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 def ...
and
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...
located in the region of
Northern Savonia. 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. The ...
, Kuopio is one of the major urban, economic, and cultural hubs of
Eastern Finland. 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 usi ...
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-modulat ...
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 quantit ...
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
A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually ...
. With the large tourist center in
Tahkovuori
Tahkovuori or Tahko is a resort in the middle of Finland, in Kuopio. It is about 70 kilometers north of the city centre and is open all year round.
Tahko is a small tourist town with many restaurants and outdoor activities, including winter ...
, Kuopio has also grown into a major
tourist city.
Kuopio Airport, located in the
Siilinjärvi 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 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 in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population ...
holding the first place.
Kuopio was the
European Region of Gastronomy in 2020. It is also known as home of ''
Kalakukko'', a
traditional food 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 yea ...
paws the ground with its
hoof. 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 its ...
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 o ...
. 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, 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 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 open ...
(1856) opened up a summer route towards the Baltic Sea, and the
Savonia railway (1889) improved transport in winter.
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 transports and the provision of free
school meals (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
Puijonlaakso is a district in the city of Kuopio, Finland. As the name implies, it is located right next to Puijo Hill and is a very green area. The area has about 6,400 inhabitants, many of whom are students.
The area includes the 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 of . ...
in 2011, as did
Vehmersalmi in 2005,
Riistavesi in 1973, and
Kuopion maalaiskunta in 1969.
Geography
The city is surrounded by Lake
Kallavesi,
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
Yoldia Sea is a name given by geologists to a variable brackish water stage in the Baltic Sea basin that prevailed after the Baltic Ice Lake was drained to sea level during the Weichselian glaciation. Dates for the Yoldia sea are obtained mainly ...
, which followed the
Weichselian glaciation 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 from ...
, 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, typi ...
, 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: 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 term.Matt RosenberPopu ...
of the Kuopio city center is the highest in Finland.
With the surrounding lakes, the
shoreline 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
Siilinjärvi. Of the Finnish municipalities, Kuopio has the second largest number of
summer cottage
A cottage, during Feudalism in England, England's feudal period, was the holding by a cottager (known as a cotter or ''bordar'') of a small house with enough garden to feed a family and in return for the cottage, the cottager had to provide ...
s and
holiday homes. 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,
Tampere
Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population ...
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 e ...
.
Subdivisions
There are more than 50 districts and villages in Kuopio.
#
Väinölänniemi
#
Vahtivuori
#
Maljalahti
Maljalahti (; literally translated "crater bay") is a district in the central part of the city of Kuopio, Finland. The northern boundary of the district is the Savonia railway (with the exception that the Kuopio bus station north of the line bel ...
#
Multimäki
#
Kuopionlahti
#
Hatsala
#
Niirala
#
Haapaniemi
#
Itkonniemi
#
Männistö
#
Linnanpelto
#
Saarijärvi
#
Puijonlaakso
Puijonlaakso is a district in the city of Kuopio, Finland. As the name implies, it is located right next to Puijo Hill and is a very green area. The area has about 6,400 inhabitants, many of whom are students.
The area includes the 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, Finland
{{surname ...
#
Peipposenrinne
#
Inkilänmäki
#
Särkiniemi
#
Kettulanlahti
#
Rahusenkangas
#
Rönö
#
Rypysuo
#
Päiväranta
#
Julkula
#
Sorsasalo
#
Kelloniemi
#
Levänen
#
Jynkkä
#
Neulamäki
#
Puijo
#
Niuva
#
Neulaniemi
#
Kolmisoppi
#
Neulalampi
#
Petonen
#
Litmanen
#
Pirtti
#
Pitkälahti
#
Saaristokaupunki
#
Lehtoniemi
#
Rautaniemi
#
Hiltulanlahti
#
Kiviharju
#
Vanuvuori
#
Melalahti
#
Kurkimäki
#
Vehmersalmi
#
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 of . ...
#
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 Carelia ...
#
Juankoski
#
Säyneinen
#
Puutossalmi
#
Pellesmäki
Climate
Kuopio falls in the
subarctic climate
The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of an ocean, g ...
zone (
Köppen "Dfc"), closely bordering on
continental 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 has a
diocese in Kuopio, which is shepherded by bishop
Jari Jolkkonen. 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 Con ...
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 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 in Finland, named the Buddha Dhamma Ramsi Monastery.
Economy
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 (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...
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 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.
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'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 pulp mill 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, includin ...
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 in the
Hiltulanlahti area in November 2012 and an
IKEA 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 appe ...
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 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
Kuopiorock (also Kuopio Rockcock or simply Rockcock) is a Finnish two- to three-day rock music festival held annually in Väinölänniemi, Kuopio, at the turn of July and August. The first event was held in 2003. In 2012, the event celebrated i ...
, 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 (
Kalakukko), and the dialect of
Savo, 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 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
Tampere
Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population ...
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, 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 (
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 ...
)
*
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 times ...
(
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 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...
)
*
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 ( ...
,
ski jumping,
nordic combined,
biathlon)
*Puijon Pesis (
pesäpallo)
*
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 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 wi ...
)
*Kuopio Skating club, Kuopion Luisteluseura KuLs (figure skating)
*
Welhot (
floorball)
*
Linkki (
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
)
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 par ...
(Vt 5; part of
E63 in the northern side of city), which extends south 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 ...
and north to
Sodankylä, 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 on the
Finnish-Russian border. The
Blue Highway passes through Kuopio. It is an international tourist route from
Mo i Rana,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, 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 ...
to
Pudozh,
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-ei ...
via
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...
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 Bot ...
.
Long-distance transport connections from Kuopio include
Pendolino 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 m ...
trains from
Kuopio railway station to several destinations around Finland, operated by
VR, as well as multiple daily departures from
Kuopio Airport on
Finnair 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 passenger harbour of the
port of Kuopio, located on the shore of Lake Kallavesi, is the busiest port for passenger traffic in the
Vuoksi 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
Finnish Lakeland or Finnish lake district ( fi, Järvi-Suomi, "Lake Finland", sv, Insjöfinland) is the largest of the four landscape regions into which the geography of Finland is divided.
The hilly, forest-covered landscape of the lake pl ...
.
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 thin ...
, the
Savonia University of Applied Sciences
Savonia University of Applied Sciences (Finnish: Savonia-ammattikorkeakoulu) is a local municipality-owned Finnish institution of higher education based in the cities of Kuopio, Iisalmi and Varkaus.
Savonia offers bachelor's and master's degree ...
, 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 ...
. One of the oldest schools in the city are
Kuopio Lyceum High School
Kuopio Lyceum High School is an upper secondary school (''lukio'') for students aged 15–19. Kuopion Lyseon lukio is located in Kuopio, Finland. Originally established as a boys' school in 1872, Kuopion Lyseo opened its doors to both sexes in 197 ...
, which was officially established in 1872, but was originally built in 1826 and designed by
Carl Ludvig Engel.
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
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 thin ...
since January 2010.
), Savonia University of Applied Sciences and
Technopolis Kuopio are particularly oriented to those areas.
Notable people
International relations
Kuopio is
twinned 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 easter ...
,
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, an ...
.
Twin towns – Sister cities
Kuopio is
twinned with:
[
]
See also
* 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 par ...
* Kauppakatu
* Kuopio Battalion
* Kuopio Football Club
* The Kuopio Province
* The Kuopio school stabbing
* Kuopio Senior High of Music and Dance
* Nilsiä
* The Puijo Hill
Puijo is a hill, the famous landmark of city of Kuopio in Finland and a tourist attraction. It is located near the Puijonlaakso district.
Puijo Ridge
The ridge of Puijo is a well-known and popular recreation area. A observation tower, Puijo ...
* Siilinjärvi
* 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 thin ...
References
External links
Kuopio
– Official website
City of Kuopio
– Another official website
KuopioInfo
– Various resources about different areas of interest related to Kuopio History and Life
360° panorama of Kuopio Marketplace
Savonia University of Applied Sciences
University of Eastern Finland
KPY Novapolis Kuopio
Invest in Kuopio -factsheet
Kuopio Mosque
Satellite picture by Google Maps
{{authority control
Cities and towns in Finland
Inland port cities and towns in Finland
Grand Duchy of Finland
Populated places established in 1653
Populated lakeshore places in Finland