Kontiolahti

Kontiolahti (Swedish: Kontiolax; literally meaning "bear bay") is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the North Karelia region, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) north of Joensuu. The municipality has a population of 15,121 (26 October 2023)[2] and covers an area of 1,029.82 square kilometres (397.62 sq mi) of which 230.1 km2 (88.8 sq mi) is water.[1] The population density is 18.91 inhabitants per square kilometre (49.0/sq mi). Neighbouring municipalities are Joensuu, Juuka, Lieksa, Liperi and Polvijärvi. The municipality is unilingually Finnish.

Kontiolahti
Kontiolax
Municipality
Kontiolahden kunta
Kontiolax kommun
Kontiolahti Church in July 2012
Kontiolahti Church in July 2012
Coat of arms of Kontiolahti
Coat of arms
Location of Kontiolahti in Finland
Location of Kontiolahti in Finland
Coordinates: 62°46′N 029°51′E
Country Finland
RegionNorth Karelia
Sub-regionJoensuu
Charter1873
Government
 • Municipal managerJere Penttilä
Area
 (2018-01-01)[1]
 • Total1,029.82 km2 (397.62 sq mi)
 • Land799.72 km2 (308.77 sq mi)
 • Water230.1 km2 (88.8 sq mi)
 • Rank101st largest in Finland
Population
 (2023-10-26)[2]
 • Total15,121
 • Rank73rd largest in Finland
 • Density18.91/km2 (49.0/sq mi)
Population by native language
[3]
 • Finnish97.7% (official)
 • Swedish0.1%
 • Others2.3%
Population by age
[4]
 • 0 to 1421.1%
 • 15 to 6461%
 • 65 or older17.9%
Time zoneUTC+02:00 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Websitewww.kontiolahti.fi

Coat of arms of the municipality of Kontiolahti is a canting arms; the log driving pike pole, which the bear carries in the picture, refers to the importance of forestry in the region's economy. The coat of arms was designed by Aarno Liuksiala and approved by the Kontiolahti Municipal Council at its meeting on December 8, 1952. The coat of arms was approved for use by the Ministry of the Interior on February 27, 1953.[5][6]

Kontiolahti hosted the Biathlon World Championships in 1990, 1999 and 2015.[7]

History

Kontiolahti originally belonged to the parish of Liperi. It became an independent municipality in 1873. The flood nuisance of Lake Höytiäinen and the desire for water abandonment inspired residents to try to build a canal to lower the water level, but the dam broke uncontrollably in 1859, and the landscape changed dramatically.[8] After World War II, the Ruskeala's migrants were stationed in Kontiolahti.

Geography
Lake Valkealampi in Kontiolahti

Kontiolahti has 183 lakes, and water bodies cover 22.3 percent (230 km2) of the municipality's surface area. The largest of them are Lake Höytiäinen, Lake Kangasvesi and Lake Herajärvi.[9] There are 11 Natura sites in all or part of Kontiolahti: Teerisaari-Sisuslahti, Soikkeli Forest, Pöllönvaara-Kruununkangas, Paihola Forest, Kolvananuuro and surrounding areas, Koli National Park, Jouhteninen, Huurunlampi-Sammakkolampi-Huurunrinne and Huuhkajanvaara.[10]

Villages
  • Harivaara
  • Herajärvi
  • Iiksenniitty
  • Jakokoski
  • Kontiolahti (Kirkonkylä)
  • Kontioniemi
  • Kulho
  • Kunnasniemi
  • Kupluskylä
  • Kylmäoja
  • Lehmo
  • Mönni
  • Onttola
  • Paihola
  • Puntarikoski
  • Puso
  • Pyytivaara
  • Rantakylä
  • Romppala
  • Selkie
  • Varparanta
  • Venejoki[11]

Transport

Joensuu Region's Public Transport (Joensuun seudun joukkoliikenne; JOJO) is responsible for local and school traffic in the Kontiolahti area.[12] Kontiolahti also has a railway station,[13] which, however, no longer has passenger traffic. Highway 6 passes through the municipality.[14][11]

Culture

Libraries

Municipal library services are provided by the Kontiolahti Library, the Lehmo Library, and Runo-Antti, the bookmobile of Kontiolahti and Eno.[15][16][17][18]

Food

In the 1980s, Kontiolahti's parish dishes were named "shoemaker's roast" (suutarinpaisti) and stockfish soup.[19]

Notable people

See also

References
  1. "Area of Finnish Municipalities 1.1.2018" (PDF). National Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  2. "Preliminary population statistics 2023, September". StatFin. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  3. "Demographic Structure by area as of 31 December 2022". Statistics Finland's PX-Web databases. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  4. "Population according to age (1-year) and sex by area and the regional division of each statistical reference year, 2003–2020". StatFin. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  5. Suomen kunnallisvaakunat (in Finnish). Suomen Kunnallisliitto. 1982. p. 139. ISBN 951-773-085-3.
  6. "Sisäasiainministeriön vahvistamat kaupunkien, kauppaloiden ja kuntien vaakunat 1949-1995 I:10 Kontiolahti". Kansallisarkiston digitaaliarkisto (in Finnish). Retrieved August 8, 2021.
  7. ""Kontiolahden Urheilijat" [Kontiolahti Sports Club]. Kontiolahti: Kontiolahden Urheilijat r.y. Archived from the original on 12 November 2013. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
  8. "Historian Havinaa" (in Finnish). Kontiolahti. Archived from the original on December 14, 2017. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
  9. Kontiolahden järvet – Järviwiki (in Finnish)
  10. Tutustu Natura 2000 -kohteisiin kunnittain – Ympäristö.fi (in Finnish)
  11. Kylät Pohjois-Karjalassa – Kylät.fi (in Finnish)
  12. JOJO – Official Site (in English)
  13. YLE: Koti rautatien varrella (in Finnish)
  14. Maantien 15716 kevyen liikenteen väylä välillä Urheilukentäntie – Tuppihaantie, Kontiolahti – Väylä (in Finnish)
  15. "Kontiolahden kirjasto – Ota yhteyttä". kirjastot.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved August 8, 2021.
  16. "Kontiolahden kirjasto" (in Finnish). Vaara-kirjastot. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
  17. "Lehmon kirjasto" (in Finnish). Vaara-kirjastot. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
  18. "Kontiolahden ja Enon kirjastoauto". kirjastot.fi (in Finnish). Archived from the original on May 21, 2021. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
  19. Jaakko Kolmonen (1988). Kotomaamme ruoka-aitta: Suomen, Karjalan ja Petsamon pitäjäruoat (in Finnish). Helsinki: Patakolmonen. pp. 122–123. ISBN 951-96047-3-1.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.