Lemi 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 ( 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 Bo ...

. It is located in the

South Karelia South Karelia ( fi, Etelä-Karjala; sv, Södra Karelen) is a region of Finland. It borders the regions of Kymenlaakso, South Savo and North Karelia, as well as Russia (Republic of Karelia and Leningrad Oblast). Historical province ''For his ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

. 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

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 geographical ...

is . The municipality is unilingually Finnish. The Finnish

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

band Stam1na is from Lemi. In 2018 Lemi won the title heavy metal capital of the world that was determined by number of bands per capita. Lemi had 13 recognised bands but due to Lemi only having just 3,076 inhabitants won with ratio of 422.6 bands per 100,000 inhabitants.

Geography

The municipal center of Lemi is Juvola. The other villages are Ahtiala, Hakulila, Heikkilä, Huttula, Hyvärilä, Iitiä, Juuresaho (prev. Remunen), Juvola, Kaamanniemi, Kuukanniemi, Kapiala, Keskisenpää, Korpela, Kurkela, Kärmeniemi, Laakkola, Lavola, Merenlahti, Metsola, Mikkola, Mikonharju, Nisola, Nuppola, Olkkonen, Parkkola, Pöllölä, Ruohiala, Ruomi, Sairala, Sorvarila, Suomalainen, Suoniala, Suontakainen, Sutela, Taipale, Tevaniemi, Torvenniemi, Tuomelanpelto (partly belongs to Iitiä), Uiminniemi, Urola, Vainikkala, Välikangas and Värtölä. The schools are in Juvola and Kuukanniemi. There are about 750 inhabitants in Kuukanniemi and the villages it affects.

History

Independence

Lemi has been founded in 1688 as an independent Evangelic-Lutheran parish. Due to the secularisation of the local governments according to the decree of 1865, the secular local government was separated from the clerical in 1867 as the municipality of Lemi.

War time

Some fighting took place in the cemetery of Lemi during the civil war in 1918. After the

winter war The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...

as the military hardware had to be displaced from the territories to be given to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

on the basis of the Moscow Armistice, naval artillery was brought to Lemi to create part of the Salpa Line. From the Käkisalmi region the Vahtiniemi battery was transferred to Kärmeniemi consisting of two Canet 152/45-C naval guns. Later, on 11 July 1941, they were taken to Antamoinen to be tested on 22 July. Four days later they were transported by train from Lappeenranta again near Käkisalmi to Vahtiniemi to become operational 9 September 1941. After the

Continuation War The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet-Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union from 1941 to 1944, as part of World War II.; sv, fortsättningskriget; german: Fortsetzungskrie ...

the 32nd heavy battery brought only one of the two Canet 152/45-C's it had as the other was to repaired. By the end of November 1944 the 32nd heavy battery was dissolved and the guns were sent to Parola. After the war there has not been naval guns in Lemi, but the remaining positions can be seen both in Kärmeniemi and Juvola.

Attractions

Lemi - Kirkko.JPG, Lemi church Lemi - Kellotapuli.JPG, Bell tower in Lemi's center

Notable individuals

* Elias Muukka, painter * Mirja Hietamies, Olympic champion cross-country skier * Stam1na, thrash metal band

References

External links

Municipality of Lemi
– Official website
goSaimaa.com
– travel information {{authority control Municipalities of South Karelia Populated places established in 1688 1688 establishments in Sweden