Joensuu is a city and municipality in North Karelia, Finland. It was founded in 1848. The population of Joensuu is , and the economic region of Joensuu has a population of 115,000. The nearest major city, Kuopio in North Savonia, is located to the west. As is typical of cities in Eastern Finland, Joensuu is monolingually Finnish. Joensuu is a lively student city with a subsidiary of the University of Eastern Finland, which has over 15,000 enrolled students, and a further 4,000 students at the Karelia University of Applied Sciences. The largest employers are the municipal City of Joensuu, North Karelian Hospital District Federation of Municipalities, Abloy and Punamusta. The European Forest Institute, the University and many other institutes and export enterprises such as Abloy and John Deere give Joensuu an international flavour.
History
The city of Joensuu, founded by the Czar Nicholas I of Russia in 1848, is the regional centre and the capital of North Karelia. During the 19th century Joensuu was a city of manufacture and commerce. When in 1860 the city received dispensation rights to initiate commerce, former restrictions against industry were removed and the local sawmills began to prosper and expand. Water traffic was improved by the building and opening of the Saimaa Canal in 1856. Consequently, a lively commerce between the regions of North Karelia, St. Petersburg and Central Europe was enabled. At the end of the 19th century Joensuu was one of the largest harbour cities in Finland. Throughout the centuries Karelian traders have plied the Pielisjoki River. The river has always been the lively heart of the city. Canals – completed by 1870 – increased the river traffic. Thousands of steamboats, barges and logging boats sailed along the river during the golden age of river traffic. The Pielisjoki River has also been an important log raft route, providing wood for the sawmills and for the entire lumber industry. During the last few decades, the formerly modest agrarian town has developed into a vital centre of the province. Success in regional annexations, the establishment of the province of Karelia and investments in education have been the most decisive actions in this development. The municipality of Pielisensuu was consolidated with Joensuu in 1954. At the beginning of 2005, the municipalities of Kiihtelysvaara and Tuupovaara were consolidated with Joensuu. At the beginning of 2009 the municipalities of Eno and Pyhäselkä were consolidated with Joensuu. After the most recent consolidations, there are approximately 73,000 inhabitants in the Joensuu municipal area. s, which in this image are tinged by the midnight sun and with a in the background. The University of Joensuu has, in twenty-five years, expanded to eight faculties. The university is one of the mainstays for the vitality of the city and so for all North Karelia. Diversified international cooperation in science, industry and commerce benefits the whole region. The proximity of the eastern border has been an important factor in the history of the city. The Republic of Karelia is once again a significant area for cooperation with nearby regions in Russia. Export companies in Joensuu continue the pre-revolutionary traditions in foreign trade. Joensuu offers varied cultural activities. A series of events – Ilosaarirock festival, Joensuu Music Winter, Festival of Visual Culture Viscult, Gospel festivals – and the unspoilt environment increase the attractiveness of the city. Joensuu is sometimes referred to as the Forest Capital of Europe, mainly because the European Forest Institute is based there. Other forestry research and educational facilities are also based in Joensuu.
Education
Joensuu is a city of students. The University of Eastern Finland has one of its three main campuses in Joensuu and the University of Applied Sciences Karelia has two Joensuu campuses.
Joensuu has a railway station and a bus station, which offers intercity connections to Helsinki and local connections to several other places. Numbered bus service is available to all parts of Joensuu. Note, that if you want to catch a bus, you have to wave at the driver - the bus does not stop automatically. Joensuu also has an airport, with flights to Helsinki. Joensuu is located along the Blue Highway, which is an international tourist route from Mo i Rana, Norway to Pudozh, Russia via Sweden.
Joensuu has a subarctic climate due to its high latitude and inland position. Being quite far inland, Joensuu has a more continental climate than most of Finland. As a result, Joensuu can be prone to temperature extremes both in winter and summer. For example, Joensuu is on average warmer than Dublin or Manchester in July, and colder than Moscow in January. Winters are long, cold and snowy. Summers however, bring frequent temperatures above and thunderstorms occur typically on 10–15 days per year. An all-time record of on July 29, 2010, is also the Finnish nationwide heat record. The coldest temperature ever recorded in Joensuu was on December 10, 1955. In winter, the snowcover is reliable and on average 50–70 cm deep. Annually, Joensuu experiences on average 24 days with temperatures or colder while temperature below is observed about once per year. Annual total precipitation averages at 589 mm, with about 225 mm of it falling in the form of snow.
