Enonkoski () is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. It is encircled by the city of

Savonlinna Savonlinna (, , ; ) is a town in Finland, located in the eastern interior of the country. It lies in the Finnish Lakeland, the South Savo region. The population of Savonlinna is approximately , while the Savonlinna sub-region, sub-region has a pop ...

in the

Southern Savonia South Savo (or Southern Savonia; ; ) is a Regions of Finland, region in the south-east of Finland. It borders the regions of North Savo, North Karelia, South Karelia, Kymenlaakso, Päijät-Häme, and Central Finland. The total area of South Savo ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

. It is the smallest municipality in Southern Savonia in terms of population.

History

Enonkoski was founded in 1882. Before that it was part of

Kerimäki Kerimäki is a former municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It was consolidated with the town of Savonlinna on January 1, 2013. It is located in the provinces of Finland, province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Southern Savoni ...

and

Heinävesi Heinävesi (; ) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the North Karelia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbouring municipalities are Savonlinna, V ...

. The major reason for the foundation of independent parish of Enonkoski happened in 1858. Enonkoski did not have its own church, and on Sundays people had to row to the church to Kerimäki, a parish Enonkoski was part of that time. In 1858 there was a church boat accident in the lake

Ylä-Enonvesi Ylä-Enonvesi is a medium-sized lake in the Vuoksi main catchment area. It is located in the Southern Savonia region in Finland.

, which led to the death of eight people. After that, a Russian businessman and a leader of an Enonkoski glass factory and a sawmill decided to build a church in Enonkoski. He is alleged to have said: "the people in Enonkoski do not anymore have to drown on their trips to the church". The wooden church was built in the next year but it was destroyed in a fire caused by

lightning Lightning is a natural phenomenon consisting of electrostatic discharges occurring through the atmosphere between two electrically charged regions. One or both regions are within the atmosphere, with the second region sometimes occurring on ...

in 1884. A new church made of wood, which is still in use, was built in 1886.

Languages

The municipality is unilingually Finnish. There also is a Russian speaking minority.

Religion

The majority of the people living in Enonkoski are

Evangelical Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

. There is a church in the centre of Enonkoski, built in 1886. The only Evangelical Lutheran monastery in Finland, the Monastic Protestant Community in Enonkoski, is located in Enonkoski.

Transport

Enonkoski has one main road which leads to Savonlinna, away. It also has other roads which lead to the small dock neighborhood called Hyypiänniemi and to another area known as Hanhivirta.

Amenities

Enonkoski is a very small town, with two small supermarkets, a gas station, a gift shop, several bakeries and cafés and a bar. It also has a retirement home called Iltasatu, which translates to bedtime story. Towards the edge of the town, near a fire station, there is a running track with a well-kept field (usually used for

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

) in the middle. In addition, there is a school which has an ice skating rink, used in the winter, and an indoor sports arena. Adjacent to the school is a library built in 1992. Enonkoski houses a rehab facility.

Industry

The largest business in the town is a

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

research plant where they raise fish in a controlled environment and then release them into the

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

s which are abundant in the area.

Sport

Enonkoski has a juniors and senior

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

team Enonkosken Pyrintö playing in the second highest tier of men's volleyball in Finland. Football club Karvilan Kivekkäät has a couple of youth teams and a women's team that won the regional championship in 2009. There is also a cross country track used for

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing whereby skiers traverse snow-covered terrain without use of ski lifts or other assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreational activity; however, some still use it as a m ...

in winter and jogging in summer. Participation in the yearly skiing competitions is very high.

Orienteering Orienteering is a group of sports that involve using a map and compass to navigation, navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain whilst moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a specia ...

is also quite popular sport. The sports club for athletics, skiing and orienteering is called Enonkosken Urheilijat.

Notable people

* Antti Loikkanen (1955) is a Finnish former middle-distance and endurance runner (European indoor champion 1978)

Villages

Hanhijärvi, Ihamaniemi, Joutsenmäki, Karvila, Laasala, Makkola, Muhola, Paakkunala, Parkumäki, Simanala, Suurimäki and Vuorikoski are villages in Enonkoski.

Border changes

In 2009 the neighbouring municipalities of Enonkoski, Savonranta and the city of Savonlinna, unified as a one municipality. According to the law of Finland, the unifying municipalities must have a land connection between them, which Savoninna and Savonranta did not have. Because of that a land strip of was taken off from the area of Enonkoski municipality to connect the parts together. After Kerimäki and

Punkaharju Punkaharju is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated with the town of Savonlinna on January 1, 2013. It was located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Southern Savonia region In geography, regions, otherwise ...

were consolidated with the town of Savonlinna on 1 January 2013, Enonkoski became completely surrounded by the emerging city.

References

External links

Municipality of Enonkoski
– Official website {{Authority control Populated places established in 1882