Iisalmi (Swedish: Idensalmi) is a Finnish city located in the province of Northern Savonia. The town was founded in 1891 (township in 1860), when it was separated from the surrounding Iisalmi countryside. As a merchant, Iisalmi was an independent township and belonged to the Iisalmi countryside. The founding of the city was influenced by the self-taught folk Petter Kumpulainen. In his petition to Governor General Fredrik Vilhelm von Berg, he presented the biggest shortcomings of Upper Savo, which were the lack of his own city and the lack of channeling of the waterway. Iisalmi is known in the 2010s as an export industry city, as well as a study city in the region.
Location
Iisalmi's border neighbors are
Kiuruvesi, Lapinlahti, Kuopio, Pielavesi, Sonkajärvi and Vieremä.
Natural environment
There are 111 lakes in the Iisalmi area,
the largest of which are Onkivesi, Haapajärvi, Porovesi and
Nerkoonjärvi.
Iisalmi Natura sites include Iisalmi bird
waters: Upper, Middle, Tismiö, Savonselkä-Haukilahti, Vedenpäänlahti
and Säetunluhta. The lakes are a valuable bird water destination as
they act as a resting place during migration.
Districts and
villages
Ahmo, Huotari, Haapasaari, Hernejärvi, Iisalmi, Jokela,
Jordan, Kangas, Kangaslampi, Kihmula, Kilpisaari, Kirma,
Kirkonsalmi, Kotikylä, Kurenpolvi, Kääriänsaari, Lappetelä,
Lintukylä, Luuniemi, Nunkoh Paloinen, Pappila, Partala, Peltosalmi,
Pihlajaharju, Pitolamminmäki, Porosuo, Reindeer water, Pölönmäki,
Pöllösenlahti, Pörsänmäki, Rohmula, Gulf of Sweden, Runni,
Ruotaanmäki, Ryhälänmäki, Sankariniemi, Savinlahti Refer.
The
largest suburb is Lippuniemi (2,700 inhabitants).
History
The area has been inhabited since the 16th century and the
commercial center of Pohjois-Savo was planned for the region as
early as the 18th century (it was not realized until 1856). Iisalmi
grew slowly. At the time the city rights were granted, there were
about a thousand inhabitants and in 1959 about 6,000.
The
Iisalmi countryside was annexed to the city in the early 1970s. The
population is 21,350 and the area is 872.20 km2, of which 763.02 km2
is land and 109.18 km² is water. The length of the coastline is 495
kilometers.
The arrival of the railway in Iisalmi in 1902 was
one of the decisive conditions for growth. For a long time, Iisalmi
railway station was the northern terminus of several of VR's
high-speed trains, because the electrified line ended there.
Electrification from Iisalmi via Kontiomäki to Oulu was completed in
2006.
One of the most famous events in the history of Iisalmi
is the Battle of Koljonvirta in 1808, which J.L. Runeberg portrays
Lieutenant Stool in his stories. The most dramatic moment in the
city's recent history is the accident known as the Putkola bang, in
which the Putkola department store in the center of Iisalmi was
destroyed after the explosion of a paint, varnish and gas cylinder
warehouse on 14 September 1965.
The Iisalmi Armed Depot of
the Defense Forces (IisAseV, formerly Arevarikko 9 AseV 9) operated
in the Ohenmäki area of the Iisalmi Peltosalmi for decades, and
was closed down at the beginning of 2003 on the basis of a defense
policy report.