Kitee (Swedish: Kides) is a Finnish city located in the province
of North Karelia. The municipality has a population of 10,444 and an
area of 1,724.38 km2, of which 470.71 km2 are water bodies. The
population density is 8.02 inhabitants / km2.
Kitee was
founded in 1631 and became a city in 1992. In recent wars, 122
square kilometers of the municipality's area were ceded to the
Soviet Union, as a result of which about 1,000 inhabitants were
evacuated.
The word Kitee is based on the Eastern adjective
crystal, for example crystal frost or crystalline or slow. The
background is thought to be the slow flow of the Kiteenjoki. The
name of the crystal is also associated with the word crystal or
kiides, meaning the fox's nest or cave, the former of which appears
in Lönnrot's dictionary.
Kitee's neighboring municipalities are Parikkala,
Rääkkylä, Savonlinna and Tohmajärvi. The former neighboring
municipalities are Kerimäki and Savonranta connected to Savonlinna
and Uukuniemi connected to Parikkala.
Downtown
The center
of Kitee is home to about 6,000 people and is the third largest
agglomeration in North Karelia in terms of population. In the center
are the town hall, the health center and the state office building,
where the Kitee police, the Employment and Economic Development
Office and the tax office operate. The sports hall swimming pool
Vespeli, the ice rink and the jumping tower are in the Huts sports
center on the outskirts of the city center. The center also houses
the Huts School (grades 1-6) and the Arppen School (grades 1-9) and
Kitee High School, the latter two of which together with the
kindergarten Kiepi and the City Library form the Schoolmäki School
Center. There are grocery stores S-Market and K-supermarket, which
is also the Kupiainen shopping center. There is Tokmanni on the edge
of the city center. Opposite the supermarket is the city's second
shopping center, the Kitee Shopping Oasis, which houses the Stemma
Furniture Store. There are petrol stations in the city center at ABC
and Teboil. Restaurants include Hotelli-Ravintola Kiteenhovi and
Ravintola Karhu. In the center of Kitee there is also a car shop
Autokonetalo Washcko. Several smaller shops can be found along the
main road, including a watchmaker's shop, barbecue, spare parts
shop, Veiko's machine, etc. The downtown area also has clear
apartment building and terraced areas in addition to detached house
areas.
Villages
Haapasalo, Haarajärvi, Hammaskallio,
Heinoniemi, Huikkola, Jaakkima, Juurikka, Kantosyrjä, Kesälahti,
Kiteenkylä, Kiteenlahti, Kontiola, Kunonniemi, Lahdenkylä,
Leinovaara, Loukunvaara, Misola, Muljula, Niinikumpu, Nivunki,
Puhossalo, Main road, Riihijärvi, Rokkaa, Ruppovaara, Satulavaara,
Suoparsaari, Suorlahti, Särkijärvi, Säynejärvi, Taipale, Tasapää,
Tolosenmäki, Varmoniemi, Välivaara
Lakes
Orivesi, Karelian
Pyhäjärvi, Kiteenjärvi, Ätäskö, Heinäjärvi, Pieniheinäjärvi,
Särkijärvi, Hyypii, Pitkäjärvi, Säynejärvi, Lautakko, Paasselkä
(Paasivesi), Piimäjärvi.
History
Kitee has been inhabited
for a long time. In the late 15th century, a tax was collected from
there to Novgorod. In the peace of Stolbova in 1617 the area was
annexed to Sweden. For a long time, there was a confrontation
between Lutherans and Orthodox in the border region. Kitee Parish
was founded in 1631.