Lappee is an old parish and a former municipality of

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, ...

in the

South Karelia South Karelia (or ''Southern Karelia'', ; ) is a Regions of Finland, region of Finland. It borders the regions of Kymenlaakso, Southern Savonia, South Savo and North Karelia, as well as Russia (Republic of Karelia and Leningrad Oblast). Hist ...

region, originally in the

Viipuri Province Viipuri Province was a Historical provinces of Finland, historical province of Finland from 1812 to 1945. History The predecessor of the province was Vyborg Governorate, which was established in 1744 from territories ceded by the Swedish Empi ...

and after the Second World War, the

Kymi Province The Kymi Province (, ) 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 Armistice in 1944. By the Paris Peace Trea ...

. It was consolidated with

Lappeenranta Lappeenranta (; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of South Karelia. It is located in the southeastern interior of the country and in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Lappeenranta is approximately , while the Lappeenranta sub-r ...

in 1967 together with

Lauritsala () is a former Finnish market town in the South Karelia region. It was closed down on 1 January 1967 and was incorporated into Lappeenranta. The present district of Lauritsala comprises only the center of the former town. History Lauritsala ...

. Its seat was in

Vainikkala Vainikkala is a small village of approximately 400 inhabitants in South Karelia, Eastern Finland. It is part of the Lappeenranta municipality and is located about south of the city centre. Vainikkala is right on the Finnish border with Russia a ...

near the border with Russia, however the largest settlements were

Laihia Laihia () is a municipality of Finland, founded in 1576 through a separation from Isokyrö and Korsholm. It is located in the Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of 8,020 (Jul 31, 2020) and covers an area of of which is wat ...

and Lavola near Lappeenranta and Lauritsala. The coat of arms depicts Lappee's medieval patron saint,

Saint Lawrence Saint Lawrence or Laurence (; 31 December 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the Persecution of Christians, persecution of the Christians that the Roman Empire, Rom ...

(''Pyhä Lauri'').

Geography

Lappee bordered Lappeenranta, Lauritsala,

Joutseno Joutseno () is a former town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the South Karelia region. The municipality was unilingually Finnish. Joutseno was consolidated with Lappeenranta on 1 Jan ...

Nuijamaa Nuijamaa (; literally translated the " club land") is a former municipality in the province of South Karelia in Finland. The municipality had inhabitants and an area of 136 km² in 1988. Nuijamaa was a Finnish-speaking municipality. Nuijam ...

Ylämaa Ylämaa (; literally translated the "Highland") is a former municipality of Finland, located in the province of Southern Finland as part of the South Karelia region. It was consolidated with Lappeenranta on January 1, 2010.Luumäki Luumäki () is a municipality of Finland. Its seat is in the Taavetti village. 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 ...

Lemi Lemi is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the South Karelia region. The municipality has a population of (), which make it the smallest municipality in South Karelia in terms of population. It covers an area of of which is water. The ...

and

Taipalsaari Taipalsaari 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 . Ne ...

. It also bordered Vahviala before it was ceded to the Soviet Union.

Name

The original name of Lappee was ''Lapvesi'', which also refers to the southern part of the

Saimaa Saimaa ( , ; ) is a lake located in the Finnish Lakeland area in southeastern Finland. With a surface area of approximately , it is the largest lake in Finland, and the fourth-largest natural freshwater lake in Europe. The name Saimaa likely co ...

. The current name was formed from the local dialectal declension of the name, e.g. genitive ''Lapveen > Lappeen'' (standard ''Lapveden''), later nominalized as ''Lappee''. The ''lap-'' element is generally thought to be etymologically connected with the name of Lapland, which may suggest that Sámi people have lived in the area. The Swedish name ''Lappvesi'' as well as the surnames ''Lapveteläinen'' and ''Lappeteläinen'' are derived from the older name.

History

The village of Kauskila was among the most significant Karelian population centers in South Karelia during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. Kauskila has been continuously inhabited for approximately 2,000 years. Lappee was first mentioned as ''Lappawesi'' in 1415, while in 1416, a vicar named Gudmund is mentioned in ''Lappevesi''. These mentions suggest that Lappee was already an independent parish in the early 15th century, however it may also have been active already in the 14th century. The center of the parish was in the village of Kauskila. The first parish to be separated from Lappee was

in 1571, which also included

Savitaipale Savitaipale (; literally translated the "clay passage") is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the South Karelia regions of Finland, region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of whi ...

Suomenniemi Suomenniemi is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated with Mikkeli on 1 January 2013. It was located in the province of Southern Finland and was part of the South Karelia region. The municipality had a population of (31 December ...

and a part of

Mäntyharju Mäntyharju (, ) is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the Southern Savonia regions of Finland, region, about southwest of Mikkeli. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is w ...

. In 1639, a part of Lappee was given to the newly established

parish, mainly separated from Jääski.

Luumäki Luumäki () is a municipality of Finland. Its seat is in the Taavetti village. 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 ...

was separated from Lappee in 1642. The town of

was established in 1652, the name of which literally means "Lappee's coast". Before the town's establishment, the name referred to a marketplace on the shore of Saimaa. The town did not have its own parish until 1913. In 1903, parts of Lappee were transferred to the new

parish.

was the last municipality to be separated completely from Lappee, which happened in 1932. Lappee and Lauritsala were merged into Lappeenranta in 1967. The parishes of Lappee and Lauritsala remained separate.

References

{{Authority control Lappeenranta Former municipalities of Finland