Kontiolahti (; literally meaning "bear bay") 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 located in the

North Karelia North Karelia (or ''Northern Karelia'', ; ) 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 Finland and share ...

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 ...

, about north of

Joensuu Joensuu (; ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Karelia. It is located in the eastern interior of the country and in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Joensuu is approximately , while the sub-region has a population ...

. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), 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 geog ...

is . Neighbouring municipalities are

Juuka Juuka (; ) 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 . The municipality is unilingually Finnish. Geogr ...

Lieksa Lieksa () is a cities of Finland, town and municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the North Karelia regions of Finland, region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The ...

Liperi Liperi () is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the North Karelia regions of Finland, region. Liperi is a community of () with the growth rate of 83 newcomers in 11 months in 2007. The population density is . T ...

and

Polvijärvi Polvijärvi (; literally "knee lake") 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 municipali ...

. The municipality is unilingually

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

. The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

of the municipality is a

canting arms Canting arms are heraldry, heraldic bearings that represent the bearer's name (or, less often, some attribute or function) in a visual pun or rebus. The expression derives from the latin ''cantare'' (to sing). French heralds used the term (), ...

; the

log driving Log driving is a means of moving logs (sawn tree trunks) from a forest to sawmills and pulp mills downstream using the current of a river. It was the main transportation method of the early logging industry in Europe and North America. History ...

pike pole A pike pole is a long metal-topped wooden, aluminium or fiberglass pole used for reaching, hooking and/or pulling on another object. They are variously used in boating, construction, logging, rescue and recovery, power line maintenance, and fir ...

, which the

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family (biology), family Ursidae (). They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats ...

carries in the picture, refers to the importance of

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

in the region's economy. The coat of arms was designed by Aarno Liuksiala and approved by the Kontiolahti Municipal Council at its meeting on December 8, 1952. The coat of arms was approved for use by the

Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the ...

on February 27, 1953. Kontiolahti hosted the

Biathlon World Championships The first Biathlon World Championships (BWCH) was held in 1958, with individual and team contests for men. The original team event, Team (time), was held for the last time in 1965, to be replaced in 1966 by the team event, Relay (4 × 7.5 km) ...

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

and

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

History

Kontiolahti originally belonged to the parish of

. It became an independent municipality in 1873. The

flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

nuisance of Lake Höytiäinen and the desire for water abandonment inspired residents to try to build a

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface ...

to lower the water level, but the

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

broke uncontrollably in 1859, and the landscape changed dramatically. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the

Ruskeala Ruskeala (; ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, rural locality (a settlement) under the subdivisions of Russia#Administrative divisions, administrative jurisdiction of the city of federal subject significance, town of republic sign ...

's migrants were stationed in Kontiolahti.

Geography

Kontiolahti has 183 lakes, and water bodies cover 22.3 percent (230 km²) of the municipality's surface area. The largest of them are Lake Höytiäinen, Lake Kangasvesi and Lake Herajärvi. There are 11 Natura sites in all or part of Kontiolahti: Teerisaari-Sisuslahti, Soikkeli Forest, Pöllönvaara-Kruununkangas, Paihola Forest, Kolvananuuro and surrounding areas,

Koli National Park Koli National Park () is a national park in the municipalities of Joensuu, Lieksa and Kontiolahti in the North Karelia region of Finland. It covers of forested hills on the western shore of Lake Pielinen. The park was established in 1991 a ...

, Jouhteninen, Huurunlampi-Sammakkolampi-Huurunrinne and Huuhkajanvaara.

Villages

* Harivaara * Herajärvi * Iiksenniitty * Jakokoski * Kontiolahti (''Kirkonkylä'') * Kontioniemi * Kulho * Kunnasniemi * Kupluskylä * Kylmäoja * Lehmo * Mönni * Onttola * Paihola * Puntarikoski * Puso * Pyytivaara * Rantakylä * Romppala *

Selkie Selkies are mythological creatures that can shapeshift between seal and human forms by removing or putting on their seal skin. They feature prominently in the oral traditions and mythology of various cultures, especially those of Celtic and ...

* Varparanta * VenejokiKylät Pohjois-Karjalassa – Kylät.fi
(in Finnish)

Transport

Joensuu Region's Public Transport (''Joensuun seudun joukkoliikenne; JOJO'') is responsible for local and

school A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...

traffic Traffic is the movement of vehicles and pedestrians along land routes. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic laws and informal rules that may have developed over time to facilitate the orderly an ...

in the Kontiolahti area. Kontiolahti also has a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

, which, however, no longer has passenger traffic.

Highway 6 Route 6, or Highway 6, may refer to routes in the following countries: International * AH6 (highway), Asian Highway 6 * European route E6 * European route E006 Albania * :de:Nationalstraße 6 (Albanien), National Road SH6 Argentina * P ...

passes through the municipality.

Culture

Libraries

Municipal

library A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

services are provided by the Kontiolahti Library, the Lehmo Library, and ''Runo-Antti'', the

bookmobile A bookmobile, or mobile library, is a vehicle designed for use as a library. They have been known by many names throughout history, including traveling library, library wagon, book wagon, book truck, library-on-wheels, and book auto service. Boo ...

of Kontiolahti and

Eno Eno may refer to: Music * English National Opera, London * ''Eno'', an album by Japanese band Polysics Organisations and businesses * Eno (company), a Chinese clothing and accessories business * Eno Center for Transportation, a non-profit t ...

Food

In the 1980s, Kontiolahti's parish dishes were named "

shoemaker Shoemaking is the process of making footwear. Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand, often by groups of shoemakers, or '' cordwainers'' (sometimes misidentified as cobblers, who repair shoes rather than make them). In the 18th cen ...

roast Roasting is a cooking method that uses dry heat where hot air covers the food, cooking it evenly on all sides with temperatures of at least from an open flame, oven, or other heat source. Roasting can enhance the flavor through caramelizatio ...

" (''suutarinpaisti'') and

stockfish Stockfish is unsalted fish, especially cod, dried by cold air and wind on wooden racks (which are called "hjell" in Norway) on the foreshore. The drying of food is the world's oldest known preservation method, and dried fish has a storage li ...

soup Soup is a primarily liquid food, generally served warm or hot – though it is sometimes served chilled – made by cooking or otherwise combining meat or vegetables with Stock (food), stock, milk, or water. According to ''The Oxford Compan ...

Notable people

* Tero Mustonen (born 1976 or 1977), environmental leader, scholar, scientist, and fisherman *

Jukka Nevalainen Jukka Antero "Julius" Nevalainen (born 21 April 1978, in Kitee, Finland) is the former drummer of the Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. Personal life He spent his early years in the city of Kitee. His music teacher at school told him ...

(born 1978), former drummer of

Nightwish Nightwish is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Kitee. The band was formed in 1996 by lead songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, and former lead singer Tarja Turunen. The band soon picked up drummer Jukka Neval ...

Markku Pölönen Markku Tapani Pölönen (born 16 September 1957 in Eno) is a Finnish film director, screenwriter, and editor; and the owner of film production company Suomen Filmiteollisuus. Pölönen's best known work is the 2004 film '' Dog Nail Clipper'' &md ...

(born 1957), film director, screenwriter, editor and owner of film production company

Suomen Filmiteollisuus Suomen Filmiteollisuus (SF), lit. ''Finland's Film Industry'', is a Finland, Finnish film production company founded by Erkki Karu in 1933 after financial problems with Suomi-Filmi. The CEO, director, producer and writer Toivo Särkkä, T.J. Sär ...

* Antti Puhakka (1816–1893),

national romantic Romantic nationalism (also national romanticism, organic nationalism, identity nationalism) is the form of nationalism in which the state claims its political legitimacy as an organic consequence of the unity of those it governs. This includes ...

poet

References

External links

*
Municipality of Kontiolahti
– Official website
Sirnihta Holiday Villa's
{{Authority control Populated places established in 1873 Ski areas and resorts in Finland