Ilomantsi

Ilomantsin kunta

coat of arms	map
Basic data
State :	Finland
Landscape :	North Karelia
Administrative community :	Joensuu
Geographical location	62 ° 40 ′  N , 30 ° 55 ′  E Coordinates: 62 ° 40 ′  N , 30 ° 55 ′  E
Surface:	3,172.91 km²
of which land area:	2,763.89 km²
of which inland waterways:	409.02 km²
Residents :	4,973 (Dec. 31, 2018)
Population density :	1.8 inhabitants / km²
Municipality number :	146
Language (s) :	Finnish
Website :	www.ilomantsi.fi

Ilomantsi [ ˈilɔmɑntsi ] ( Swedish Ilomants ) is a municipality in eastern Finland with 4973 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2018). It is in the countryside of North Karelia (until 2009 in the province of Eastern Finland ) on the border with Russia . Ilomantsi is the easternmost municipality in the country.

The nearest major city is Joensuu , 72 km away; the distance to the capital Helsinki is 511 km. The neighboring communities of Ilomantsi are Eno , Lieksa and Joensuu. In the east, Ilomantsi has a border of around 100 km with the Russian Republic of Karelia .

The municipality of Ilomantsi covers an area of ​​3172 km², of which 402 km² is water. The community center takes up only a small part of the area. The rest of the municipality is sparsely populated and largely covered by forest and swamp areas. Around 250 km² of the area are nature reserves; these include the Petkeljärvi and Patvinsuo national parks . The main bodies of water in the Ilomantsi area are the Koitere and Nuorajärvi Lakes and the Koitajoki River .

Of all Finnish parishes, Ilomantsi has the largest proportion of the population of the Orthodox minority with 17.4% . The local Orthodox church is dedicated to the prophet Elias . It is the largest wooden Orthodox church in Finland. In addition, five chapels (tsasouna) are scattered over the municipality of Ilomantsi. The Orthodox community has existed for over 500 years and today has 1,100 members. Until 1617 Ilomantsi belonged to the Russian Empire.

The village's Evangelical Lutheran church is a wooden church from 1796. The parish has existed since 1653. Ilomantsi has been an independent parish since 1875. Ilomantsi is the only place in what is now Finland that was both during the Second World War and the Winter War as well as fighting in the Continuation War. In the Continuation War, the Finnish army was able to win a defensive victory against the Red Army in the Battle of Ilomantsi between July 26 and August 13, 1944 . 3,200 Soviet and 400 Finnish soldiers were killed in the battle. After the war, part of the Ilomantsi municipality had to be ceded to the Soviet Union .

Attractions

• The Parppeinvaaran Runokylä open-air museum

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Maanmittauslaitos (Finnish land surveying office): Suomen pinta-alat kunnittain January 1, 2010 . (PDF; 199 kB)
2. ↑ Statistical Office Finland: Table 11ra - Key figures on population by region, 1990-2018

Web links

Commons : Ilomantsi  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• The song about the church