city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

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, ...

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 ...

Finnish Lakeland Finnish Lakeland or the Finnish lake district ( , "Lake Finland", ) is a large landscape region in central eastern Finland. The hilly, forest-covered landscape of Lakeland Finland's lake plateau is dominated by drumlins and by long sinuous es ...

sub-region A subregion is a part of a larger geographical region or continent. Cardinal directions are commonly used to define subregions. There are many criteria for creating systems of subregions; this article is focusing on the United Nations geoscheme ...

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' ...

urban area An urban area is a human settlement with a high population density and an infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas originate through urbanization, and researchers categorize them as cities, towns, conurbations or suburbs. In urbani ...

Lake 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 ...

Vyborg Vyborg (; , ; , ; , ) is a town and the administrative center of Vyborgsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Karelian Isthmus near the head of Vyborg Bay, northwest of St. Petersburg, east of the Finnish capital H ...

Imatra Imatra is a city in Finland, located in the southeastern interior of the country. Imatra is located in the region of South Karelia, on Saima, Lake Saimaa and the River Vuoksi. The population of Imatra is approximately , while the Imatra sub-regi ...

Mikkeli Mikkeli (; ; ; ) is a List of cities and towns in Finland, city in, and the regional capital of, South Savo, Finland, located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population is approximately , while the Mikkeli sub-region of Southern Savonia has a populat ...

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 ...

Lappee Lappee is an old parish and a List of former municipalities of Finland, former municipality of Finland in the South Karelia region, originally in the Viipuri Province and after the Second World War, the Kymi Province. It was consolidated with Lapp ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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.Russian tourists after

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

and competes with Helsinki for the largest share of tax-free sales in Finland. Lappeenranta is a model for renewable energy and a clean living environment. Lappeenranta was the only Finnish city among the 14 finalists of the international Earth Hour City Challenge 2014 organised by WWF. In 2009, Lappeenranta was ranked fourth in the comparison of the largest Finnish cities, while in the 2008 survey the city was ranked fifth. In a survey conducted among business representatives in 2011, Lappeenranta was ranked 17th among Finnish cities in terms of image. Lappeenranta Airport, opened in 1918 and located in the city centre, is Finland's oldest operating airport.

History

The village of Kauskila, located about eight kilometers to the south of downtown Lappeenranta, 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. Lappeenranta's original core settlement, Lapvesi, later

Lappee Lappee is an old parish and a List of former municipalities of Finland, former municipality of Finland in the South Karelia region, originally in the Viipuri Province and after the Second World War, the Kymi Province. It was consolidated with Lapp ...

, was originally formed around a headland jutting into Lake

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 site of the present fortress. The public market was established here, which became so important as a trading place that general Governor Count

Per Brahe the Younger Count Per Brahe the Younger (18 February 1602 – 12 September 1680) was a Swedish soldier, statesman, and author. He served as Privy Councillor from 1630, Lord High Steward from 1640, as well as Governor-General of Finland in 1637–1640 and ...

proposed that the Swedish government should grant town privileges to Lapvesi. The town was chartered in 1649 by

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

Christina of Sweden Christina (; 18 December ld Style and New Style dates, O.S. 8 December1626 – 19 April 1689), a member of the House of Vasa, was Monarchy of Sweden, Queen of Sweden from 1632 until her abdication in 1654. Her conversion to Catholicism and ...

. At the time, Lapvesi was an important port for

tar Tar is a dark brown or black viscous liquid of hydrocarbons and free carbon, obtained from a wide variety of organic materials through destructive distillation. Tar can be produced from coal, wood, petroleum, or peat. "a dark brown or black b ...

. Between 1721 and 1743, Lappeenranta was the capital of Kymmenegård and Nyslott County and during this period the Swedes built the fortress out in stages. In 1741, the Battle of Villmanstrand was fought between the Swedish and Russian armies in the Russo-Swedish War of 1741–1743. The battle ended in a Russian victory. The town was pillaged, wooden structures including the provincial chancellery were burnt and the ecclesiastical archives damaged. The remaining portion of

Old Finland Old Finland (; ; ) is a name used for the areas that Russia gained from Sweden in the Great Northern War (1700–1721) and the Russo-Swedish War (1741–1743), and which were united as the Vyborg Governorate in 1744. During the Finnish War ...

still belonging to Sweden, including Lappeenranta, was ceded by Sweden to

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

per the Treaty of Turku. Following the creation of the

Grand Duchy of Finland The Grand Duchy of Finland was the predecessor state of modern Finland. It existed from 1809 to 1917 as an Autonomous region, autonomous state within the Russian Empire. Originating in the 16th century as a titular grand duchy held by the Monarc ...

in 1809, Old Finland was joined to the Grand Duchy in 1812 as a gesture of goodwill by

Alexander I of Russia Alexander I (, ; – ), nicknamed "the Blessed", was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first king of Congress Poland from 1815, and the grand duke of Finland from 1809 to his death in 1825. He ruled Russian Empire, Russia during the chaotic perio ...

. Lappeenranta incorporated the neighbouring municipalities of Lappee and

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 ...

on 1 January 1967,

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 ...

on 1 January 1989,

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 ...

on 1 January 2009, and

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.genitive In grammar, the genitive case ( abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive can ...

of ''Lappee'' (the name of the original core town) and the common noun ''ranta'' which means "

shore A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...

". The history of Lappeenranta includes the rural municipality of

Lappee Lappee is an old parish and a List of former municipalities of Finland, former municipality of Finland in the South Karelia region, originally in the Viipuri Province and after the Second World War, the Kymi Province. It was consolidated with Lapp ...

and the

hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...

Lapvesi. The Swedish name ''Villmanstrand'' contains the words ''vildman'' meaning "wild man" and ''strand'' also meaning "shore". A

wild man The wild man, wild man of the woods, woodwose or wodewose is a mythical figure and motif that appears in the art and literature of medieval Europe, comparable to the satyr or faun type in classical mythology and to ''Silvanus (mythology), Silvanu ...

is depicted on Lappeenranta's coat of arms.

Geography

Located on the southern shore of Lake

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 ...

, Lappeenranta's neighboring municipalities on the Finnish side are Imatra,

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 ...

,

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 ...

,

Miehikkälä Miehikkälä () is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the provinces of Finland, province of Southern Finland and is part of the Kymenlaakso regions of Finland, region. The municipality has a population of (), ...

,

Ruokolahti Ruokolahti (; ; literally translated the " Reed Bay") is a municipality of Finland, situated in south-eastern Finland, in the region of South Karelia. Neighbouring municipalities are Imatra, Lappeenranta, Taipalsaari, Puumala, Sulkava, Punkaharju, ...

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 ...

, and on the Russian side, neighbors include

Svetogorsk Svetogorsk (, ) is an industrial town in Vyborgsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the Karelian Isthmus, on the Vuoksi River. It is located from the border with Finland, from the Finnish town of Imatra, and from St. Pe ...

and Kamennogorsk.

Climate

Lappeenranta has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

of the warm-summer type (

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Dfb''). The summers are longer, although rarely hot, and usually warm. Some of the warmest summers in the country can be found here, due to its orientation: southern but inland. Being in an eastern part 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, ...

, the winters are often harsh but still mild compared to areas further east.

Anchorage Anchorage, officially the Municipality of Anchorage, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of 291,247 at the 2020 census, it contains nearly 40 percent of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolita ...

has some similarities by being of marine influence of hot currents and at the same time of the marginal continentality. But Lappeenranta is still able to receive heat waves that cross

Central Europe Central Europe is a geographical region of Europe between Eastern Europe, Eastern, Southern Europe, Southern, Western Europe, Western and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Central Europe is known for its cultural diversity; however, countries in ...

in a warmer climate than cool.

Climate changes

Between 2000 and 2017 the temperature change was greater than the whole previous century, with +1.2 °C (higher values than

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

or

Oulu Oulu ( , ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Ostrobothnia. It is located on the northwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Oulujoki, River Oulu. The population of Oulu is approximately , while the Oulu sub-regio ...

). Since 2000 the number of warm days (> 24 °C) has become 2 per year, while the 1900 data indicates only 2 days per decade. From the first half of the twentieth century the days above 24 °C changed from rare to occasional in the second half to regular in the present century. There was also a 17.5 decrease in temperature below −1 °C for the same comparison period. 2015 was the hottest year since 1900, having one of the less than 50 days with freezing days. Work to reduce the temperature increase has been carried out; the city is again among the best 45 cities in the world in the WWF City Challenge 2016. One of the goals is to reduce

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalent bond, covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in a gas state at room temperature and at norma ...

by 30% by 2020 and zero emissions by 2050. According to the 1961-1990 climate norms, the climate of Lappeenranta was a climate of continental subarctic zone (

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Dfc'') closely bordering on the humid continental climate (

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Dfb''). Compared to decades ago, the total amount of precipitation has also increased somewhat.

Demographics

Population

The city of Lappeenranta has inhabitants, making it the most populous municipality in Finland. The Lappeenranta region has a population of .

Languages

Lappeenranta is a monolingual Finnish-speaking municipality. , the majority of the population, persons (), spoke Finnish as their first language. In addition, the number of Swedish speakers was persons () of the population. Foreign languages were spoken by of the population. As English and Swedish are compulsory school subjects, functional bilingualism or trilingualism acquired through language studies is not uncommon. At least 50 different languages are spoken in Lappeenranta. The most commonly spoken foreign languages are

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

(4.6%), English (0.5%), Chinese (0.5%) and

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

(0.4%).

Immigration

, there were 8,339 persons with a foreign background living in Lappeenranta, or 11% of the population. The number of residents who were born abroad was 7,942, or 11% of the population. The number of persons with foreign citizenship living in Lappeenranta was 5,516. Most foreign-born citizens came from the former

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

,

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

,

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. The relative share of immigrants in Lappeenranta's population is the same as to the national average. Moreover, the city's new residents are increasingly of foreign origin. This will increase the proportion of foreign residents in the coming years.

Religion

In 2023, the Evangelical Lutheran Church was the largest religious group with 66.8% of the population of Lappeenranta. Other religious groups accounted for 2.6% of the population. 30.5% of the population had no religious affiliation.

Economy

The city's main employers are the: * City of Lappeenranta *

Fazer Fazer (, ) is one of the largest corporations in the Finland, Finnish food industry. The company was founded by Karl Fazer in 1891, as a "French-Russian café" in central Helsinki. Today, it employs over 6,000 people across Finland, Sweden, Lat ...

*

Lappeenranta University of Technology Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology LUT (''Finnish language, Finnish'': Lappeenrannan-Lahden teknillinen yliopisto LUT), better known by the abbreviation LUT University (''Finnish language, Finnish'': LUT-yliopisto) is a Finland, Finnish ...

*

Nordkalk Nordkalk is a manufacturer of limestone-based products based in Finland. It operates at more than 30 different locations in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Poland and Estonia. History Limestone has been quarried in Pargas at least since the 17th cent ...

* Paroc * Metso Outotec * South Karelia Social and Health Care District * The Armed Forces * UPM-Kymmene *

VR Group VR-Group Plc (, ), commonly known as VR, is a government-owned railway company in Finland. VR's most important function is the operation of Finland's passenger rail services with 250 long-distance and 800 commuter rail services every day. With ...

Tourism

Lappeenranta is known as a summer city, mostly due to its closeness to Lake

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 ...

, Europe's 4th largest lake. The eponymous GoSaimaa (www.gosaimaa.com) provides all the touristic activities in the area. In addition, its inland location means that summers tend to be warmer and winters colder than along the coastal areas. Lappeenranta has a healthy winter tourism industry. Various cabins around Lake Saimaa, as well as numerous snowmobiles, Nordic skating, floating in the river, reindeer rides, paragliding, skiing and sledding tracks draw a fair number of winter visitors. The proximity of the Russian border is increasingly evident in the number of Russian tourists visiting the city. In fact, Lappeenranta is closer to

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

() than it is to

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

, the capital of Finland (). The presence of Russian tourists is noticeable by the many Russian registered cars on the streets and the use of

Cyrillic The Cyrillic script ( ) is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic, Turkic, Mongolic, Uralic, Caucasian and Iranic-speaking countries in Southeastern Europe, Ea ...

letters in signs of some shops.

Places and events

* The old fortress, with a number of museums, cafés and the oldest

Russian Orthodox The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

church in Finland. * St. Mary's Church of Lappee, an 18th-century wooden church in the center of the city. * The harbour area, with cruises to

Vyborg Vyborg (; , ; , ; , ) is a town and the administrative center of Vyborgsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Karelian Isthmus near the head of Vyborg Bay, northwest of St. Petersburg, east of the Finnish capital H ...

and the nearby

Saimaa Canal The Saimaa Canal (; ; ) is a transportation canal that connects lake Saimaa with the Gulf of Finland near Vyborg, Russia. The canal was built from 1845 to 1856 and opened on 7 September 1856 (Old Style: 26 August 1856). It was overhauled and wi ...

. * The central market place, where you can enjoy the local specialities, such as meat pies known as "Atomi" (atom) or "Vety" (hydrogen). * The Night of The Fortess, a two-day cultural festival held in early August. * The Lappeenranta Ballet Gala in late August. * The annual Lappeenranta National Singing Contest. * The biggest sand castle in Finland is built next to Port of Lappeenranta every summer. * There are three private cinema theatres in Lappeenranta: Kino-Aula, Nuijamies and Finnkino. * Major league home games in ice-hockey (SaiPa), basketball (Namika Lappeenranta) and other sports. * The IIHF World Championship Under 18, in 2014 * Unlimited Racing Event, on 27 and 29 June 2014

Sports

Lappeenranta has several sports teams playing in top levels of Finnish sports leagues.

SaiPa SAIPA (, ''SAIPA'') is an Iranian automaker headquartered in Tehran. The SAIPAC (an acronym for the French ''Société anonyme iranienne de production des automobiles Citroën'' lit. ''Iranian Limited Company for the Production of Citroën Autom ...

is an

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

team playing in the highest level in Finland,

SM-liiga The Liiga, colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. The league comprises 16 teams from all around Finland with relegation and promotion between the Mest ...

. SaiPa was fourth in the national Ice hockey league in the season of 2013–2014. 2014 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship - Tournament was played Kisapuisto Ice Hall, Lappeenranta & Imatra Ice Hall during 17–27 April 2014. United States won the tournament, Czech Republic was second and Canada was the third.

Lappeenrannan NMKY Lappeenrannan NMKY (also known as LrNMKY for short or as Team Lappeenranta in European competitions) is a basketball club based in a city of Lappeenranta, Finland. It was formed in 1951 as a Young Men's Christian Association (NMKY in Finnish) an ...

is a basketball team playing in the third highest level in I-division B and have won two championships in 2005 and 2006. NST plays

floorball Floorball (also known by other names) is a sport played with five players and a goalkeeper in each team. It is played indoors with sticks and a hollow plastic ball with holes. Matches are played in three periods. The sport of bandy also playe ...

in the Salibandyliiga and Rajaritarit is an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

team in the

Vaahteraliiga The Vaahteraliiga (Maple League) founded in 1980 is the highest level of American football in Finland played under American Football Association of Finland. The winner of the Vaahteraliiga is the Finnish champion. The Vaahteraliiga season is play ...

. Lappeenrannan Veiterä, or just Veiterä, plays in

Bandyliiga The Bandyliiga (; 'Bandy League') is the top level of men's bandy in Finland. The league was founded in 1908 as the Jääpallon Suomen mestaruus, SM-sarja ('Bandy Finnish Championship Series') and the present name has been used since the 1991– ...

and has been Finnish champions five times, including in 2017. They have been the champions for women and for girls born in 1995 and 1998. The city hosted the first ever

Women's Bandy World Championship The Women's Bandy World Championships is an international sports tournament for women and the premier international competition for women's bandy among bandy-playing nations. The tournament is administrated by the Federation of International Bandy ...

in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

and in

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

the tournament was again played in Lappeenranta. The Old Boys World Cup is annually hosted in town, in 2017 for the seventh time. In women's sports Catz Lappeenranta plays basketball and Pesä Ysit plays Finnish baseball, both in the top leagues of the nation. Catz has won Finnish national basketball championship four times in a row.

Transport

Lappeenranta is connected to neighbouring cities and municipalities by road. The city is located from Helsinki and from

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

. From Lappeenranta, the distance to

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 capital of

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 ...

, is along

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 ...

. There are multiple daily train departures to destinations within Finland from the

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 ...

and

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 ...

stations and to Russia from Vainikkala station. The

Allegro Allegro may refer to: Common meanings * Allegro (music), a tempo marking that indicates to playing quickly and brightly (from Italian meaning ''cheerful'') * Allegro (ballet), brisk and lively movement Artistic works * L'Allegro (1645), a poem b ...

train service operating between Helsinki and St. Petersburg stops 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 ...

, a village in Lappeenranta. The journey time to Helsinki is about 2 hours and St. Petersburg about 1.5 hours. During the summer, when

Lake 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 ...

and the

Saimaa Canal The Saimaa Canal (; ; ) is a transportation canal that connects lake Saimaa with the Gulf of Finland near Vyborg, Russia. The canal was built from 1845 to 1856 and opened on 7 September 1856 (Old Style: 26 August 1856). It was overhauled and wi ...

are accessible by water, there is a visa-free connection by ship from Lappeenranta to

Vyborg Vyborg (; , ; , ; , ) is a town and the administrative center of Vyborgsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Karelian Isthmus near the head of Vyborg Bay, northwest of St. Petersburg, east of the Finnish capital H ...

, Russia. The regionally owned Lappeenranta Airport is located west of the city center. The airport predominantly serves charter flights to southern Europe, the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

and

Madeira Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...

, as well as regularly scheduled flights on Irish airline

Ryanair Ryanair is an Irish Low-cost carrier#Ultra low-cost carrier, ultra low-cost airline group headquartered in Swords, County Dublin, Ireland. The parent company, Ryanair Holdings plc, includes subsidiaries Ryanair , Malta Air, Buzz (Ryanair), Buzz ...

to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. The public transport is by bus and is called Jouko. The Jouko-buses are pink-colored and they serve 18 sub-urban lines (1, 1X, 2, 2H, 3, 3K, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 14, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26) and 21 regional lines (100, 101, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 120, 121, 130, 131, 200, 201, 300, 301, 500, 601, 602, 603, 610, 620). Jouko has Waltti-travel card, to which you can charge a 30-day season ticket (travel zones A-D) or a value tickets, which works also in other finnish cities which do have the Waltti-ticket system. Other ways to buy a ticket in Jouko-buses are single tickets (payment with cash or credit card), mobile-tickets (PayIQ, etc.) and 24-hour ticket. Jouko has also own route-guide (https://lappeenranta.digitransit.fi/), where you can plan a route, see timetables and also see all the Jouko-buses in the map. You can also view delays, exceptions, and other releases. Jouko sub-urban transport is operated by Savonlinja and V-S Bussipalvelut. Regional lines are operated by Savonlinja, Soisalon Liikenne, V-S Bussipalvelut, Vento and Mikkonen. The bus fleet consists of low-floor city buses, and the bus models are Scania Citywide II Electric, Volvo 8900LE and Scania Citywide LE Suburban (two of them are CNG-buses).

Jouko sub-urban routes

* 1 University – Sammonlahti – City centre – Lauritsala – Kiiskinmäki * 1X University – Sammonlahti – City centre * 2 Kivisalmi – City centre – Lauritsala – Hovinpelto (on Sundays via central hospital) * 2H Hovinpelto – Lauritsala – Railway station – Leiri – City centre * 3 Leiri – Railway station – City centre – Pikisaari – Kariniemi – Kivisalmi * 3K Kivisalmi – City centre – Leiri – Kesämäki * 3K Kesämäki – Railway station – City centre – Kivisalmi * 4 Mäntylä – City centre – Karhuvuori * 4 City centre – Karhuvuori * 5 University – Sammonlahti – City centre – Railway station * 7 Mustola – Lauritsala – City centre * 8 Kariniemi – Pikisaari – City centre – Sammonlahti – Ruoholampi – Rutola * 12 University – Sammonlahti – City centre * 12 Kivisalmi – City centre * 12 University – Sammonlahti – City centre – Karhuvuori – Lauritsala – Hovinpelto – Mustola – Kiiskinmäki * 12 Kiiskinmäki – Kanavansuu – Lauritsala – City centre – Kivisalmi * 14 Mäntylä – City centre – Karhuvuori – Lauritsala – Mustola * 21 Vuoksenniska – Sotkulampi – Imatrankoski – Mansikkala (Keskusasema / Central station) –Mustalampi – Vuoksenniska * 22 Vuoksenniska – Mustalampi – Mansikkala (Keskusasema / Central station) – Imatrankoski – Sotkulampi – Vuoksenniska * 23 Jakola – Imatrankoski – Mansikkala (Keskusasema / Central station) – Sienimäki – Vuoksenniska – Rautio – Huhtanen * 24 Mansikkala (Keskusasema / Central station) – Imatrankoski – Meltola – Salo-Issakka – Perä-Meltola – Meltola – Imatrankoski – Mansikkala (Keskusasema / Central station) * 25 Imatran Kylpylä (Imatra Spa) – Mansikkala (Keskusasema / Central station) – Saareksiinmäki – Meltola – Imatrankoski * 26 Perä-Meltola – Meltola – Imatrankoski – Mansikkala (Keskusasema / Central station) – Mustalampi – Sienimäki – Imatrankoski – Meltola – Perä-Meltola

Education

Lappeenranta is known as an international university city in Finland with

LUT University Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology LUT ('' Finnish'': Lappeenrannan-Lahden teknillinen yliopisto LUT), better known by the abbreviation LUT University ('' Finnish'': LUT-yliopisto) is a Finnish public research university which was esta ...

and LAB University of Applied Sciences which together have approximately 13,000 students from 68 countries. Lappeenranta is also a commercial centre of South-East Finland and the meeting point of the EU and Russia, from both

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

and

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

. Lappeenranta has numerous schools at almost all levels of education, including the

LUT University Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology LUT ('' Finnish'': Lappeenrannan-Lahden teknillinen yliopisto LUT), better known by the abbreviation LUT University ('' Finnish'': LUT-yliopisto) is a Finnish public research university which was esta ...

, LAB University of Applied Sciences, located in a shared Skinnarila campus of around 8000 students, the Army Academy (branch of the Finnish Defence Forces), South Karelia Vocational College and South Karelia Adult Education Centre.

Notable people

* Anna-Kaarina Aalto, physician and politician * Antti Aalto (born 1975), former ice-hockey player *

Koop Arponen Koop Juho Alexander Arponen (born 20 April 1984 in Lappeenranta, Finland) is a Finnish singer and the winner of the fourth series of the '' Idols'' in 2008. Biography Koop Arponen was born in Lappeenranta, Eastern Finland to a Finnish father a ...

(born 1984), singer and winner of the '' fourth series'' of the '' Idols'' in 2008 * Ivan Fedotov (born 1996), Finnish-born Russian professional ice hockey goaltender * Kaarlo Halttunen (born 1909), former actor * Laila Hirvisaari (formerly Laila Hietamies), novelist. She has written a novel series about Lappeenranta and its people. * Horna, Finnish black metal band * Kari Jormakka, philosopher, architect and architecture theorist *

Kotiteollisuus Kotiteollisuus is a Finnish hard rock and heavy metal band that was formed in 1991 in Lappeenranta. The band released its first demo tape in 1993 under the name "Hullu ukko ja Kotiteollisuus" ('Crazy Old Fogey and Cottage Industry'). The short ...

,

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

band *

Matti Lehtinen Matti Kalervo Lehtinen (24 April 1922 – 16 August 2022) was a Finnish operatic baritone, a long-term member of the Finnish National Opera and Ballet, Finnish National Opera, and professor of singing at the Sibelius Academy. He appeared at th ...

(1922–2022), operatic

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

* Kiba Lumberg (born 1956), Finnish author and writer * Pave Maijanen (1950–2021), musician * Miikka Multaharju (born 1977), football player * Jukka Paarma (born 1942), former Archbishop of Turku and Finland * Tiia Piili (born 1979), gymnast * Saku Puhakainen (born 1975), football player * Jaska Raatikainen (born 1979), drummer of the band

Children of Bodom Children of Bodom was a Finnish melodic death metal band from Espoo. Formed in 1993 as Inearthed, the final line-up of the group upon their split in 2019 consisted of frontman Alexi Laiho, drummer Jaska Raatikainen, bassist Henkka Seppälä, ...

* Jaana Savolainen (born 1964), cross country skier * Sargeist, Finnish black metal band *

Satanic Warmaster Satanic Warmaster is a Finnish black metal solo project formed in 1998 by Lauri Penttilä in Lappeenranta, who performs under the stage name Werwolf. Satanic Warmaster was formed by Penttilä in 1998. Satanic Warmaster has sold tens of thousands ...

, Finnish black metal band * Petri Skriko (born 1962), retired ice-hockey player in the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

in US *

Juha Tiainen Juha Tiainen (December 5, 1955 in Uukuniemi – April 27, 2003 in Lappeenranta) was a hammer thrower from Finland who won the gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and com ...

, former Olympic gold medallist in hammer throw *

Mokoma Mokoma is a Finnish thrash metal band formed in Lappeenranta, Finland, in 1996. Their music also has grindcore and death metal influences with traditional Finnish melancholy. Mokoma started out as a creation of Marko Annala, who is the band' ...

,

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an Extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, ...

band * Battlelore,

symphonic metal Symphonic metal is a cross-genre style designation for the symphonic subsets of heavy metal music subgenres. It is used to denote any metal band that makes use of symphonic or orchestral elements. The style features the heavy drums and guitars ...

band *

Hanna Pakarinen Hanna Helena Pakarinen (born 17 April 1981) is a Finnish pop and pop-rock singer who rose to fame as the winner of the first series of the Finnish singing competition '' Idols'' in 2004. Since then she has represented Finland in the Eurovision So ...

(born 1981), the first Idols winner in Finland came from Lappeenranta. * Christian Ruuttu (born 1964), former

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

player in the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

* Vesa Vierikko (born 1956), Finnish actor * Vesa Viitakoski (born 1971), former ice hockey player in

SM-liiga The Liiga, colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. The league comprises 16 teams from all around Finland with relegation and promotion between the Mest ...

In media

Lappeenranta is the setting for '' Bordertown'', the Finnish police drama broadcast by

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

.

Twin towns – sister cities

Lappeenranta is twinned with: *

Rakvere Rakvere is the administrative center, or county seat, of Lääne-Viru County in northern Estonia, about 100 km southeast of Tallinn and 20 km south of the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea. Rakvere boasts a distinctive architectural feature: th ...

, Estonia *

Stykkishólmur Stykkishólmur () is a town and municipality situated in the western part of Iceland, in the northern part of the Snæfellsnes peninsula. It is a center of services and commerce for the area. Most of the people make their living from fishing and ...

, Iceland *

Drammen Drammen () is a city and municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. The port and river city of Drammen is centrally located in the south-eastern and most populated part of Norway. Drammen municipality also includes smaller towns and villages such ...

, Norway *

Örebro Örebro ( ; ) is the seventh-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Örebro Municipality, and capital of Örebro County. It is situated by the Närke Plain, near the lake Hjälmaren, a few kilometers inland along the small river Svartån, and ...

, Sweden *

Kolding Kolding () is a Denmark, Danish seaport city located at the head of Kolding Fjord in the Region of Southern Denmark. It is the seat of Kolding Municipality. It is a transportation, commercial, and manufacturing centre and has numerous industria ...

, Denmark *

Klin KLIN (1400 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station broadcasting a talk radio format. It is licensed to Lincoln, Nebraska, and is owned by NRG Media. The studios are in Broadcast House at 44th Street and East O Street ( U.S. Route 34). KLIN i ...

, Russia *

Schwäbisch Hall Schwäbisch Hall (; 'Swabian Hall'; from 1802 until 1934 and colloquially: ''Hall'') is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg located in the valley of the Kocher river, the longest tributary (together with its headwater Lein) of the N ...

, Germany *

Szombathely } Szombathely (; ; also see #Etymology, names) is the 10th largest city in Hungary. It is the administrative centre of Vas County in the west of the country, located near the border with Austria. Szombathely lies by the streams ''Perint'' and '' ...

, Hungary *

Lake Worth Beach, Florida Lake Worth Beach, previously named Lake Worth, is a city in east-central Palm Beach County, Florida, United States, located about north of Miami. The city's name is derived from the body of water along its eastern border known as the Lake Wort ...

, US *

Chernihiv Chernihiv (, ; , ) is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast and Chernihiv Raion within the oblast. Chernihiv's population is The city was designated as a Hero City of Ukraine ...

, Ukraine

Notes

References

External links

*
Official tourism site

Official Saimaa tourism site
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Finland Inland port cities and towns in Finland Grand Duchy of Finland 1649 establishments in Sweden Populated places established in 1649 Populated lakeshore places in Finland Municipalities of South Karelia

History

Geography

Climate

Climate changes

Demographics

Population

Languages

Immigration

Religion

Economy

Tourism

Places and events

Sports

Transport

Jouko sub-urban routes

Education

Notable people

In media

Twin towns – sister cities

See also

Notes

References

External links