Joensuu, North Karelia Region, Finland

History | Geography | Economy | Transport | Sport | Education

🇫🇮 Joensuu is a city and municipality in North Karelia, Finland, located on the northern shore of Lake Pyhäselkä at the mouth of the Pielinen River. It was founded in 1848. It is the 12th largest city in Finland. The nearest major city, Kuopio in North Savonia, is located 136 km to the west. From Joensuu, the distance to Lappeenranta, the capital of South Karelia, is 233 km along Highway 6.

As is typical of cities in Eastern Finland, Joensuu is monolingually Finnish. Along with Kuopio, Joensuu is one of major urban, economic, and cultural hubs of Eastern Finland. Joensuu is a student city with a subsidiary of the University of Eastern Finland, which has over 20,000 enrolled students, and a further 4,000 students at the Karelia University of Applied Sciences.

History The city of Joensuu, founded by the Czar Nicholas I of Russia in 1848, is the regional centre and the capital of North Karelia. During the 19th century Joensuu was a city of manufacture and commerce. When in 1860 the city received dispensation rights to initiate commerce, former restrictions against industry were removed and the local sawmills began to prosper and expand. Water traffic was improved by the building and opening of the Saimaa Canal in 1856. Consequently, a lively commerce between the regions of North Karelia, St. Petersburg and Central Europe was enabled. At the end of the 19th century Joensuu was one of the largest harbour cities in Finland.

Throughout the centuries Karelian traders have plied the Pielisjoki River. The river has always been the lively heart of the city. Canals – completed by 1870 – increased the river traffic. Thousands of steamboats, barges and logging boats sailed along the river during the golden age of river traffic. The Pielisjoki River has also been an important log raft route, providing wood for the sawmills and for the entire lumber industry.

During the last few decades, the formerly modest agrarian town has developed into a vital centre of the province. Success in regional annexations, the establishment of the region of North Karelia, and investments in education have been the most decisive actions in this development.

The municipality of Pielisensuu was consolidated with Joensuu in 1954. At the beginning of 2005, the municipalities of Kiihtelysvaara and Tuupovaara were consolidated with Joensuu. At the beginning of 2009 the municipalities of Eno and Pyhäselkä were consolidated with Joensuu. After the most recent consolidations, there are approximately 73,000 inhabitants in the Joensuu municipal area.

The University of Joensuu (now part of the University of Eastern Finland since January 2010.) has, in twenty-five years, expanded to eight faculties. The university is one of the mainstays for the vitality of the city and so for all North Karelia. Diversified international cooperation in science, industry and commerce benefits the whole region.

The proximity of the eastern border has been an important factor in the history of the city. The Republic of Karelia is once again a significant area for cooperation with nearby regions in Russia. Export companies in Joensuu continue the pre-revolutionary traditions in foreign trade.

Joensuu offers varied cultural activities. A series of events – Ilosaarirock festival, Joensuu Music Winter, Festival of Visual Culture Viscult, Gospel festivals – and the unspoilt environment increase the attractiveness of the city.

Joensuu is sometimes referred to as the Forest Capital of Europe, mainly because the European Forest Institute is based there. Other forestry research and educational facilities are also based in Joensuu.

Geography The neighboring municipalities of Joensuu are Liperi, Kontiolahti, Lieksa, Ilomantsi, Tohmajärvi and Rääkkylä. In addition, the city is part of the Joensuu sub-region, which currently also includes the municipalities of Heinävesi, Ilomantsi, Juuka, Kontiolahti, Liperi and Polvijärvi, as well as the town of Outokumpu.

Economy Joensuu is a growing provincial centre with a service-oriented business life. The concentration of information and communication technology companies has taken place in the premises offered by the Joensuu Science Park. Major industrial companies include lock manufacturer Abloy Oy and forest machine manufacturer John Deere. Research and product development in Joensuu is held at the university, science park, METLA and a few companies in areas such as color research and diffractive optics. The companies that paid the most corporate tax in 2015 were Broman Group Oy, which sells car spare parts and accessories, the key company Assa Abloy Oy, the North Karelia Cooperative, E. Hartikainen Oy, which operates in the construction and car business areas, and Autokiinteistöt Laakkonen Oy.

The unemployment rate in Joensuu on December 31, 2018 was 14.7%. Largest employers in 2006: City of Joensuu (4,409 employees), North Karelia Hospital District Consortium (2,220), University of Joensuu (1,244), Abloy Oy (800), North Karelia Education Consortium (537), Pohjois-Karjalan Osuuskauppa or PKO (512), VR companies (430), Pohjois-Karjalan Kirjapaino Oyj or PunaMusta Media (317) and Schauman Wood Oy (292). In the 2010s, the Palkeet Agency and the Finnish Defense Forces Service Center were established in Joensuu.

There are four shopping centres in Joensuu: Iso Myy, Metropol, Plaza Centrum and one department store belonging to the Sokos chain.

Transport Joensuu has a railway station and a bus station, which offers intercity connections to Helsinki and local connections to several other places. Numbered bus service is available to all parts of Joensuu (Route maps, Timetables). Joensuu also has an airport (located in nearby Liperi), with flights to Helsinki.

Joensuu is located along the Blue Highway, which is an international tourist route from Mo i Rana, Norway to Pudozh, Russia via Sweden.

Sport The city is known for its basketball club Kataja, which plays in the Finnish first-tier league Korisliiga. Other championship level clubs of Joensuu include Josba (floorball), Mutalan Riento (volleyball), the world leading orienteering club Kalevan Rasti (orienteering) and Joensuun Prihat (women's volleyball). The ice hockey team Jokipojat plays in the Finnish second-tier league Mestis, and their home arena is the Mehtimäki Ice Hall. The local football club Jippo plays in the Finnish second Division. Finnish baseball enjoys popularity as well and the local team, Joensuun Maila, plays in the top division Superpesis.

Education Joensuu is a city of students. The University of Eastern Finland (UEF) has one of its two main campuses in Joensuu and the University of Applied Sciences Karelia has two Joensuu campuses. There are also five high schools in Joensuu: Lyceum High School, Upper Secondary Normal School, Joensuu Coeducational High School, Finnish-Russian Upper Secondary School of the Eastern Finland, and Pyhäselkä High School.

There is also the Joensuu Sports Academy, which is a co-operation network of educational institutions that offers athletes training and coaching.

Joensuu, North Karelia Region, Finland 
<b>Joensuu, North Karelia Region, Finland</b>
Image: Adobe Stock Lev Karavanov #322072243

Joensuu has a population of over 76,833 people. Joensuu also forms the centre of the wider North Karelia region which has a population of over 161,211 people. Joensuu is ranked #716 for startups with a score of 0.203.

To set up a UBI Lab for Joensuu see: https://www.ubilabnetwork.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/UBILabNetwork

Twin Towns, Sister Cities Joensuu has links with:

🇩🇪 Hof, Germany 🇮🇸 Ísafjarðarbær, Iceland 🇮🇸 Ísafjörður, Iceland 🇸🇪 Linköping, Sweden 🇷🇺 Petrozavodsk, Russia 🇷🇺 Sortavala, Russia 🇳🇴 Tønsberg, Norway 🇱🇹 Vilnius, Lithuania
Text Atribution: Wikipedia Text under CC-BY-SA license | StartupBlink

Antipodal to Joensuu is: -150.219,-62.603

Locations Near: Joensuu 29.7815,62.6034

🇫🇮 Kuopio 27.693,62.893 d: 111.1  

🇷🇺 Vyborg 28.776,60.705 d: 217.6  

🇫🇮 Lappeenranta 28.183,61.067 d: 190.3  

🇷🇺 Sestroretsk 29.967,60.1 d: 278.5  

🇫🇮 Kajaani 27.733,64.223 d: 206.9  

🇷🇺 Kronstadt 29.787,59.988 d: 290.8  

🇷🇺 Murino 30.45,60.033 d: 288  

🇫🇮 Mikkeli 27.277,61.693 d: 164.8  

🇷🇺 Vasileostrovsky 30.242,59.944 d: 296.7  

🇷🇺 Vsevolozhsk 30.667,60.033 d: 289.7  

Antipodal to: Joensuu -150.219,-62.603

🇵🇫 Papeete -149.566,-17.537 d: 15003.7  

🇹🇴 Nuku'alofa -175.216,-21.136 d: 15029.6  

🇦🇸 Pago Pago -170.701,-14.279 d: 14405.1  

🇼🇸 Apia -171.76,-13.833 d: 14332.2  

🇨🇱 Punta Arenas -70.91,-53.162 d: 15524.9  

🇨🇱 Coyhaique -72.067,-45.567 d: 14948.7  

🇨🇱 Port Montt -72.933,-41.467 d: 14632.2  

🇨🇱 Puerto Montt -72.933,-41.467 d: 14632.2  

🇨🇱 Valdivia -73.233,-39.8 d: 14498.2  

🇨🇱 Temuco -72.667,-38.733 d: 14373.5  

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