Savonlinna (, , ; sv, Nyslott, lit=New Castle) is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

and a

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 go ...

of inhabitants in the southeast 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 heart of the

Saimaa Saimaa ( , ; sv, Saimen) is a lake located in the Finnish Lakeland area in southeastern Finland. At approximately , it is the largest lake in Finland, and the fourth largest natural freshwater lake in Europe. The name Saimaa likely comes from a ...

lake region, which is why the city is also nicknamed the "Capital of Saimaa". Together with Mikkeli, it is one of the largest towns in the South Savonia region and one of the concentrations in the region's hospital districts. The town is internationally known for its medieval St. Olaf's Castle and the annual Savonlinna Opera Festival. Its surrounding the enclaved municipality of

Enonkoski Enonkoski () is a municipality of Finland. It is encircled by the city of Savonlinna in the Southern Savonia region. It is the smallest municipality in Southern Savonia in terms of population. History Enonkoski was founded in 1882. Before that it ...

History

The city was founded in 1639, based on Olavinlinna castle (''St. Olaf's Castle''). The castle was founded by

Erik Axelsson Tott Erik Axelsson (Tott) (c. 1419–1481) was a Dano-Swedish statesman and regent of Sweden under the Kalmar Union, jointly with Jöns Bengtsson Oxenstierna in 1457 and alone from 1466 to 1467. Biography He was born in Scania during the reign of K ...

in 1475 in an effort to protect Savonia and to control the unstable border between the Kingdom of Sweden and its

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-eig ...

n adversary. During the

Russo-Swedish War (1741–1743) The Russo-Swedish War of 1741–1743 (also known as The War of the Hats) was instigated by the Hats, a Swedish political party that aspired to regain the territories lost to Russia during the Great Northern War, and by French diplomacy, which soug ...

, the castle was captured by Field-Marshal

Peter Lacy Peter Graf von Lacy (russian: link=no, Пётр Петро́вич Ла́сси, tr. ; en, Pierce Edmond de Lacy; ga, Peadar (Piarais Éamonn) de Lása; 26 September 1678 – 30 April 1751) was an Irish-born soldier who later served in the ...

. It was held by Russia between 1743 and 1812, when it was granted back to Finland as a part of "

Old Finland Old Finland ( fi, Vanha Suomi; rus, Ста́рая Финля́ндия, r=Staraya Finlyandiya; sv, Gamla Finland) is a name used for the areas that Russia gained from Sweden in the Great Northern War (1700–1721) and in the Russo-Swedis ...

". In 1973 the municipality of

Sääminki Sääminki (; sv, Säminge) is countryside and List of former municipalities of Finland, former municipality of Finland. Most of Sääminki municipality was incorporated in 1973 with the Savonlinna town and the rest with Punkaharju municipality. ...

was consolidated with Savonlinna. In the beginning of year 2009 the municipality of Savonranta and a land strip from

between Savonlinna and Savonranta were consolidated with Savonlinna. In the beginning of the year 2013, the municipalities of

Kerimäki Kerimäki is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated with the town of Savonlinna on January 1, 2013. It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Southern Savonia region. The municipality was unilingually Finni ...

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. The municipality had a population of ...

were consolidated with Savonlinna.

Attractions

The most notable attraction in Savonlinna is the Olavinlinna castle, a 15th-century castle built on an island. Near the castle is also the Savonlinna regional museum. Some other attractions include the forest museum Lusto in the village of Punkaharju, and the Kerimäki Church in the neighboring village of Kerimäki, which is the largest wooden church in the world. Savonlinna hosts the famous annual Savonlinna Opera Festival, which was held first time in 1912. The

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

s are performed on a stage built inside the Olavinlinna castle. The city has also hosted the Mobile Phone Throwing World Championships since 2000. File:Savonlinnan tuomiokirkko 1 AB.JPG, Savonlinna Cathedral is an Evangelical Lutheran Church File:Kerimaki church exterior.jpg, Kerimäki Church is the biggest wooden church in the world. File:Savonlinna Museo 1.JPG, Savonlinna Provincial Museum File:Lusto 1 AB.jpg, Lusto is a national forest museum is located in

Sports

The ice hockey team of Savonlinna, SaPKo or Savonlinnan Pallokerho, is playing in the second tier

Mestis Mestis (from fi, Mestaruussarja, meaning 'Championship series') is the second-highest men's ice hockey league in Finland. The league was established by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association in 2000 to replace the I-divisioona ('First Division' ...

. The top-tier

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 Sum ...

team Saimaa Volley plays some of its home matches in Savonlinna. The football team

Savonlinnan Työväen Palloseura Savonlinnan Työväen Palloseura or STPS for short, is a football club located in Savonlinna, Finland. The club was founded in 1947. STPS has a strong labour movement background, ''"työväen palloseura"'' meaning "workers ball club" in Finnish. ...

(STPS), is playing in Kolmonen, the fourth tier.

Transport

Savonlinna is located east of Mikkeli, west of Joensuu and south of Kuopio. It is also from the capital city of

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

by road, and some four hours away by train. Flights from

Savonlinna Airport Savonlinna Airport in Finland is about north of Savonlinna town centre along the Enonkoskentie road. It has a single asphalt runway, two gates, one with a waiting area fitted with seats, and a small cafeteria. Its busiest times are during the Sav ...

to Helsinki take 40–60 minutes.

Education

South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences ''South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences'' (''Xamk'') is a University of Applied Sciences in Finland. It was established in the beginning of 2017, when Kymenlaakso University of Applied Sciences (Kyamk) and Mikkeli University of Appl ...

has a campus in Savonlinna, teaching healthcare as well as process technologies. Research and development facilities include laboratories for wood processing and electronics. University of Eastern Finland had a campus in Savonlinna, primarily for teacher education. The campus was shut down in 2018. There are two high schools in Savonlinna. One of these high schools is specialized in art subjects, which when it started its operation in 1967 was the first specialized high school in

as well as in all of the Nordic countries.

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Savonlinna is twinned with: *

Detmold Detmold () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, with a population of . It was the capital of the small Principality of Lippe from 1468 until 1918 and then of the Free State of Lippe until 1947. Today it is the administrative center of t ...

, Germany *

Kalmar Kalmar (, , ) is a city in the southeast of Sweden, situated by the Baltic Sea. It had 36,392 inhabitants in 2010 and is the seat of Kalmar Municipality. It is also the capital of Kalmar County, which comprises 12 municipalities with a total of ...

, Sweden *

Torzhok Torzhok (russian: Торжо́к) is a town in Tver Oblast, Russia, located on the Tvertsa River along the federal highway M10 and a branch of the Oktyabrskaya Railway division of the Russian Railways. The town is famous for its folk craft of ...

, Russia In addition, there is non-governmental cooperation with the following cities: * Árborg, Iceland * Arendal, Norway *

Silkeborg Silkeborg () is a Danish town with a population of 49,747 (1 January 2022).Hannu Aravirta, former professional hockey forward, coach for the Finnish national men's team, SM-liiga and Elitserien * Kari Hietalahti, actor *

Ere Kokkonen Erkki Olavi "Ere" Kokkonen (7 July 1938 – 16 October 2008), born in Savonlinna, was a Finnish film director and screenwriter. He worked closely with Spede Pasanen all the way from the 1960s until Spede's death, as a director, writer and also ...

, film director and screenwriter *

Erik Laxmann Erik Gustavovich Laxmann (russian: Эрик (Кирилл) Густавович Лаксман) (July 27, 1737 – January 6, 1796) was a Finnish-Swedish clergyman, explorer and natural scientist born in Nyslott in Finland, then part of Sweden. ...

, explorer and natural scientist * Ville Leino, former professional hockey forward *

Jarmo Myllys Jarmo Pentti Kalevi Myllys (born 29 May 1965) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender. He was drafted by the Minnesota North Stars as their ninth-round pick, #172 overall, in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft. He is currently the goalkeeping ...

, former professional hockey goaltender, member of the 1988, 1994 and 1998 Finnish Olympic ice hockey teams * Pasha Pozdniakova, Finnish-Russian ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from H ...

'' model and social media influencer * Joonas Rask, professional hockey forward for HIFK *

Tuukka Rask Tuukka Mikael Rask (born 10 March 1987) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender. Rask was drafted 21st overall in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs before being traded to the Boston Bruins in 2006, where he played ...

, former professional hockey goaltender, member of the 2014 Finnish Olympic ice hockey team