Kuopio is a Finnish city and municipality located in the region of Northern Savonia (Pohjois-Savo). It has a population of 120,246, which makes it the eighth-most populous city in Finland and the most populous city in Eastern Finland Province.

Kuopio was marked by numerous large projects, which are the largest in the city nationwide immediately after the Helsinki’s metropolitan area. With the large tourist center in Tahkovuori, Kuopio has also grown into a major tourist city. Kuopio Airport, located in the Siilinjärvi municipality that almost surrounded by Kuopio, is Finland’s fifth-busiest airport, with over 235,000 passengers in 2017.

Kuopio is the current European Region of Gastronomy. It is also known as home of Kalakukko, a traditional food of Savonia.

Sights and culture 

Kuopio has made itself known, for example, with the fish rooster , the Savo dialect and Puijo . The people of Kuopio have been associated with the adjective lust , which means benevolence, playfulness and enjoyment of life. Kuopio residents have also been considered false jaws , always looking for alternative linguistic expressions for their message.

Kuopio Market Square is the commercial center of the city. Around it are concentrated among other things, banks , department stores ( Carlson and Sokos ) and shopping centers (Vihtori, Aapeli , Minna , H-house , Sector , IsoCee ). The market itself sells some kind of goods, especially at market times, but the best-known products are probably fish roosters and meat pies . A market hall on the edge of the market, completed in 1902one of the best-known products, especially among the locals, is probably the barley stew of Kotileipomo Hiltunen, which has been baked for two generations. There is also a lively restaurant and entertainment life near the square, in the grid plan area.

During the summer seasons, the Kuopio passenger port area near the city center is also vibrant due to events held in its own market square, restaurants and restaurant ships , as well as tourism. The expansion of the port of Kuopio and several tourism projects in the area are underway. 

The Kuopio Museum and the Kuopio Art Museum are located in the center of Kuopio . The nationally significant Finnish Orthodox Church Museum is located near the center, next to the Great Cemetery. Kuopio Cathedral and JV Snellman Park form an environmentally cohesive whole. Kuopio also has the Cathedral of St. Nicholas , built during the period of autonomy , which served as the main church of the Finnish Orthodox Church from 1940-2017. In addition, on the edge of the city center is the nationally significant and renowned Kuopio Music Center . 

Well-known events in Kuopio include the Finland Ice Marathon skating event, Kuopio Dancing and Soi , Kuopio Rockcock , Puijo hill jumping competitions, Kuopio International Wine Festival , ANTI – Contemporary Art Festival and the Baroque Kuopio Festival.

Dance Theater Minimi was awarded as the 2007 Theater of the Year. 

In connection with the renovation of the Kuopio City Theater , two new auditoriums were completed: a 464-seat and a 212-seat auditorium. An open-air stage was built outside the theater. The renovated theater building opened in August 2014. 

Memorial plaques have been affixed to various parts of the city in Kuopio. They are more than in any other Finnish cities, 67 tiles, in addition to exteriors are other public works of art and monuments still held on the 59th of tiles as the father of Office of the Counselor Heikki Viitala period, from the 1970s, slabs erected up to 50. New tiles will not have much in 2000 no longer ordered.  Spede Pasanen plaque Päivärinteentie 21 near the front of the bus station was unveiled in April 2015. 

People and culture

Kuopio is known as the cultural center of Eastern Finland. One of the Kuopio’s most important cultural venues are the Kuopio Museum, the Kuopio Art Museum and the Kuopio City Theatre in the city center. A wide range of musical (from kindergarten to doctorate-level studies) and dance education is available and the cultural life is active. Notable events include ANTI – Contemporary Art Festival, Kuopio Dance Festival, Kuopio Rockcock, Kuopio Wine Festival, Kuopio Marathon and Finland Ice Marathon in winter. A notable place, however, to enjoy the local flavor of Kuopio life and food is Sampo, a fish restaurant loved by locals and tourists as well.

Kuopio is known for its association with a national delicacy, Finnish fish pastry (Kalakukko), and the dialect of Savo, as well as the hill of Puijo and the Puijo tower. Besides being a very popular outdoor recreation area, Puijo serves also as a stage for a yearly World Cup ski jumping competition.

In inhabitants of Kuopio have a special reputation: they are known as jovial and verbally joking. Within the Savo culture, the onus is placed on the listener to interpret the story. People of the Kuopio region and Eastern Finland have always had many health problems and the mortality has been higher than on an average in Finland. Because of this, Eastern Finland has been a hotspot for Public Health studies. The North Karelia Project by the University of Kuopio in coordination with the National Public Health Institute and the World Health Organization, beginning in the 1970s was one of its first steps towards world class research. Niuvanniemi a historical psychiatric hospital is also located in the western part of the city in the Niuva district.

Education and business

Currently the most important institutions are the University of Eastern Finland, the Savonia University of Applied Sciences, Vocational College of Northern Savonia and the Kuopio department of the Sibelius Academy. One of the oldest schools in the city are Kuopio Lyceum High School, which was officially established in 1872, but was originally built in 1826 and designed by Carl Ludvig Engel.

Kuopio is known as a strong center of health (e.g. it has the biggest yearly enrollment rate of medical students in Finland), pharmacy, environment, food & nutrition (all legalized Clinical and Public Health Nutritionists in Finland graduate from the University of Eastern Finland), safety (education in Emergency Services is centered in Kuopio) and welfare professions, as the major organisations University of Kuopio (now part of the University of Eastern Finland since January 2010.), Savonia University of Applied Sciences and Technopolis Kuopio are particularly oriented to those areas.

There are about 4,200 enterprises in Kuopio, of which approximately 180 are export companies. These provide about 45,000 jobs.