Koli National Park ( fi, Kolin kansallispuisto) is a

national park A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual ...

in the

municipalities 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 ...

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 ...

Lieksa Lieksa () is a town and 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 . The municipality is unilingually Finnish. ...

and

Kontiolahti Kontiolahti ( sv, Kontiolax; literally meaning "bear bay") is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the North Karelia regions of Finland, region, about north of Joensuu. The municipality has a population of () and ...

in 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 Fin ...

region 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 Bot ...

. It covers of forested hills on the western shore of Lake Pielinen. The park was established in 1991 and is currently governed by the

Metsähallitus Metsähallitus ( Finnish) (Forststyrelsen in Swedish, Meahciráđđehus in Sami, ''"the (Finnish) Forest Administration"'') is a state-owned enterprise in Finland. Its two main tasks are Parks & Wildlife Finland to manage most of the protected ...

. It was originally governed by the Finnish Forest Research Institute, which is also called the Metla. Koli National Park preserves the traditional agricultural heritage of the area. The park was once a pagan sacrificial site, and was later used for

slash-and-burn Slash-and-burn agriculture is a farming method that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody plants in an area. The downed veget ...

agriculture. While fields in the park are no longer slashed and burned, hay is cut yearly and traditional Finnish breeds of cow and

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticate ...

graze in the meadows of Koli. According to central protection objectives, Koli National Park is divided into three main zones. Stringent attention is paid to the natural landscape and

geological Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other E ...

aspects of the mountaintop zone of

Koli Koli may refer to: Places * Koli, Finland, a hill in Finland * Koli National Park, a national park in Finland * Koli, Iran (disambiguation), several places in Iran * Koli Airfield, a former airfield in the South Pacific Other uses * Koli peopl ...

. In this culture zone, a variety of traditional landscapes is maintained through burn-beating,

grazing In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to roam around and consume wild vegetations in order to convert the otherwise indigestible (by human gut) cellulose within grass and ot ...

, and rotating open fields, among other methods. In particular, the multiform flora of open fields needs annual mowing to be preserved. In the nature zone is the forest landscape of the hills, which are also protected. Koli's terrain varies widely, allowing for many different

biotopes A biotope is an area of uniform environmental conditions providing a living place for a specific assemblage of plants and animals. ''Biotope'' is almost synonymous with the term "habitat", which is more commonly used in English-speaking countrie ...

in a small area and a great variety of

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriat ...

. The rocky terrain is relatively rugged but contains dense plant growth.

Attractions

The most well-known vantage point in the park is Ukko-Koli, which has a grand view to the east over Pielinen Lake. The Heritage Center Ukko and Hotel Koli are situated near the point. Two long scenic lifts operate here during the summer. There are also many caves in the Koli area, such as Pirunkirkko, which is long and high. Koli has inspired many

painters Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

and

composers A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Def ...

, such as

Jean Sibelius Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest composer, and his music is often ...

Juhani Aho Juhani Aho, originally Johannes Brofeldt (11 September 1861 – 8 August 1921), was a Finnish author and journalist. He was nominated for the Nobel prize in literature twelve times. Early life Juhani Aho was born at Lapinlahti in 1861. His p ...

and Eero Järnefelt. Järnefelt painted a large landscape scene with A.W. Finch and Ilmari Aalto in 1911. This painting can be seen in 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 ...

railway station restaurant. Painters discovered Koli in the 19th century, and it has been called one of the best natural scenes in Finland. There are two

ski resorts A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area – a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In N ...

in the Koli area: Loma-Koli for families and Ukko-Koli for more advanced downhill skiers. There are three

ski lifts A ski lift is a mechanism for transporting skiers up a hill. Ski lifts are typically a paid service at ski resorts. The first ski lift was built in 1908 by German Robert Winterhalder in Schollach/Eisenbach, Hochschwarzwald. Types * Aerial ...

and six ski slopes in Ukko-Koli. The highest vertical drop is and ski slopes range from long. There are four ski lifts and six ski slopes in Loma-Koli. The highest vertical drop is and ski slopes are long. Two of the slopes are for

snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympic ...

. There are also snow castles for children.

References

External links

Koli National Park
- Official Site
Outdoors.fi – Koli National Park

Video about travelling in the Koli area
- by students from Koli area
Video about downhill skiing in Koli
- by students from Koli area {{authority control Ski areas and resorts in Finland Protected areas established in 1991 Kontiolahti Lieksa Joensuu Geography of North Karelia Tourist attractions in North Karelia 1991 establishments in Finland National parks of Finland

Attractions

See also

References

External links