History of Lappeenranta

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For several centuries, the history of the town of Lappeenranta in the border region, which today belongs to Finland, was militarily, economically and socially influenced by the hegemony of the Swedish and Russian upper classes, as well as by its economic situation at the traffic junction of Lake Saimaa . It still plays an important role in the region around it today.

First settlement

View of the Saimaa

The first inhabitants of the Lappeenranta region benefited from the abundance of fish in the Saimaa Lake District and the convergence of various trade routes in the region. Settlement remains from the Iron Age were found about 10 kilometers south of the center of today's city and pollen studies determined that the first permanent settlement probably took place centuries before the beginning of history.

Around the year 1600 Villmanstrand , today's Lappeenranta, formed an important center for the tar trade. The place was at a crossroads of the traffic routes and was the starting point for sea and land transport. The Swedish administration recognized this important function and granted the place city ​​rights in 1649 . The coat of arms, which is still valid today and shows a wild man with a club, dates from this time, as does the name Villmanstrand, which refers to it.

South gate of Lappeenrantas Fortress

As a result, merchants and travelers came to Lappeenranta to try their luck. But the city was also a military base. Immediately after the city rights were granted, the construction of a fortress began. A market square, trading and administration buildings were built near today's passenger port. At that time, a church was also built on the peninsula, of which no more than a monument remains today. Later the construction of a new church on the outside of the fortress was started.

Swedish rule until 1743

In this early period, only a few hundred people lived in the city, which was barely 1.1 square kilometers in size, and almost all of their residential and commercial buildings were made of wood. It is due to this fact that hardly any of the buildings have been preserved today. On August 23, 1741, Swedish and Russian troops fought for the city. With the fall of Swedish rule in Lappeenranta, the border with the Russian Empire shifted considerably into the region.

The decades after 1700 were economically difficult for the region: the war had made trade relations with Vyborg and Karelia difficult. Tar exports had declined sharply and almost came to a standstill around 1740 . Lumber, grain, butter and tallow had previously been exported to Vyborg, and salt in particular had been imported from there.

Russian rule until 1811

In the period 1743–1811, today's Lappeenranta and the cities of Hamina and Savonlinna were under Russian rule. Life in Lappeenranta at that time was under the strong influence of the Russian military. The city had close economic ties to today's Vyborg and also picked up the latest trends from nearby St. Petersburg, which is no longer separated from the city by a political border .

Imperial visit to Lappeenranta

This connection to Vyborg was evident in almost all areas of everyday life, as Paloposki writes: "During the reign of Catherine II from 1786 , the church, school and social welfare were administered by the" College of General Welfare (...) in Wiborg. "

The military fortress in Lappeenranta, which was originally built under the Swedes, was expanded by the Russian troops at that time. Thus, some of the trade with security was closely related to the needs of the military of the time.

Autonomy, Economic Development and Time of War

The old Simola train station around 1900

After the loss of rule by Russia in 1812 , Lappeenranta again became a border town on the other side, which also had far-reaching economic consequences for the development of completely new trade ties. Lappeenranta was a small town in terms of population and area in the early 1800s. The settlement had spread only slightly over the area of ​​the fortress.

For this period, Castren and Engman discuss the phenomenon of bogus citizens for the city of Lappeenranta. At that time, people could avoid Russian military service if they were registered as citizens here.

The political contradictions surrounding the Russian Revolution became particularly acute among the people in the city in the civil war between the Red and White Guards . The fortress of Lappeenranta gained notoriety for its detention camp and the arbitrary executions carried out there during the time of the Finnish civil war.

The Saimaa Canal

Lappeenranta was not really industrial until the middle of the 19th century , there were only a few industrial plants, a vegetable oil refinery and distillery in the region. In the last decades of the 19th century, however, the first changes in society made themselves felt in the city through industrial occupations in sawmills, mills and a food factory. There were also changes in the infrastructure, such as the construction of the railway line and making the Saimaa Canal navigable . During the Winter War and the Continuation War , various Soviet air strikes took place on the city, killing 37 civilians, 4.9% of the homes were destroyed and 8.4% badly damaged.

Current view of the city

The steadily increasing trade after the Second World War made it possible for the industrial city, which was growing again, to become a tourism and university city. She benefited from her position within the rural region. Although the forest industry is still an important economic factor today, jobs are increasingly being found in the service sector and tourism. In 1989 , 2009 and 2010 , the urban area of ​​Lappeenranta expanded again, most recently by the municipalities of Joutseno and Ylämaa .

literature

  • Castren, Liisa (1957): Lappeenrantan kaupungin historia 1812–1918. Lappeenranta.
  • Eija-Hilkka, Anttila (1991): Wanha hywä Lappeenranta. Etelä-Karjalan museo. Etelä-Saimaan Kustannus. ISBN 952-9568-21-5 .
  • Ranta, Raimo (1978): Lappeenrannan kaupungin historia 1743-1811. Lappeenranta. ISBN 951-9428-03-8 .
  • Vuorinen, Aimo, et al. (1991) (ed.): Lappeenrannan vanha linnoitus itää ja länttä vastaan ​​Lappeenrannan kilta. Lappeenranta. ISBN 952-90-3173-4 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ cf. also Lehtimäki, Pekka (1999): Excursion into the Finnish-Ugric languages ​​and their past. In: Lehtimäki, Pekka (ed.): Languages ​​in Finland and Estonia. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. Pp. 23–30, ISBN 3-447-04153-6 , here: p. 30
  2. ↑ on the beginnings of Lappeenranta cf. also Vuorinen, Aimo et al. (1991) (ed.): Lappeenrannan vanha linnoitus itää ja länttä vastaan ​​Lappeenrannan kilta. ISBN 952-90-3173-4 .
  3. ↑ cf. City of Lappeenranta: [1]
  4. ↑ cf. City of Lappeenranta: [2]
  5. ↑ at this time cf. also Ranta, Raimo (1978): Lappeenrannan kaupungin historia 1743-1811. Lappeenranta. ISBN 951-9428-03-8 .
  6. ↑ Paloposki, Toivo Johannes (1988): source study the history of Finland. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, p. 65. ISBN 9783447027687 .
  7. ↑ For historical maps cf. for example Mökkönen, Teemu (2003): Lappeenranta - Villmanstrand. Kaupunkiarkeologinen inventointi. Vaasa- ja suurvaltaajan kaupunkiarkeologinen inventointiprojekti PDF
  8. ↑ cf. Castren, Liisa (1957): Lappeenrantan kaupungin historia 1812-1918. Lappeenranta, pp. 30-31.
  9. ↑ cf. Engman, Max: Scheinbürger - In: Edgar Hösch and Beyer-Thoma, Herrmann (ed.) Finland Studies 2nd University of Munich, Institute for the History of Eastern Europe and Southeastern Europe. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1993, p. 65ff. ISBN 9783447034081 .
  10. ↑ cf. Eija-Hilkka, Anttila (1991): Wanha hywä Lappeenranta. Etelä-Karjalan museo. Etelä-Saimaan Kustannus, pp. 6f and 70f. ISBN 952-9568-21-5 .
  11. ^ Thiemig, Karl: Finland , p. 120. Munich 1974
  12. ↑ cf. City of Lappeenranta: [3]