Kontiolahti facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kontiolahti Kontiolax
Municipality
Kontiolahden kunta Kontiolax kommun
Kontiolahti Church in July 2012
Coat of arms
Location of Kontiolahti in Finland
Country	Finland
Region	North Karelia
Sub-region	Joensuu
Charter	1873
Area  (2018-01-01)
• Total	1,029.82 km2 (397.62 sq mi)
• Land	799.82 km2 (308.81 sq mi)
• Water	230.1 km2 (88.8 sq mi)
Area rank	101st largest in Finland
Population  (2023-12-31)
• Total	15,136
• Rank	74th largest in Finland
• Density	18.92/km2 (49.0/sq mi)
Population by native language
• Finnish	97.6% (official)
• Swedish	0.1%
• Others	2.3%
Population by age
• 0 to 14	21.1%
• 15 to 64	61%
• 65 or older	17.9%
Time zone	UTC+02:00 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Website	www.kontiolahti.fi

Kontiolahti (Swedish: Kontiolax; literally meaning "bear bay") is a municipality in Finland. It is located in the North Karelia region, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) north of Joensuu. The municipality has a population of 15,136 (31 December 2023) 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. The population density is 18.92 inhabitants per square kilometre (49.0/sq mi). Neighbouring municipalities are Joensuu, Juuka, Lieksa, Liperi and Polvijärvi. The municipality is unilingually Finnish.

The coat of arms of the municipality 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.

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

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. 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. 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.

Villages

Transport

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

Culture

Libraries

Municipal library services are provided by the Kontiolahti Library, the Lehmo Library, and Runo-Antti, the bookmobile of Kontiolahti and Eno.

Food

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

Notable people

• Tero Mustonen (born 1976 or 1977), environmental leader, scholar, scientist, and fisherman
• Jukka Nevalainen (born 1978), former drummer of Nightwish
• Markku Pölönen (born 1957), film director, screenwriter, editor and owner of film production company Suomen Filmiteollisuus
• Antti Puhakka (1816–1893), national romantic poet

See also

In Spanish: Kontiolahti para niños