Heinola

Heinola used to be a remote village of then larger Hollola until it gained significance in 1776 when Gustav III of Sweden promoted it to be the governmental center of the province in which it was then located. The grid plan of the city center is from that era. Heinola also became a center of commerce for nearby regions.{{cite news|url=http://www.heinola.fi/ENG/General_information/The_history_of_heinola/|title=The history of Heinola|publisher=Heinolan kaupunki|access-date=13 February 2010|archive-date=16 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150416191819/http://heinola.fi/ENG/General_information/The_history_of_heinola/|url-status=dead}}

When Finland became a part of Russia in 1809, the capital of the province was moved eastwards with the state border. To compensate this, Heinola was granted town rights on December 26, 1839 by Czar Nicholas I.{{cite web|url=http://www.narc.fi:8080/VakkaWWW/Selaus.action;jsessionid=1EE6C5199C45DC7DEE91F3D1C5F1D8F1?kuvailuTaso=AM&avain=850.KA|title=Arkistonmuodostaja: Heinolan maistraatti|publisher=The National Archives of Finland|access-date=September 3, 2021|language=fi}}{{cite web|url=https://www.heinola.fi/kaupunki-ja-paatoksenteko/kaupunkiesittely/tietoa-heinolasta/heinolan-historia/|title=Heinolan historia|publisher=Town of Heinola|access-date=September 3, 2021|language=fi}} Before World War II, Heinola was widely known as a spa town, and until 1972 it served as a location for an institute (seminaari) that taught elementary school teachers. These both were established in the 1890s and played an important role in the town life.

Heinolan maalaiskunta was merged into Heinola in 1997.

File:Tähtiniemen silta Heinola, suunnittelutoimisto SuunnitteluKortes, 1993, vinoköysisilta.tif]]

Heinola is largely situated between two lakes, Ruotsalainen and Konnivesi. A waterway connecting the lakes crosses the town and is, along with an esker also crossing the town, a characterising geographical feature of Heinola.

A motorway (Finnish national road 4/E75) connects Heinola to Lahti (distance {{convert|35|km|abbr=on|disp=or}}) and Helsinki (distance {{convert|138|km|abbr=on|disp=or}}); it also acrosses Lake Ruotsalainen on the Tähtiniemi Bridge in the northern part of town. Heinola is also southern head of the Finnish national road 5, which goes over 900 kilometres to the north through the cities Kuopio and Kajaani to Sodankylä.

{{Clear left}}

Heinola has a humid continental climate (Dfb) with four clearly defined seasons. The total amount of precipitation is highest in the summer months, and the driest is spring, especially April.

{{Weather box

| location = Heinola Asemantaus (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1959- present)

| collapsed = yes

| metric first = Yes

| single line = Yes

| Jan record high C = 8.1

| Feb record high C = 9.3

| Mar record high C = 16.0

| Apr record high C = 23.7

| May record high C = 30.8

| Jun record high C = 32.7

| Jul record high C = 34.9

| Aug record high C = 33.8

| Sep record high C = 27.5

| Oct record high C = 19.5

| Nov record high C = 12.9

| Dec record high C = 11.0

| year record high C = 34.9

| Jan high C = -3.3

| Feb high C = -3.0

| Mar high C = 1.8

| Apr high C = 8.6

| May high C = 16.0

| Jun high C = 20.2

| Jul high C = 22.8

| Aug high C = 20.8

| Sep high C = 14.7

| Oct high C = 7.5

| Nov high C = 2.2

| Dec high C = -1.1

| year high C = 8.9

| Jan mean C = -5.9

| Feb mean C = -6.3

| Mar mean C = -1.8

| Apr mean C = 3.8

| May mean C = 10.4

| Jun mean C = 15.0

| Jul mean C = 17.8

| Aug mean C = 15.9

| Sep mean C = 10.7

| Oct mean C = 4.8

| Nov mean C = 0.3

| Dec mean C = -3.2

| year mean C = 5.1

| Jan low C = -8.9

| Feb low C = -9.6

| Mar low C = -6.2

| Apr low C = -0.7

| May low C = 4.7

| Jun low C = 9.8

| Jul low C = 12.8

| Aug low C = 11.5

| Sep low C = 7.0

| Oct low C = 2.2

| Nov low C = -1.7

| Dec low C = -5.6

| year low C =

| Jan record low C = -37.5

| Feb record low C = -36.6

| Mar record low C = -31.4

| Apr record low C = -19.0

| May record low C = -6.2

| Jun record low C = -1.3

| Jul record low C = 3.4

| Aug record low C = 0.5

| Sep record low C = -6.1

| Oct record low C = -14.0

| Nov record low C = -21.2

| Dec record low C = -33.5

| year record low C = -37.5

| precipitation colour = green

| Jan precipitation mm = 46

| Feb precipitation mm = 36

| Mar precipitation mm = 33

| Apr precipitation mm = 30

| May precipitation mm = 43

| Jun precipitation mm = 66

| Jul precipitation mm = 71

| Aug precipitation mm = 67

| Sep precipitation mm = 53

| Oct precipitation mm = 65

| Nov precipitation mm = 56

| Dec precipitation mm = 50

| year precipitation mm = 617

| Jan precipitation days = 11

| Feb precipitation days = 10

| Mar precipitation days = 8

| Apr precipitation days = 7

| May precipitation days = 8

| Jun precipitation days = 10

| Jul precipitation days = 10

| Aug precipitation days = 10

| Sep precipitation days = 9

| Oct precipitation days = 11

| Nov precipitation days = 11

| Dec precipitation days = 12

| year precipitation days = 117

| Jan sun =

| Feb sun =

| Mar sun =

| Apr sun =

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| Jun sun =

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| source 1 =

| source 2 = Record highs and lows 1961- present{{cite web

| url = https://kilotavu.com/fmi-tilastot.php?taulukkomoodi=true

| title = FMI open data

| publisher = FMI

| access-date = 17 March 2023}}

| date = April2016

| source = FMI climatological normals for Finland 1991-2020{{cite web|url=https://helda.helsinki.fi/bitstream/handle/10138/336063/Tilastoja%20Suomen%20ilmatosta%20ja%20merest%c3%a4%201991-2020.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=yf |title=FMI normals 1991-2020|publisher=fmi.fi |access-date=17 March 2023}}

}}

After World War II Heinola has been economically an industrial town, mainly due to its wood processing industry. Industry remained the largest source of employment until the 1970s, when the trade and services sector grew larger, following a national trend.

Volkswagen Beetles were built in Heinola.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2i4WAQAAMAAJ |title=Quarterly Economic Review: Finland |date=1966 |publisher=Economist Intelligence Unit |language=en}}

Heinola has been hit hard by Late-2000s recession. UPM-Kymmene, that used to be the largest employer after the public sector, reported closing down its sawmill and plywood mill in Heinola during 2010.{{cite news|url=http://yle.fi/uutiset/news/2010/01/upm_job_losses_total_830_1362547.html|title=UPM job losses total 830|publisher=YLE|date=12 January 2010|access-date=13 February 2010}}

File:Heinolanlintutarha.jpg

The bird zoo is located just next to the old bus station. The founding idea of the bird zoo is to offer help for birds that have injured themselves in the traffic, power lines and glass surfaces, and to rehabilitate them back to the nature. The birds that remain in the care, and the ones that are not capable of returning to the nature, but are considered to maintain a meaningful life in capture, are available for spectators to see. For school groups and tourists, this can be a good opportunity to identify some of the species that are not so easily spotted in the wild. In the summer, tropical birds that spend the winter inside are also to be seen.{{cite news|url=http://www.heinola.fi/FIN/Palvelut/Matkailu/Lintutarhat/tietoa_lintutarhasta.htm|publisher=Heinolan kaupunki|access-date=21 February 2014|title=Heinolan kaupunki - Tietoa lintutarhasta|archive-date=18 December 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091218061535/http://www.heinola.fi/FIN/Palvelut/Matkailu/Lintutarhat/tietoa_lintutarhasta.htm|url-status=dead}}

In the 1980s, Heinola's traditional parish dishes were tappaiskeitto ("butchery soup") and pancakes.{{cite book | author=Jaakko Kolmonen, Jaakko | title=Kotomaamme ruoka-aitta: Suomen, Karjalan ja Petsamon pitäjäruoat | pages = 108–109| location=Helsinki | publisher=Patakolmonen | year=1988 | isbn= 951-96047-3-1 | language = fi}}

{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Finland}}

Heinola is twinned with:{{cite web|title=Ystävyyskaupungit|url=https://www.heinola.fi/ystavyyskaupungit|website=heinola.fi|publisher=Heinola|language=fi|access-date=2019-12-07|archive-date=2020-04-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200430011522/https://www.heinola.fi/ystavyyskaupungit|url-status=dead}}

• {{flagicon|SWE}} Karlshamn, Sweden
• {{flagicon|GER}} Peine (district), Germany
• {{flagicon|SVK}} Piešťany, Slovakia

• Heinolan Peliitat
• Lusi (Heinola)
• Vierumäki

{{reflist}}

{{commons category-inline|Heinola}}

• [https://www.heinola.fi/ Town of Heinola] – official website {{In lang|fi}}

{{Geographic location

| Centre = Heinola

| N = Hartola

| NE = Pertunmaa (South Savo)

| E = Mäntyharju (South Savo)

| SE = Kouvola (Kymenlaakso)

| S = Iitti

| SW = Lahti

| W = Asikkala

| NW = Sysmä

}}

{{PäijänneTavastia}}

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Category:Cities and towns in Finland

Category:Grand Duchy of Finland

Category:Populated places established in 1776