Kontiolahti

Kontiolahden kunta

coat of arms	map
Basic data
State :	Finland
Landscape :	North Karelia
Administrative community :	Joensuu
Geographical location	62 ° 46 ′  N , 29 ° 51 ′  E Coordinates: 62 ° 46 ′  N , 29 ° 51 ′  E
Surface:	1,029.83 km²
of which land area:	799.72 km²
of which inland waterways:	230.11 km²
Residents :	14,849 (Dec. 31, 2018)
Population density :	18.6 inhabitants / km²
Municipality number :	276
Language (s) :	Finnish
Website :	www.kontiolahti.fi

Kontiolahti [ ˈkɔntiɔlɑhti ] ( Swedish historical Kontiolax ) is a municipality in eastern Finland with 14,849 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2018). It is located in the middle of the North Karelia landscape on the shores of Lake Höytiäinen around 20 km north of Joensuu . The parish of Kontiolahti has existed since 1783, the political parish since 1873. The name Kontiolahti literally means “Bear's Bay”.

Districts

The largest settlement centers are the church village of Kontiolahti and Lehmo. The municipal area also includes the villages of Herajärvi, Iiksi, Jakokoski, Kontioniemi, Kulho, Kunnasniemi, Lehmo, Mönni, Onttola, Paihola, Puntarikoski, Pyytivaara, Rantakylä-Romppala, Selkie, Varparanta and Venejoki.

economy

Kontiolahti benefits greatly from its proximity to Joensuu, the largest city in North Karelia. In contrast to most of the municipalities in the structurally weak region, the number of inhabitants has increased constantly since 1978. The unemployment rate was also low until 2006 at 11.5 percent for North Karelian standards. The Finnish armed forces , which maintain a garrison in Kontiolahti, are an important employer .

The largest employer until 2007 was the electronics group Perlos Oyj, which last employed 1240 people at the Kontiolahti location. On January 15, 2007, the group management announced that Perlos will close all production facilities in Finland and that 1,400 employees will be laid off in the course of the year, including all those previously employed at the Kontiolahti plant. As a result, a quarter of all industrial jobs in North Karelia were lost in one fell swoop. Because of the impact on the community and the region, local media call this day "Black Monday" ( musta maanantai ).

Sports

The Kontiolahti biathlon stadium is known internationally as a regular venue for biathlon races . In addition to numerous World and IBU Cups , Kontiolahti has hosted biathlon world championships several times . The 1999 World Championships and previously the competitions in the men's relay at the 1990 World Championships , replacing Minsk and Oslo respectively , were decided in Kontiolahti. The 2015 World Championships were also awarded to the city.

The biathlon junior world championships 2005 and 2012 were also held in Kontiolahti.

Sons and daughters

• Mikko Hyvärinen (1889–1973), apparatus gymnast
• Eero Hyvärinen (1890–1973), apparatus gymnast
• Vilho Väisälä (1889–1969), meteorologist and entrepreneur
• Yrjö Väisälä (1891–1971), physicist and astronomer
• Kalle Väisälä (1893–1968), mathematician and educator
• Hannu Kapanen (* 1951), ice hockey player
• Lauri Dalla Valle (* 1991), football player

Web links

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

• Homepage of Kontiolahti ( Finnish , short versions German , English , Russian )
• Homepage of the Kontiolahti Sports Club, organizer of the biathlon competitions ( English , Finnish )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Maanmittauslaitos (Finnish Land Surveyors): Suomen pinta-alat kunnittain January 1, 2010 . (PDF file; 194 kB)
2. ↑ Statistical Office Finland: Table 11ra - Key figures on population by region, 1990-2018
3. ↑ Helsingin Sanomat: Perlos dismisses 1,200 employees (Finnish)