Simpele is a built-up area and a former municipality 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 ...

in the

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 ...

region, originally in the

Viipuri Province Viipuri Province ( fi, Viipurin lääni'', commonly abbreviated'' Vpl, sv, Viborgs län or Wiborgs län, russian: Выборгская губерния) was a historical province of Finland from 1812 to 1945. History The predecessor of the ...

and after the Second World War, the

Kymi Province The Kymi Province ( fi, Kymen lääni, sv, Kymmene län) was a province of Finland from 1945 to 1997. The Kymi Province was the remainder of the territory from the Viipuri Province after the main part was left to Russia at the Moscow Armis ...

. It was consolidated with

Rautjärvi Rautjärvi () 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 . M ...

in 1973, becoming its new administrative center. Simpele is an industrial area specializing in forestry. Over half of Rautjärvi's population lives in Simpele.

Geography

Simpele is named after the lake

Simpelejärvi Simpelejärvi is a medium-sized lake in the Parikkala municipality in South Karelia region in Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land ...

, which was mostly located within

Parikkala Parikkala () is a municipality of Finland located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the South Karelia region, from Lappeenranta and from Joensuu. The town center of Parikkala is about from the Russian border. The municipality ...

. The municipality bordered Rautjärvi and Parikkala. Before the concessions of the Second World War, it also bordered

Hiitola Khiytola (russian: Хийтола; fi, Hiitola) is a rural locality (a settlement) in Lakhdenpokhsky District of the Republic of Karelia, Russia. History The Finnish name of the settlement (Hiitola) derives from "Hiisi", the name of a forest s ...

. Like Parikkala, Saari and

Uukuniemi Uukuniemi is a former municipality of Finland. It was located in the province of Southern Finland and was part of the South Karelia region. The municipality had a population of 516 (2003) and it covered an area of 156.58 km² of which 54. ...

, Simpele is traditionally seen as belonging to

Ladoga Karelia Ladoga Karelia ( fi, Laatokan Karjala, russian: Ладожская Карелия, Ladožskaja Karelija, Карельское Приладожье, ''Karelskoje Priladožje'' or Северное Приладожье, ''Severnoje Priladožje'') is a ...

. The distance to

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 ...

is 40 km, while the distance to

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, an ...

and

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 ...

is 80 km.

History

The original settlements in the area were the villages of Kivijärvi and Änkilä, belonging to the

parish. Änkilä was first mentioned in 1589 as ''Engilä''. Industrialization began in the late 19th century with the construction of a sawmill and a brick factory near the Juvankoski rapids. A paper factory was established in 1906. In 1917, a town plan for Simpele was made by Uno Ullberg. It became a separate parish in 1920 (functionally 1922) and a municipality in 1923. The southeastern part of the municipality was ceded to the Soviet Union in the

Moscow Peace Treaty The Moscow Peace Treaty was signed by Finland and the Soviet Union on 12 March 1940, and the ratifications were exchanged on 21 March. It marked the end of the 105-day Winter War, upon which Finland ceded border areas to the Soviet Union. The ...

, however the main area remained Finnish. Most of the initial development of Simpele was done by the owners of the factories. More suburbs were built between the 1950s and 1970s. Simpele remained an independent municipality until 1973, when it was consolidated with

. Rautjärvi's administrative seat was moved from Miettilä to Simpele.

Economy

Simpele has a cardboard factory owned by

Metsä Board Metsä Board Oyj, previously known as M-real Corporation, is a leading European producer of premium fresh fibre paperboards including folding boxboards, food service boards and white kraftliners. It was originally established by G.A. Serlachius, an ...

. It also produced paper until 2010. It is one of Europe's most productive cardboard factories.

References

External links

Simpele
– Official Site (in Finnish) Former municipalities of Finland Villages in Finland Rautjärvi Parikkala {{SouthernFinland-geo-stub