Kuopio
Kuopio is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Savo. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Kuopio is approximately, while the sub-region has a population of approximately. It is the most populous municipality in Finland, and the seventh most populous urban area in the country.
Kuopio has a total area of, of which is water and half is forest. Although the city's population is spread over, the city's urban areas are comparatively densely populated, making Kuopio the second most densely populated city in Finland. At the end of 2018, its urban area had a population of approximately 90,000. Together with Joensuu, Kuopio is one of the major urban, economic and cultural centres of Eastern Finland.
Kuopio is nationally known as one of the most important study cities and centres of attraction and growth. The city's history has been marked by several municipality mergers since 1969, as a result of which Kuopio now encompasses much of the countryside; Kuopio's population surpassed 100,000 when the town of Nilsiä joined the city in early 2013. When Maaninka joined Kuopio at the beginning of 2015, Kuopio became the largest milk-producing municipality in Finland and the second largest beef-producing municipality in Finland. In addition, at the end of the 2010s, Kuopio was characterised by numerous large projects, the largest in the country after the Helsinki metropolitan area. Kuopio has also become a major tourist city with the large tourist centre in Tahkovuori. Kuopio Airport, located in the municipality of Siilinjärvi, is Finland's fifth busiest airport with over 235,000 passengers in 2017.
According to the Kuntarating 2017 survey, Kuopio has the most satisfied residents among the 20 largest cities, and according to the 2018 survey, Kuopio is the best city for property investors. In the Kuntien imago 2018 survey, Kuopio ranks second among Finland's large cities after Seinäjoki in South Ostrobothnia. In T-media's study on the attractiveness and influence of the ten largest cities in 2021, 2022 and 2023, Kuopio is the second most attractive city in Finland, with Tampere in first place.
Kuopio was the European Region of Gastronomy in 2020. It is also known as the home of Kalakukko, a traditional Savonian food, which is why Kuopio is also known as the "Promised Land of Kalakukko".
Etymology
There are several theories regarding the origins of the name "Kuopio". One theory proposes that in the 16th century, a local notable named Kauhanen in Tavinsalmi, a village approximately 32 km to the northwest of the city, changed his name to Skopa. It is possible that this was derived from the Swedish word "Skopa"'', as Finland was under Swedish rule at the time and many members of the local Finnish nobility would adopt Swedish or Swedish-sounding names. This may explain why the word was pronounced differently when rendered in colloquial Finnish: first as "Coopia" and later "Cuopio". Another explanation is that Kuopio comes from the Finnish verb "kuopia", meaning "to paw " or "to dig", as when a horse paws the ground with its hoof. The final theory, endorsed by the Research Institute for the Languages of Finland, is that the name "Kuopio" originates from Prokopij'', the name of a Karelian man who lived in the Middle Ages and was said to have migrated from the village of Ruokolahti in Southern Karelia to the shores of Lake Kallavesi near present-day Kuopio, possibly to establish a trading post.Heraldry
The coat of arms of Kuopio was designed in 1823 based on a drawing by either the town councilor Karl Hårdh or his son, Adolf Hårdh, who was an artist. The coat of arms was approved for use in 1823 by the Kuopio Magistrate in accordance with a decree of Alexander I of Russia. The building depicted in the coat of arms is Kuopio Cathedral and is often mistaken for Kuopio City Hall, which was only built in 1886.The current coat of arms was designed by architect Seppo Ruotsalainen and draws inspiration from the original. The current design was approved by the Kuopio City Council at a meeting on November 25, 1957 and was confirmed by the Ministry of the Interior on June 12, 1958.
History
In the 1550s, the Finnish Church, under the influence of Protestant reformer Mikael Agricola, established parish church in Kuopionniemi. Governor Per Brahe the Younger founded the settlement of Kuopio in 1653. However, the official date of the city's founding is November 17, 1775, when King Gustav III of Sweden ordered the formal establishment of the city as the governmental seat of Savo-Karjala Province.Following the conclusion of the Finnish War in 1809, which occurred in the context of the broader Napoleonic Wars, Finland would be annexed by the Russian Empire as an autonomous Grand Duchy. In the 19th century, Eastern Finland would see considerable infrastructural investment and modernization, particularly in the realm of transportation. The development of infrastructure would lead to the further economic integration of previously isolated, inland areas, with economic and commercial hubs on the Baltic Coast. Major public works projects built during this time include the Saimaa Canal in 1856, which opened up a summer route between Lake Saimaa and the Baltic Sea, and the Savo railway in 1889, which passed through Kuopio en route to Mikkeli, Kouvola, Vyborg, and St. Petersburg. Kuopio's original train station was built the same year and would serve as the city's main rail terminus until 1934, when it was demolished replaced by the current Kuopio railway station.
Following World War II, Kuopio's population would grow significantly due in part to the settlement of Karelian evacuees and a high birth rate. Population growth necessitated the expansion of schools. At the end of the 1940s, support was also provided for school transports and the provision of free school meals, expanding a welfare program that had been active since 1902. In the 1960s, the construction of suburbs began with the development of Puijonlaakso. Since then, Kuopio has seen the further construction and growth of suburban areas. These include Tiihotar in the 1960s, Saarijärvi, Kelloniemi, and Levänen in the 1970s, and Jynkkä and Neulamäki in the 1980s.
The city of Kuopio has expanded to encompass several surrounding towns. The municipality of Maaninka joined the city of Kuopio in 2015, the town of Nilsiä in 2013, and Karttula in 2011, Vehmersalmi in 2005, Riistavesi in 1973, and Kuopion maalaiskunta in 1969.
Geography
The city is surrounded by Lake Kallavesi, and several parts of it are built on islands. With an area of Lake Kallavesi is the tenth largest lake in Finland. In the wake of the Yoldia Sea, which followed the Weichselian glaciation and preceded the Baltic Sea, there are ancient beaches up to 140 m above the current sea level, of which the current Lake Kallavesi is 82 m above sea level. Kuopio's ample waterfronts and islands are also used in the Saaristokaupunki -project, the biggest residential area currently being built in Finland. Saaristokaupunki will accommodate a total of 14,000 inhabitants in 2015. All houses will be situated no more than from the nearest lakeshore.Kuopio Market Square is the undisputed center of the city and the city center follows a densely built grid pattern with several parks and narrow gutter streets. The environment of the city is quite distinctive; the surface shapes of the waterfront-lined center are so variable that a flat property is a desired rarity. The settlement has spread outside the center of Kuopio according to a dense and sparse finger model that is affordable for public transport, and the new districts have been built in a municipal drive at once; for example, the Saaristokaupunki was banned for building for the previous 25 years, and this Kuopio zoning tradition has a long history. Due to the above-mentioned factors, the population density of the Kuopio city center is the highest in Finland.
With the surrounding lakes, the shoreline in Kuopio is 4,760 kilometers. The terrain is also characterized by rich forests, and the clear center of the Kuopio's lund forest is mainly located in the area between Kuopio, Nilsiä and Siilinjärvi. Of the Finnish municipalities, Kuopio has the second largest number of summer cottages and holiday homes. In 2013, the number of summer cottages was 8,684. The number of summer homes in Kuopio has increased in recent years due to municipal associations. Due to the abundance of water bodies, Kuopio also has a remarkably favorable climate compared to the latitude. The annual sum of the effective temperature is about as high in Kuopio as in places further south than it, for example, Tampere and Lahti.
Subdivisions
There are more than 50 districts and villages in Kuopio.- Väinölänniemi
- Vahtivuori
- Maljalahti
- Multimäki
- Kuopionlahti
- Hatsala
- Niirala
- Haapaniemi
- Itkonniemi
- Männistö
- Linnanpelto
- Saarijärvi
- Puijonlaakso
- Savilahti
- Peipposenrinne
- Inkilänmäki
- Särkiniemi
- Kettulanlahti
- Rahusenkangas
- Rönö
- Rypysuo
- Päiväranta
- Julkula
- Sorsasalo
- Kelloniemi
- Levänen
- Jynkkä
- Neulamäki
- Puijo
- Niuva
- Neulaniemi
- Kolmisoppi
- Neulalampi
- Petonen
- Litmanen
- Pirtti
- Pitkälahti
- Saaristokaupunki
- Lehtoniemi
- Rautaniemi
- Hiltulanlahti
- Kiviharju
- Vanuvuori
- Melalahti
- Kurkimäki
- Vehmersalmi
- Karttula
- Nilsiä
- Tahko
- Maaninka
- Keskisaari
- Juankoski
- Säyneinen
- Puutossalmi
- Pellesmäki
Climate