Sääminginsalo has been said to be the largest true

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

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, ...

(area ). If it is considered as an island, it is the third largest island in a lake in the world. This inland island is located in

Southern Savonia South Savo (or Southern Savonia; ; ) is a Regions of Finland, region in the south-east of Finland. It borders the regions of North Savo, North Karelia, South Karelia, Kymenlaakso, Päijät-Häme, and Central Finland. The total area of South Savo ...

region,

Eastern Finland Eastern Finland (, ) was a province of Finland from 1997 to 2009. It bordered the provinces of Oulu, Western Finland and Southern Finland. It also bordered Russia to the east. History On September 1, 1997, the Mikkeli Province, the Kuopio Pr ...

and is surrounded by the lake Greater Saimaa (

Haukivesi Haukivesi is a lake in southeastern Finland and a part of the Saimaa lake system. Haukivesi is the central basin of the system, collecting 80% of the water that eventually flows into Lake Ladoga through River Vuoksi. Its area is (List of lakes in ...

Puruvesi Puruvesi is a lake in Eastern Finland. The lake is located in Kerimäki, Kesälahti and Punkaharju municipalities. Part of the Saimaa lake system, it borders on the sub-lake system of Pihlajavesi to the south. As is the case of other lakes of Sa ...

and Pihlajavesi), and an artificial canal, ''Raikuun kanava'', that was built in 1750s. The most famous sight on Sääminginsalo is the

Kerimäki Church The Kerimäki Church (, ) in Kerimäki, Finland, is the largest wooden church in the world. However, it is not the tallest; Săpânța-Peri Monastery church in Romania, at , Ascension Cathedral, Almaty, Ascension Cathedral in Kazakhstan, at me ...

, the largest wooden church in the world. Traditionally, Soisalo in the same lake complex has been considered the largest island of Finland, but technically it is not a true island because the lakes surrounding it are not on the same level.Kejonen, Aimo: Kansanuskomuksia ja geologiaa, p. 229. In: Koivisto, Marjatta (ed.): Jääkaudet. Helsinki: WSOY, 2004. . The same, however, can be said of Sääminginsalo itself as well, as it is detached from mainland by an artificial canal only and does not in this respect differ in any way from peninsulas like

Jutland Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...

or Peloponnesos.

References

Lake islands of Finland Enonkoski {{EasternFinland-geo-stub

See also

References