Joensuu (; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Karelia. It is located in the eastern interior of the country and in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Joensuu is approximately , while the sub-region has a population of approximately . It is the most populous municipality in Finland, and the ninth most populous urban area in the country.
Joensuu was founded in 1848 by the Russian Emperor Nicholas I during Grand Duchy of Finland period. The city is located on the northern shore of Lake Pyhäselkä, the northern part of Saimaa, at the mouth of the Pielinen. The nearest major city, Kuopio in North Savo, is located to the west. From Joensuu, the distance to Lappeenranta, the capital of South Karelia, is along Highway 6.
As is typical of cities in Eastern Finland, Joensuu is monolingually Finnish language. Along with Kuopio, Joensuu is one of the 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,[ The City of Joensuu – An oasis of modern education – Global Education Park Finland] and a further 4,000 students at the Karelia University of Applied Sciences.
Heraldry
The explanation of the coat of arms of Joensuu reads: "shield twice blocked with upper moat and lower corrugated; fields in red, silver and black." The wave bar of the subject refers to the location of the city along the
Pielinen River and the position of the moat near the eastern border of Finland, while its colors black and red are considered typical colors of
Karelia. The coat of arms was designed by Toivo Vuorela, and it was approved by the Joensuu City Council at its meeting on May 10, 1957. The Ministry of the Interior confirmed the use of the coat of arms on November 19 of the same year.
In addition to the coat of arms, the city of Joensuu also uses a
flag based on it, in which the silver of the coat of arms has been replaced by white.
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 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 , 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 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.[ Steps leading to the establishment of the UEF ]) 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 increases 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.
Climate
Joensuu has a subarctic climate (Köppen:
Dfc) closely bordering on a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification:
Dfb) due to its high latitude and inland position. Being quite far inland, Joensuu has a more continental climate than most of Finland. As a result, Joensuu can be prone to temperature extremes both in winter and summer. For example, Joensuu is on average warmer than Dublin or Manchester in July, and colder than Moscow in January. Winters are long, cold and snowy. Summers however, bring frequent temperatures above and thunderstorms occur typically on 10–15 days per year.
The highest temperature ever recorded on July 29, 2010, is the highest recorded temperature in Finland and the second highest ever recorded temperature in the Nordic countries, only behind Sweden's all time record at . The lowest temperature ever recorded in Joensuu was on December 10, 1955. In winter, the snowcover is reliable and on average 50–70 cm deep. Annually, Joensuu experiences on average 24 days with temperatures or colder while temperature below is observed about once per year. Annual total precipitation averages at 589 mm, with about 225 mm of it falling in the form of snow.
Demographics
Population
The city of Joensuu has inhabitants, making it the most populous municipality in Finland. The Joensuu region has a population of .
Languages
Joensuu is a monolingual
Finnish language municipality. , the majority of the population, persons (), spoke Finnish as their first language. In addition, the number of Swedish speakers was persons () of the population. Foreign languages were spoken by of the population.
As
English language and
Swedish language are compulsory school subjects, functional bilingualism or trilingualism acquired through language studies is not uncommon.
At least 40 different languages are spoken in Joensuu. The most commonly spoken foreign languages are Russian language (3.4%), Ukrainian (0.6%), Arabic (0.4%) and English language (0.4%).
Immigration
Population by country of birth (2024) |
|
| 91.6 |
| 2.0 |
| 1.4 |
| 0.4 |
| 0.3 |
| 0.3 |
| 0.3 |
| 0.2 |
| 0.2 |
| 0.2 |
| 0.2 |
| 2.0 |
|
, there were 6,814 persons with a foreign background living in Joensuu, or 9% of the population. The number of residents who were born abroad was 6,6626, or 8% of the population. The number of persons with foreign citizenship living in Joensuu was 4,911.
Most foreign-born citizens came from the former
Soviet Union,
Russia,
Ukraine,
Sweden and
Bangladesh.
The relative share of immigrants in Joensuu's population is below to the national average. However, the city's new residents are increasingly of foreign origin. This will increase the proportion of foreign residents in the coming years.
Religion
In 2023, the Evangelical Lutheran Church was the largest religious group with 62.8% of the population of Joensuu. Other religious groups accounted for 6.2% of the population. 31.0% of the population had no religious affiliation.
[ Key figures on population by region, 1990-2023 Statistics Finland]
Economy
Joensuu is a growing provincial center with a service-oriented
Business. 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%.
There are four shopping centers in Joensuu: Iso Myy,[ Iso Myy] Metropol,[ Joensuun Metropol (in Finnish)] Plaza Centrum[ Plaza Centrum (in Finnish)] and one department store belonging to the Sokos chain.[ Sokos Joensuu (in Finnish)]
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. Joensuu also has an
Joensuu 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.
Sports
The city is known for its
basketball club Kataja, which plays in the Finnish first-tier league
Korisliiga. Other professional level clubs of Joensuu include
Josba (
floorball),
Karelian Hurmos (
volleyball), the world leading orienteering club
Kalevan Rasti (
orienteering) and
Joen Juju (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 second highest level of Finnish football, Ykkösliiga.
Finnish baseball enjoys popularity as well and the local team,
Joensuun Maila, plays in the top division
Superpesis.
Notable sportspeople from Joensuu include Jukka Keskisalo, the European champion in 2006 at the 3000m steeplechase; Aki Parviainen, the world champion of in 1999; biathlete Kaisa Mäkäräinen, who won three overall World Cup titles in the 2010–11, 2013–14 and 2017–18 seasons; 1983 World Rally Championship winner Hannu Mikkola; 2013 Global RallyCross Championship champion and current World RX driver Toomas Heikkinen; and National Hockey League ice hockey players Urho Vaakanainen and Juuso Riikola.
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
in Joensuu: Lyceum High School,
[ Joensuun lyseon lukio (in Finnish)] Upper Secondary Normal School,
[ Norssin lukio (in Finnish)] Joensuu Coeducational High School,
[ Yhteiskoulun lukio (in Finnish)] Finnish-Russian Upper Secondary School of the Eastern Finland,
[ The school of Eastern Finland, Bilingual and international] and Pyhäselkä High School.
[ Pyhänselän lukio (in Finnish)]
There is also the Joensuu Sports Academy, which is a co-operation network of educational institutions that offers training and coaching.[ Urheiluakatemia (in Finnish)][ Sports academy – UEF Kamu][ Sports activities – Karelia University of Applied Sciences]
Notable people
-
Ismo Alanko (born 1960), musician
-
Toomas Heikkinen (born 1991), racing driver
-
Floor Jansen, Dutch singer and the lead vocalist of Nightwish, lived in Joensuu between 2014 and 2015.
-
Aku Korhonen (1892−1960), actor
-
Matias Laine (born 1990), racing driver
-
Suvi Lindén (born 1962), politician and former Minister of Culture
-
Kaisa Mäkäräinen (born 1983), 3-time world-cup-winning Biathlon
-
Sini Manninen (1944–2012), painter
-
Hannu Mikkola (1942–2021), rally driver
-
Taneli Mustonen (born 1978), film director and screenwriter
-
Janne Mertanen (born 1967), pianist
-
Esa Pakarinen (1911–1989), actor, singer and accordionist
-
Pentti Saarikoski (1937–1983), poet and translator
-
Jouko Turkka (1942–2016), theatrical director and controversialist
-
Mari Turunen (born 1970), actress
-
Urho Vaakanainen (born 1999), ice hockey player
Friendship cities
Joensuu is
Twin town with:
See also
-
Eno, Finland
-
Finnish Lake Road
-
Ilosaarirock
-
Öllölä
-
Pielisjoki Castle
Notes
External links
