannan-Lahden Teknillinen Yliopisto LUT) is a Finnish public research university which was established in 1969. The university's Lappeenranta cam ...

*

Nordkalk Nordkalk is a manufacturer of limestone-based products based in Finland. It operates at more than 30 different locations in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Poland and Estonia. History Limestone has been quarried in Pargas at least since the 17th cent ...

* Paroc *

Outotec Outotec Oyj (Outokumpu Technology prior to 24 April 2007) was a Finnish company, headquartered in Espoo, aimed at providing technologies and services for the metal and mineral processing industries. In 2020 Outotec merged with Metso Minerals and ...

* South Karelia Social and Health Care District * The Armed Forces *

UPM-Kymmene UPM-Kymmene Oyj is a Finnish forest industry company. UPM-Kymmene was formed by the merger of Kymmene Corporation with Repola Oy and its subsidiary United Paper Mills Ltd in 1996. UPM consists of six business areas: UPM Fibres, UPM Energy, UPM ...

*

VR Group VR-Group Plc ( fi, VR-Yhtymä Oyj, sv, VR-Group Abp), commonly known as VR, is a government-owned railway company in Finland. VR's most important function is the operation of Finland's passenger rail services with 250 long-distance and 800 co ...

Tourism

Lappeenranta is known as a summer city, mostly due to its closeness to the Lake

Saimaa Saimaa ( , ; sv, Saimen) is a lake located in the Finnish Lakeland area in southeastern Finland. At approximately , it is the largest lake in Finland, and the fourth largest natural freshwater lake in Europe. The name Saimaa likely comes from a ...

. Europe's 4th largest lake. The eponymous GoSaimaa (www.gosaimaa.com) provides all the touristic activities in the area. In addition, its inland location means that summers tend to be warmer and winters colder than along the coastal areas. Lappeenranta does have a healthy winter tourism industry. Various cabins around Lake Saimaa, as well as numerous snowmobiles, Nordic skating, floating in the river, reindeer rides, paragliding, skiing and sledding tracks draw a fair number of winter visitors. The proximity of the Russian border is increasingly evident in the number of Russian tourists visiting the city. In fact, Lappeenranta is closer to

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 ...

() than it is to

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 ...

, the capital of Finland (). The presence of Russian tourists is noticeable by the many Russian registered cars on the streets and the use of Cyrillic letters in signs of some shops.

Places and events

* The old fortress, with a number of museums, cafés and the oldest

Russian Orthodox Russian Orthodoxy (russian: Русское православие) is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Church Slavonic language. Most ...

church in Finland. * St. Mary's Church of Lappee, an 18th-century wooden church in the center of the city. * The harbour area, with cruises to

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 n ...

and the nearby

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 ...

. * The central market place, where you can enjoy the local specialities, such as meat pies known as "Atomi" (atom) or "Vety" (hydrogen). * The Night of The Fortess, a two-day cultural festival held in early August. * The Lappeenranta Ballet Gala in late August. * The annual Lappeenranta National Singing Contest. * The biggest sand castle in Finland is built next to Port of Lappeenranta every summer. * There are three private cinema theatres in Lappeenranta: Kino-Aula, Nuijamies and Finnkino. * Major league home games in ice-hockey (SaiPa), basketball (Namika Lappeenranta) and other sports. * The IIHF World Championship Under 18, in 2014 * Unlimited Racing Event, on 27 and 29 June 2014

Sports

Lappeenranta has several sports teams playing in top levels of Finnish sports leagues.

SaiPa SAIPA ( fa, سایپا, ''SAIPA'') is an Iranian automaker headquartered in Tehran. The SAIPAC (an acronym for the French ''Société anonyme iranienne de production des automobiles Citroën'') was established in 1965 as with 75% Iranian ownersh ...

is an

Ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

team playing in the highest level in Finland,

SM-liiga The SM-liiga (marketed as just Liiga from 2013 on), (Finnish for ''League'') colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. It is one of the six founding leagu ...

. SaiPa was fourth in the national Ice hockey league in the season of 2013–2014. 2014 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship - Tournament was played Kisapuisto Ice Hall, Lappeenranta & Imatra Ice Hall during 17–27 April 2014. United States won the tournament, Czech Republic was second and Canada was the third.

Lappeenrannan NMKY Lappeenrannan NMKY (also known as LrNMKY for short or as Team Lappeenranta in European competitions) is a basketball club based in a city of Lappeenranta, Finland. It was formed in 1951 as a Young Men's Christian Association (NMKY in Finnish) an ...

is a basketball team playing in the highest level in

Korisliiga The Korisliiga is the top-tier professional basketball league in Finland, comprising the top 12 teams of the country. In its current format, each team plays all other teams two times in the regular season, once at home and once away, for a total o ...

and have won two championships in 2005 and 2006. NST plays floorball in the

Salibandyliiga The F-liiga is the top men’s floorball league in Finland. The league was founded as Salibandyn SM-sarja (English: Floorball Finnish Champions-Series) in 1986 by the Finnish Floorball Federation (SSBL). It was renamed to Salibandyliiga for the ...

and Rajaritarit is an

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 with ...

team in the

Vaahteraliiga The Vaahteraliiga (Maple League) founded in 1980 is the highest level of American football in Finland played under American Football Association of Finland. The winner of the Vaahteraliiga is the Finnish champion. The Vaahteraliiga season is play ...

. Lappeenrannan Veiterä, or just

Veiterä Veiterä is a Finnish bandy club based in Lappeenranta Lappeenranta (; sv, Villmanstrand) is a city and municipality in the region of South Karelia, about from the Russian border and from the town of Vyborg (''Viipuri''). It is situated on ...

, plays in Bandyliiga and has been Finnish champions five times, including in 2017. They have been the champions for women and for girls born in 1995 and 1998. The city hosted the first ever

Women's Bandy World Championship The Women's Bandy World Championships is an international sports tournament for women and the premier international competition for women's bandy between bandy-playing nations. The tournament is administrated by the Federation of International B ...

in 2004 and in 2014 the tournament was again played in Lappeenranta. The Old Boys World Cup is annually hosted in town, in 2017 for the seventh time. In women's sports

Catz Lappeenranta Catz () is a former commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the commune Carentan-les-Marais.Pesä Ysit plays Finnish baseball, both in the top leagues of the nation. Catz has won Finnish national basketball championship four times in a row.

Transport

Lappeenranta is connected to neighbouring cities and municipalities by road. The city is located from Helsinki and from

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 ...

. From Lappeenranta, the distance to

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 ...

, the capital of

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 ...

, is along

Highway 6 Route 6, or Highway 6, may refer to routes in the following countries: International * Asian Highway 6 * European route E6 * European route E006 Albania * National Road SH6 Argentina * Buenos Aires Provincial Route 6 Australia New ...

. There are multiple daily train departures to destinations within Finland from the

Lappeenranta Lappeenranta (; sv, Villmanstrand) is a city and municipality in the region of South Karelia, about from the Russian border and from the town of Vyborg (''Viipuri''). It is situated on the shore of the Lake Saimaa in southeastern Finland, and ...

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 Ja ...

stations and to Russia from Vainikkala station. The

Allegro Allegro may refer to: Common meanings * Allegro (music), a tempo marking indicate to play fast, quickly and bright * Allegro (ballet), brisk and lively movement Artistic works * L'Allegro (1645), a poem by John Milton * ''Allegro'' (Satie), an ...

train service operating between Helsinki and St. Petersburg stops in

Vainikkala Vainikkala is a small village of approximately 400 inhabitants in South Karelia, Eastern Finland. It is part of the Lappeenranta municipality and is located about south of the city centre. Vainikkala is right on the Finnish border with Russia ...

, a village in Lappeenranta. The journey time to Helsinki is about 2 hours and St. Petersburg about 1.5 hours. During the summer, when

Lake Saimaa Saimaa ( , ; sv, Saimen) is a lake located in the Finnish Lakeland area in southeastern Finland. At approximately , it is the largest lake in Finland, and the fourth largest natural freshwater lake in Europe. The name Saimaa likely comes from a ...

and 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 ...

are accessible by water, there is a visa-free connection by ship from Lappeenranta to

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 n ...

, Russia. The regionally owned

Lappeenranta Airport Lappeenranta Airport ( fi, Lappeenrannan lentoasema) is an international airport in Lappeenranta, Finland. It is 2.5 kilometers southwest of the city center and Lappeenranta Central Station. Opened in 1918, Lappeenranta Airport is the oldest a ...

is located west of the city center. The airport predominantly serves charter flights to southern Europe, 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 Madeira. The public transport is by bus and is called Jouko. The Jouko-buses are pink-colored and they serve 12 sub-urban lines (1, 1Z, 2, 2H, 3, 3K, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12 and 47) and 21 regional lines (100, 101, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 120, 121, 130, 131, 200, 201, 300, 301, 500, 601, 602, 603, 610, 620). Jouko has Waltti-travel card, to which you can charge a 30-day season ticket (travel zones A-D) or a value tickets, which works also in other finnish cities which do have the Waltti-ticket system. Other ways to buy a ticket in Jouko-buses are single tickets (payment with cash or credit card), mobile-tickets (PayIQ, etc.) and 24-hour ticket. Jouko has also own route-guide (https://lappeenranta.digitransit.fi/), where you can plan a route, see timetables and also see all the Jouko-buses in the map. You can also view delays, exceptions, and other releases. Jouko sub-urban transport is operated by Savonlinja. Regional lines are operated by Savonlinja, Rantanen, Vento and Mikkonen. The bus fleet consists of low-floor city buses, and the bus models are Scania Lahti Scala (9 units) (ones in Jouko-traffic built in 2010 and 2012),

Volvo 8900 The Volvo 8900 is a single-decker bus, single-decker city bus and intercity bus, first introduced in 2010 as a cross-breed successor to both the aluminium body Volvo 8500, 8500 and the stainless steel body Volvo 8700, 8700, taking advantage of bot ...

(7 units) (ones in Jouko-traffic built in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019) and

Scania Citywide The Scania Citywide is a series of integrally-constructed low-floor and low-entry buses manufactured by Scania. It was unveiled in 2011 as the successor to the Scania OmniCity and OmniLink. It consists of two models: the Citywide LF is built on ...

(3 units) (CNG-powered ones built in 2018 and diesel-powered one built in 2020).

Jouko sub-urban routes

* 1 University-Sammonlahti-Kourula-Leiri-City center-Central hospital-Lauritsala-Kanavansuu-Kiiskinmäki * 1Z University-Sammonlahti-Kourula-Leiri-City center * 2 Kivisalmi-Voisalmi-City center-Harapainen-Lauritsala-Hakali-Hovinpelto (on sundays via central hospital) * 2H Hovinpelto-Hakali-Lauritsala-Central hospital-Railway station-Leiri-City center * 3 Kivisalmi-Kariniemi-Pikisaari-City center-Railway station-Leiri * 3K Kivisalmi-City center-Leiri-Railway station-Family Center * 4 Mäntylä-Leiri-City center-Kiviharju-Karhuvuori * 5 University-Sammonlahti-Kourula-Leiri-City center-Lepola-Railway station * 7 Mustola-Hakali-Lauritsala-Central hospital-City center * 8 Kariniemi-Pikisaari-City center-Leiri-Huhtiniemi-Kourula-Ruoholampi-Rutola * 12 University-City center/Kivisalmi-City center/City center-Karhuvuori-Lauritsala-Hovinpelto-Mustola-Kiiskinmäki/Kiiskinmäki-Kanavansuu-Lauritsala-City center * 47 Mäntylä-Leiri-City center-Kiviharju-Karhuvuori-Lauritsala-Mustola

Education

Lappeenranta is known as an international university city in Finland with

LUT University LUT University ('' English:'' Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology LUT) (''Finnish'': Lappeenrannan-Lahden Teknillinen Yliopisto LUT) is a Finnish public research university which was established in 1969. The university's Lappeenranta campu ...

and

LAB University of Applied Sciences LAB University of Applied Sciences (Finnish: ''LAB-ammattikorkeakoulu'') is a Finnish polytechnic that operates in Lahti, Lappeenranta and online. LAB started its operations on January 1, 2020, when Lahti University of Applied Sciences (LAMK) and ...

which together have approximately 13,000 students from 68 countries. Lappeenranta is also a commercial centre of South-East Finland and the meeting point of the EU and Russia, from both

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 ...

and

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 ...

. Lappeenranta has numerous schools at almost all levels of education, including the

LUT University LUT University ('' English:'' Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology LUT) (''Finnish'': Lappeenrannan-Lahden Teknillinen Yliopisto LUT) is a Finnish public research university which was established in 1969. The university's Lappeenranta campu ...

, LAB University of Applied Sciences, located in a shared Skinnarila campus of around 8000 students, the Army Academy (branch of the Finnish Defence Forces), South Karelia Vocational College and South Karelia Adult Education Centre.

Notable people

* Antti Aalto – former ice-hockey player *

Koop Arponen Koop Juho Alexander Arponen (born 20 April 1984 in Lappeenranta, Finland) is a Finnish singer and the winner of the fourth series of the '' Idols'' in 2008. Biography Koop Arponen was born in Lappeenranta, Eastern Finland to a Finnish father and ...

– singer and winner of the '' fourth series'' of the '' Idols'' in 2008 *

Ivan Fedotov Ivan Dmitrievich Fedotov (Russian: Иван Дмитревич Федотов; born 28 November 1996) is a Finnish-born Russian professional ice hockey goaltender. He is currently under contract with the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey ...

- Finnish-born Russian professional ice hockey goaltender *

Kaarlo Halttunen Kaarlo Halttunen (18 August 1909 – 8 March 1986) was a Finnish actor. He appeared in 87 films and television shows between 1933 and 1970. He starred in the film ''Yksityisalue'', which was entered into the 13th Berlin International Film F ...

– former actor * Laila Hirvisaari (formerly Laila Hietamies) – novelist, has written a novel series about Lappeenranta and its people *

Horna Horna (formerly known as Shadowed) is a Finnish black metal band that formed in 1993. The band has appeared on over thirty releases including splits, demos, EPs and albums since 1995, which have been released through numerous record labels. Th ...

– Finnish black metal band * Kari Jormakka – philosopher, architect, architecture theorist *

Kotiteollisuus Kotiteollisuus is a Finnish hard rock and heavy metal band that was formed in 1991 in Lappeenranta. The band released its first demo tape in 1993 under the name "Hullu ukko ja Kotiteollisuus" ('Crazy Old Fogey and Cottage Industry'). The short ...

–

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

band *

Matti Lehtinen Matti Kalervo Lehtinen (24 April 1922 – 16 August 2022) was a Finnish operatic baritone, a long-term member of the Finnish National Opera, and professor of singing at the Sibelius Academy. He appeared at the Savonlinna Opera Festival and i ...

– operatic

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

*

Pave Maijanen Pekka Juhani "Pave" Maijanen (3 September 1950 – 16 January 2021) was a Finnish musician, who worked as a singer, songwriter, bass player, keyboard player, drummer, guitarist and producer during his long career. As well as his solo career, Maij ...

– musician * Miikka Multaharju – football player *

Jukka Paarma Antti-Jukka Paarma (born 1 December 1942 in Lappeenranta) was the Archbishop of Turku and Finland, and the spiritual head of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland ( fi, Suomen evankelis-luterilaine ...

– former Archbishop of Turku and Finland *

Tiia Piili Tiia Piili (born April 16, 1979 in Lappeenranta, Finland) is a Finnish gymnast who has won the Federation of International Sports, Aerobics and Fitness (FISAF) sport aerobics World Championship four times.

– gymnast * Saku Puhakainen – football player *

Jaska Raatikainen Jaska Raatikainen (born 18 July 1979) is a Finnish musician, he is best known as the former drummer and co-founder of the melodic death metal band Children of Bodom from 1993 until his departure in 2019. He is currently in the project called Me ...

- drummer of the band

Children of Bodom Children of Bodom was a Finnish melodic death metal band from Espoo. Formed in 1993 as Inearthed, the final line-up of the group upon their split in 2019 consisted of Alexi Laiho (lead guitar, lead vocals), Jaska Raatikainen (drums), Henkka Sepp ...

*

Jaana Savolainen Jaana Maarit Savolainen (born 23 January 1964 in Lappeenranta) is a Finnish former cross-country skier who competed from 1984 to 1993. She won a bronze medal in the 4 × 5 km relay at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary and finished 18th in ...

- cross country skier *

Sargeist Sargeist is a Finnish black metal band formed in 1999. Originally created as a solo project by Shatraug of the Finnish black metal act Horna, he was joined by other members since 2000, who subsequently left the band. After the demo recording ' ...

- Finnish black metal band *

Satanic Warmaster Satanic Warmaster is a Finnish black metal project from Lappeenranta, Finland, consisting of the sole musician "Werwolf" (real name Lauri Penttilä). Penttilä began recording under this name in 1998. Satanic Warmaster has sold tens of thousands ...

– Finnish black metal band *

Petri Skriko Petri Kalevi Skriko (born March 13, 1962) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey player, best remembered for his seasons starring in the NHL for the Vancouver Canucks in the 1980s. He is currently a scout for the Calgary Flames. Playing ca ...

– retired ice-hockey player in the

NHL 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 ...

in USA *

Juha Tiainen Juha Tiainen (December 5, 1955 in Uukuniemi – April 27, 2003 in Lappeenranta) was a hammer thrower from Finland who won the gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also ...

– former Olympic gold medallist in hammer throw *

Mokoma Mokoma is a Finnish thrash metal band formed in Lappeenranta, Finland, in 1996. Their music also has grindcore and death metal influences with traditional Finnish melancholy. Mokoma started out as a creation of Marko Annala, who is the band' ...

–

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

band *

Battlelore Battlelore are a Finnish heavy metal band from Lappeenranta, founded in 1999 by guitarist Jyri Vahvanen and bassist Miika Kokkola. The name derives from the union of the words 'battle' and 'folklore'. Many of Battlelore's lyrics concern J. R ...

- symphonic metal band * Hanna Pakarinen – the first Idols winner in Finland came from Lappeenranta * Christian Ruuttu – former

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

player in the

NHL 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 ...

*

Vesa Vierikko Vesa Tapio Vierikko (born 24 May 1956 in Lappeenranta, Finland) is a Finnish actor. Vierikko began acting in 1978 on television working consistently throughout the 1980s and 1990s. He starred in the 2003 film ''Sibelius'' working with Finnish d ...

– Finnish actor * Vesa Viitakoski – former ice hockey player in

SM-liiga The SM-liiga (marketed as just Liiga from 2013 on), (Finnish for ''League'') colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. It is one of the six founding leagu ...

In media

Lappeenranta is the setting for '' Bordertown'', the Finnish police drama broadcast by

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

.

Twin towns – sister cities

Lappeenranta is twinned with: * Rakvere, Estonia * Stykkishólmur, Iceland *

Drammen Drammen () is a city and municipality in Viken, Norway. The port and river city of Drammen is centrally located in the south-eastern and most populated part of Norway. Drammen municipality also includes smaller towns and villages such as Konne ...

, Norway *

Örebro Örebro ( , ) is the sixth-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Örebro Municipality, and capital of the Örebro County. It is situated by the Närke Plain, near the lake Hjälmaren, a few kilometers inland along the small river Svartån, and ...

, Sweden *

Kolding Kolding () is a Danish seaport located at the head of Kolding Fjord in the Region of Southern Denmark. It is the seat of Kolding Municipality. It is a transportation, commercial, and manufacturing centre, and has numerous industrial companie ...

, Denmark *

Klin KLIN (1400 AM broadcasting, AM) is a radio station broadcasting a news talk information format. Licensed to Lincoln, Nebraska, United States, the station serves the Lincoln area. The station is currently owned by NRG Media and features programmin ...

, Russia *

Schwäbisch Hall Schwäbisch Hall (; "Swabian Hall"; from 1802 until 1934 and colloquially: ''Hall'' ) is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg located in the valley of the Kocher river, the longest tributary (together with its headwater Lein) of the ...

, Germany *

Szombathely Szombathely (; german: Steinamanger, ; see also other alternative names) is the 10th largest city in Hungary. It is the administrative centre of Vas county in the west of the country, located near the border with Austria. Szombathely lies by t ...

, Hungary *

Lake Worth Beach, Florida Lake Worth Beach, previously named Lake Worth, is a city in east-central Palm Beach County, Florida, United States, located about north of Miami. The city's name is derived from the body of water along its eastern border known as the Lake Worth ...

, US

References

External links

*
Official tourism site

Official Saimaa tourism site
* {{Authority control Cities and towns in Finland Inland port cities and towns in Finland Grand Duchy of Finland 1649 establishments in Sweden Populated places established in 1649 Populated lakeshore places in Finland

History

Geography

Climate

Climate changes

Economy

Tourism

Places and events

Sports

Transport

Jouko sub-urban routes

Education

Notable people

In media

Twin towns – sister cities

See also

References

External links