Sortavala (; Finnish and ; ), previously known as Serdobol () until 1918, is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in the

Republic of Karelia The Republic of Karelia, or simply Karelia or Karjala (; ) is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia situated in the Northwest Russia, northwest of the country. The republic is a part of the Northwestern Federal District, and covers an area of ...

, Russia, located at the northern tip of

Lake Ladoga Lake Ladoga is a freshwater lake located in the Republic of Karelia and Leningrad Oblast in northwestern Russia, in the vicinity of Saint Petersburg. It is the largest lake located entirely in Europe, the second largest lake in Russia after Lake ...

near the Finnish border, west of

Petrozavodsk Petrozavodsk (, ; Karelian language, Karelian, Veps language, Vepsian and ) is the capital city of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, which stretches along the western shore of Lake Onega for some . The population of the city is 280,890 as of 2022. ...

, the

capital city A capital city, or just capital, is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state (polity), state, province, department (administrative division), department, or other administrative division, subnational division, usually as its ...

of the Republic of Karelia. The closest city on the Finnish side of the border is

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 ...

, which is located from Sortavala. In 2021, the population of Sortavala was 19,215.

History

The district of Sortavala was first recorded in Swedish documents dating to 1468. Russian documents first mention it as Serdovol or Serdobol in 1500. It was ceded to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

after the

Ingrian War The Ingrian War () was a conflict fought between the Swedish Empire and the Tsardom of Russia which lasted between 1610 and 1617. It can be seen as part of Russia's Time of Troubles, and is mainly remembered for the attempt to put a Swedish duk ...

. With the 1721

Treaty of Nystad The Treaty of Nystad, or the Treaty of Uusikaupunki, was the last peace treaty of the Great Northern War of 1700–1721. It was concluded between the Tsardom of Russia and the Swedish Empire on in the then Swedish town of Nystad (, in th ...

, the settlement was joined to Russia along with the rest of Old Finland and was given the Russian name Serdobol. It became known for its marble and granite quarries which provided materials necessary for construction of imperial palaces in St. Petersburg and its

neighborhood A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neigh ...

. In 1812, along with the rest of

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 ...

, it was joined to the newly formed

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 1917, the town remained a part of independent

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 suffered extensively from mass Soviet bombardment during 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 ...

, and through the

Moscow Peace Treaty The Moscow Peace Treaty was signed by Finland and the Soviet Union on 12 March 1940, and the ratifications were exchanged on 21 March. It marked the end of the 105-day Winter War, upon which Finland ceded border areas to the Soviet Union. The ...

Finland was forced to cede the town 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 ...

. All of the population of the town was evacuated for the first time. Like the rest of Finnish Karelia, Sortavala was retaken by Finland during 1941–1944 (the period of 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 ...

) and most evacuees returned to rebuild their homes. However, after the armistice of 1944, the Finns were evacuated again and the town was ceded back empty of population. After the war, the town was resettled by the Russian and Karelian population. Until 1940, the Ladoga shore southwest of Sortavala had been one of the very few relatively densely populated areas north of the

Karelian Isthmus The Karelian Isthmus (; ; ) is the approximately stretch of land situated between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga in northwestern Russia, to the north of the River Neva. Its northwestern boundary is a line from the Bay of Vyborg to the we ...

populated by

Karelians Karelians (; ; ; ) are a Baltic Finnic ethnic group who are indigenous to the historical region of Karelia, which is today split between Finland and Russia. Karelians living in Russian Karelia are considered a distinct ethnic group closely ...

Geography

Features

Paasonvuori Paasonvuori ('','' , also (short)

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, it is, together with two

urban-type settlement Urban-type settlement, abbreviated: ; , abbreviated: ; ; ; ; . is an official designation for lesser urbanized settlements, used in several Central and Eastern Europe, Central and Eastern European countries. The term was primarily used in the So ...

s and forty-seven rural localities, incorporated as the town of republic significance of Sortavala—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the

districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

.Law #871-ZRK As a municipal division, the town of republic significance of Sortavala is incorporated as Sortavalsky Municipal District; the town of Sortavala and ten rural localities are incorporated within it as Sortavalskoye Urban Settlement.Law #825-ZRK The remaining urban-type settlements and rural localities are incorporated within the municipal district into two urban settlements and two rural settlements.Law #813-ZRK

Transportation

Sortavala is a railway station on the Khiytola-Matkaselkä railway.

Layout and development

Architecture

The central part of the city consists mainly of stone 3-4-storey buildings built at the beginning of the XX century (until the 1930s). As a rule, these are buildings in the style of Northern Art Nouveau ( national Romanticism),

neoclassicism Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative arts, decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiq ...

, the most recent — functionalism, their authors are the most famous Finnish architects Uno Werner Ullberg, Gottlieb Eliel Saarinen, Johan Jacob Arenberg, etc. In addition, a large number of wooden buildings built in the middle of the XIX century, usually in the

Empire style The Empire style (, ''style Empire'') is an early-nineteenth-century design movement in architecture, furniture, other decorative arts, and the visual arts, representing the second phase of Neoclassicism. It flourished between 1800 and 1815 duri ...

, have been preserved. The most notable buildings are: * The building of the Bank of Finland (arch. Uno Ulberg, 1915) * The building of the United Bank of the Nordic Countries (architect firm GLS, 1905) * Lyceum building (arch. Johan Jacob Arenberg, 1901) * The gymnasium building (arch. Johan Jakob Arenberg, 1911) * The administration building of the

Orthodox Church of Finland The Orthodox Church in Finland (; ) is an autonomous Eastern Orthodox archdiocese of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. The church has a legal position as a national church in the country, along with the Evangelical Lutheran Church ...

and the Church of St.

John the Apostle John the Apostle (; ; ), also known as Saint John the Beloved and, in Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Saint John the Theologian, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Generally listed as the youngest apostle, he ...

(arch. Juhani Viiste, 1935) * The house of the merchant Siitonen (arch. Ustin). * Wing of the Evangelical Community house File:Дом Леандера.JPG, "Leander's House." Arch. Eliel Saarinen File:Sortvala - Posti.jpg, United Bank of the Nordic Countries (now the Post Office). Arch. Uno Werner Ullberg File:Risti ya Raamattu.jpg, The former building of the publishing house of spiritual literature Risti ja Raamattu. Arch. Vyane Leander File:Sortvala - Pankki.jpg, The former Finnish Bank (now the Bank of Russia). Arch. Uno Werner Ulberg File:Sortavala - Gimnazia2.jpg, Former women's gymnasium. Arch. Johan Jakob Arenberg File:Sortavala - Gimnazia.jpg, Former women's Gymnasium File:Sortavala - ortodoksinen kirkko.jpg, St. Nicholas Church. Arch. Nikolay Grebenka

Industry

Urban development enterprise - Karelian Industrial Complex.

Notable people

* Alexander Semyonovich Belyakov (born 1945), Russian politician *

Aarne Juutilainen Aarne Edward Juutilainen (; 18 October 1904 – 28 October 1976), nicknamed "Marokon kauhu" (), was a Finnish army captain who served in the French Foreign Legion in Morocco between 1930 and 1935. After returning to Finland, he served in th ...

(1904–1976), Finnish army captain, also known as nickname "The Terror of Morocco" * Martti Kosma (1927–1999), former manager of the Finland national football team

Twin towns and sister cities

* Kitee, Finland * Bogen,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

* Serdobsk, Russia

References

Notes

Sources

* * *

External links

* *
Sortavala.fi
(in Finnish) {{Authority control Cities and towns in the Republic of Karelia Grand Duchy of Finland History of Karelia Former municipalities of Finland Populated places in Sortavalsky District