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, 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

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 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 ...

. 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: 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 . The municipality is unilingually Finnish. The Finnish

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

Stam1na Stam1na (pronounced ) is a Finnish Heavy metal music, metal band native of Lemi, South Karelia. Their music is arguably best described as thrash metal with some progressive metal, death metal, death, Alternative metal, alternative and punk rock ...

is from Lemi. In 2018 Lemi won the title "heavy metal capital of the world," a title that was determined by number of bands per capita. Lemi had 13 recognised bands. Due to Lemi only having just 3,076 inhabitants at the time, it won with a 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

Evangelical Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

parish. Due to the

secularization In sociology, secularization () is a multilayered concept that generally denotes "a transition from a religious to a more worldly level." There are many types of secularization and most do not lead to atheism or irreligion, nor are they automatica ...

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 was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peac ...

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

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 ...

on the basis of the

Moscow Armistice The Moscow Armistice was signed between Finland on one side and the Soviet Union and United Kingdom on the other side on 19 September 1944, ending the Continuation War. The Armistice restored the Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940, with a number of modi ...

, naval artillery was brought to Lemi to create part of the

Salpa Line The Salpa Line (, literally ''Latch line''; ), or its official name, Suomen Salpa (''Finland's Latch''), is a bunker line on the eastern border of Finland. It was built in 1940–1941 during the Interim Peace between the Winter War and the Conti ...

. From the

Käkisalmi Priozersk (; ; ) is a town and the administrative center of Priozersky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located at the northwestern shore of Lake Ladoga, at the estuary of the northern armlet of the Vuoksi River on the Karelian Isthmus. It i ...

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 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 ...

again near

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 during World War II. It began with a Finnish declaration of war on 25 June 1941 and ended on 19 ...

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 Elias Muukka (10 June 1853 – 2 October 1938) was a Finnish painter. He mainly painted landscapes, usually from the rural areas of Karelia and from Turku. Biography He was born at the village of Suontakainen in Lemi, Finland. He attended school ...

, painter *

Mirja Hietamies Mirja Kyllikki Hietamies-Eteläpää (7 January 1931 – 14 March 2013)Mirja Eteläpää
hs.fi (obituary in ...

, Olympic champion cross-country skier *

, 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