Pielisjoki Castle (

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

: ''Pielisjoen linna'') is a 19th-century public building in the city of

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 ...

, in eastern

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. It is located in the city centre, situated on a small island in River

Pielisjoki Pielisjoki (River Pielinen) is a long river in Eastern Finland. It is the sixth most fast-flowing river in Finland and the largest river draining into Lake Saimaa. The river connects the two largest lakes in North Karelia, Pielinen and Pyhäsel ...

. Built in 1852 originally as a

Crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

granary A granary is a storehouse or room in a barn for threshed grain or animal feed. Ancient or primitive granaries are most often made of pottery. Granaries are often built above the ground to keep the stored food away from mice and other animal ...

, the building was designed by a leading architect of public buildings of the time,

Ernst Lohrmann Ernst Bernhard Lohrmann (30 June 1803 — 17 June 1870) was a German-Finnish architect born and educated in Germany but practising mainly in the Grand Duchy of Finland, where he is known especially as a designer of public buildings and more tha ...

, in the neoclassical style. The building has never served as a

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

as such; after it ceased to operate as a granary, it was given over to the ''

Suojeluskunta The White Guard or Civil Guard (, ; ; ) was a voluntary militia, part of the Whites (Finland), Finnish Whites movement, that emerged victorious over the socialist Red Guard (Finland) , Red Guards in the Finnish Civil War of 1918. They were g ...

'' civil guard and converted in 1919 to office and residential use, according to the designs by the architect . The ground floor housed staff quarters,

arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

and a drive-through carriageway for loading and offloading vehicles. The first floor comprised offices, with the commander's residence on the top floor. After the ''Suojeluskunta'' organisation was dismantled, the building was occupied by the

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

. Following a renovation in the late 1960s, the building housed for over three decades various research units and activities of 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 ...

. Its current tenant is the

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 Finlan ...

n regional association ''Pohjois-Karjalan Maakuntaliitto''.

References

External links

Pielisjoki Castle
on Regional Council of Northern Karelia website Pielisjoen linna

{{Portal, Finland Joensuu Castles in Finland Ernst Lohrmann buildings Government buildings completed in 1852 Neoclassical architecture in Finland Buildings and structures in North Karelia