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Imatra is a city in Finland, located in the southeastern interior of the country. Imatra is located in the region of South Karelia, on Saima and the River Vuoksi. The population of Imatra is approximately , while the sub-region has a population of approximately . It is the most populous municipality in Finland.
Imatra lies on the border with Russia. On the other side of the border, away from the centre of Imatra, lies the Russian town of Svetogorsk. The city of Saint Petersburg is situated to the southeast, the Finnish capital Helsinki is away and Lappeenranta, the nearest Finnish city, is away.
The main employers are the pulp and paper manufacturer Stora Enso, the City of Imatra, the engineering steel manufacturer Ovako Bar Oy Ab and the Finnish Border Guard. , the total number of employees was 12,423. , 1,868 people were employed by the City of Imatra. The city's nicknames include Imis, Ibiza and Nahkalippis City (leather baseball cap city). Due to its location close to the border, Russian tourists are a common sight in the city, and Russian tourism is a boon to the local economy. Most people shop in Imatra, and Imatra's tax-free sales are the third largest among Finnish cities (only Helsinki and Lappeenranta are ahead).Tiilikainen, Tenho: Tax free -kauppa käy kiivaana . Etelä-Saimaa, 9 December 2006. (in Finnish)
The name of Imatra is thought to derive from a pre-Finno-Ugric language. The lightning symbols on Imatra's coat of arms refer to the power plants that were built in the early 1920s at the Tainionkoski and Imatrankoski rapids. The coat of arms was designed by and approved by the Imatra Town Council on 9 August 1950. The Ministry of the Interior approved the coat of arms for use on 25 October of the same year. (1982). 9789517730853, Suomen Kunnallisliitto. ISBN 9789517730853
During the Continuation War, Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim met with Adolf Hitler in secrecy near the town for the former's 75th birthday.
Imatra was founded in 1948 on the territory of three municipalities – Jääski, Ruokolahti and Joutseno. Finland ceded 9% of its territory to the Soviet Union after the Winter War. Jääski lost 85% of its territory and it was decided that a new municipality, Imatra, should be established on the remaining 15% of Jääski and some areas of Ruokolahti and Joutseno. This is why the Imatra coat of arms has three flashes – in honour of those previous municipalities that granted areas to it. It gained its municipal charter in 1971.
Ice hockey club Imatran Ketterä plays in second-tier Mestis. Imatra is the birthplace of National Hockey League players Jussi Markkanen and Petteri Nokelainen.
In motorsport history, Imatra is best known for its road racing (former TT-race) from 1963 to 1986. From 1962 to 1982 it was the home of the Finnish motorcycle Grand Prix. Racing on the Imatra road circuit ended after fatal accident during the 1986 European Championship event. Racing resumed in 2016 as an International Road Racing Championship event.
There is an annual indoor rowing race at Imatra, which attracts competitors from across Finland.
The Kouvola–Joensuu railway passes through Imatra, and the Imatra railway station serves both passenger and freight transport. From the rail yard of this station is a fork onto the railway towards Kamennogorsk via Vyborg. The planning of the initiation of regular international passenger traffic between Imatra and Saint Petersburg has stopped due to Russia's war against Ukraine.
The closest airport to Imatra is the Lappeenranta Airport, which is used by Ryanair on several routes as well as irregular passenger flights to the Canary Islands and cargo flights to Russia. The Immola Airfield is also present, serving the Finnish Border Guard as well as hobbyist aviation activities.
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