Lappeenranta is a city and municipality situated on the shore of the lake Saimaa in southeastern Finland, about 30 kilometres from the Russian border. It belongs to the region of South Karelia. With approximately 73,000 inhabitants Lappeenranta is the 13th largest city in Finland.

Location on the southern shore of Lake Saimaa makes the city the region’s centre for tourism. Lappeenranta is the second most visited city by Russian tourists in Finland after Helsinki and it competes with Helsinki for the largest share of tax-free sales in Finland. Lappeenranta is a model for renewable energies and a clean living environment. Lappeenranta was the only Finnish city among the 14 finalists in the international Earth Hour City Challenge 2014, organized by WWF.

Tourism

Lappeenranta is known as a summer city, mostly due to its closeness to the Lake Saimaa. Europe’s 4th largest lake. The eponymous GoSaimaa provides all the touristic activities in the area. In addition, its inland location means that summers tend to be warmer and winters colder than along the coastal areas.

Lappeenranta does have a healthy winter tourism industry. Various cabins around Lake Saimaa, as well as numerous snowmobiles, Nordic skating, floating in the river, reindeer rides, paragliding, skiing and sledding tracks draw a fair number of winter visitors.

The proximity of the Russian border is increasingly evident in the number of Russian tourists visiting the city. In fact, Lappeenranta is closer to Saint Petersburg than it is to Helsinki, the capital of Finland. The presence of Russian tourists is noticeable by the many Russian registered cars on the streets and the use of Cyrillic letters in signs of some shops.

Places and events

• The old fortress, with a number of museums, cafés and the oldest Russian Orthodox church in Finland.
• St. Mary’s Church of Lappee, an 18th-century wooden church in the center of the city.
• The harbour area, with cruises to Vyborg and the nearby Saimaa Canal.
• The central market place, where you can enjoy the local specialities, such as meat pies known as “Atomi” (atom) or “Vety” (hydrogen).
• The Night of The Fortess, a two-day cultural festival held in early August.
• The Lappeenranta Ballet Gala in late August.
• The annual Lappeenranta National Singing Contest.
• The biggest sand castle in Finland is built next to Port of Lappeenranta every summer.
• There are three private cinema theatres in Lappeenranta: Kino-Aula, Nuijamies and Finnkino.
• Major league home games in ice-hockey (SaiPa), basketball (Namika Lappeenranta) and other sports.
• The IIHF World Championship Under 18, in 2014
• Unlimited Racing Event, on 27 and 29 June 2014

Economy

The city’s main employers are the:

• City of Lappeenranta
• UPM-Kymmene
• South Karelia Social and Health Care District
• Lappeenranta University of Technology
• Paroc
• Nordkalk
• VR Group
• Fazer
• The Armed Forces
• Outotec

Education

Lappeenranta has numerous schools at almost all levels of education, including the Lappeenranta University of Technology, Saimaa University of Applied Sciences, located in a shared Skinnarila campus of around 8000 students, the Army Academy (branch of the Finnish Defence Forces), South Karelia Vocational College and South Karelia Adult Education Centre.

History

Pollen analysis has shown that the modern-day municipality of Lappeenranta has been continuously inhabited for at least 2,000 years. Lappeenranta’s original core settlement, Lapvesi, later Lappee, was originally formed around a headland jutting into Lake Saimaa, the site of the present fortress. The public market was established here, which became so important as a trading place that general Governor Count Per Brahe the Younger proposed that the Swedish government should grant town privileges to Lapvesi. The town was chartered in 1649 by Queen Christina of Sweden. At the time, Lapvesi was an important port for tar.

Lappeenranta incorporated the neighbouring municipalities of Lappee and Lauritsala on 1 January 1967, Nuijamaa on 1 January 1989, Joutseno on 1 January 2009, and Ylämaa on 1 January 2010.