The lake is always near

If you watch the map of the Taipalsaari region the main colour is blue of the many lakes. The lake is always nearby. The extensive lakes are alternated by many islands and land sometimes connected to each other with narrow strips of rocky land. The holiday cottage Hirvimäki is situated 100 m from the waterfront. In the direct surrounding there is the quietness of the forest and nature. The village Saimaanharju is on 6 km distance and has a supermarket and a cash point. About 17 km to the east there is the town Lappeenranta with a nice marina and many shopping facilities.

Flora and fauna

The forest is the habitat of many plants and animals. You can collect mushrooms and berries. The elk is a common guest in the garden, and the brown bear and wolf are present too but will not be easy to spot. In summertime you must watch out for the viper on sunny rocky places. Very unique are the freshwater seals of the Lake Saimaa: the Saimaa Ringed Seal ( Phoca Hispana ). The species live only in the lake Saimaa there are not more than 270 of these animals left and very protected. This seal is often used as a symbol of the Saimaa region. The water of the lakes are full of fish, pike, perch and roach are the most common species. Well known are the stories about the mosquito plague in Finland. A fact is that it isn’t as bad as the story tells. The country has a rich variety of insects, many of them biting. It is wise to be aware of it and be prepared especially if you go into the forests.

On the left you see a picture of the winter landscape of the lake near the cottage with traces of snow mobiles

The Great Saimaa lake is only a few hundred metres away but to reach the Great Saimaa from this  place by boat it is a rather long distance sailing. There is a natural dam between this lake and the Great Saimaa lake. This landscape is the result of the Ice Age  that formed the hills and lakes.

Taipalsaari

The residents of Taipalsaari are proud of their town hall and it’s design. The town hall was built in 1989 and designed by Ritta and Kari Ojala who made it look like the old tar vessels  that used to be so important for Taipalsaari. On the right picture a view from the town hall.

On the map below you can find the location of the holiday cottage.

Lappeenranta

Lappeenranta is the nearest town with 59 000 inhabitants and is situated on the south side of the Saimaa Lake. The literal meaning of Lappeenranta is “beach of  savage man“ and the coat of arms of the town shows a savage looking man with a club in his hand.

During the winter months Linnoitus is a quiet place, Linnoitus is a fortified hill close to the centre of Lappeenranta. But along with the sun Spring returns joy and happiness to Finland. In springtime and summer  Linnoitus is more crowded with people talking eating and visiting museums again. From the hill you can see the marina with vessels sailing in and out of the marina. From the 15^th of June Lappeenranta has yet another attraction, the sandcastle, it is build every year. This years theme is: fairytales. Visiting the sandcastle is free and surprising every year again. Some other  attractions in Linnoitus are the cavalry museum and the South Karelian Museum. The oldest orthodox church (built in 1785) in Finland is a nice place to visit too, it is a small church but loaded with precious religious art. Keep in mind though that you should wear proper clothing otherwise you won’t be able to go inside the building. The picture beneath is taken in the café next to the church called Majurska Kahvia.Beside the city centre is a huge paper factory called Kaukas. Day and night trains and lorries transport tree trunks to the factory to produce paper, one of the export products of Finland. On the outskirts of the town a lot of big shops have been built the last years. More and bigger than could be expected in a town of this size. If you walk there the language you hear is often Russian. The border crossing is nearby and the Russians have discovered that a lot of goods are available in Lappeenranta  that are not for sale in Russia. The big number of Russian customers brings economic prosperity to Lappeenranta. Many supermarkets are real mega stores for example the Prisma supermarket, near the airport is worth visiting to buy some oatmeal, Finns eat oatmeal porridge every morning.

The city centre has lost its importance as shopping centre, but an effort is made to make the centre more attractive again. There is a lot of building for new shops and parking facilities, and next year it will be finished and the result will bring more visitors to the heart of the town. The most attractive part of Lappeenranta is found in the harbour area ( satama ) and the Fortress of Lappeenranta ( Linnoitus ). The Fort is an old garrison and a collection of interesting buildings on a hill along the marina. Interesting details can be found on the site of Lappeenranta ( see links page ).

North of the town is the territory of the Saimaa lake in connection with Puruvesi Lake and Haukivesi Lake. In the centre of these lakes as a crossing of waterways you find the most beautiful town of  Karelia: Savonlinna. The road from Lappeenranta to Savonlinna leads over Punkaharju, a spectacular road over a neck of land with lakes and islands on both sides with beautiful views on the Finnish landscape. The road brings you to Savonlinna a town of strategic importance. A huge castle was built here and nowadays it still dominates the skyline of Savonlinna. From all sides the towers of the castle can be seen. The castle is called Olavinlinna and can be visited. In a guided tour you learn a lot about the history of the castle and of  the history of Finland as the frontline between the Swedish in the West and the Russians in the east. In summer the castle Olavinlinna is the scenery of the Savonlinna Opera Festival witch is one of the important opera events in the world.

The area between Savonlinna and Lappeenranta invites the lover of nature for hiking, biking or canoeing and our holiday cottage can be a perfect starting point.

The Saimaa Canal

Since the 16th and 17th century  plans existed to connect the Saimaa lake with open sea. The possibility to transport wood and other goods by ship to the sea would be a very important economic impulse for the region. The extensive system of lakes formed a connection of waterways inland but there was not a route to the sea. In 1812 started a political debate about building a canal to connect the lake Saimaa with the sea. Finally the building  started in 1845 and was completed in 1856. The project was considered as the most important hydraulic engineering  project of that time and the costs were bigger than the total year budget of the duchy. The canal was a success and the intensive traffic stimulated the economic prosperity of east Finland. The building costs were recovered in less than 25 years. The canal appeared too small and the decision was made to enlarge the waterway to make the use of larger ships possible. A reconstruction started in 1929 but was not completed due to the outbreak of the winter war of 1939. Five of the eight locks were completed.

Originally the canal was built on Finnish territory but after the Second World War Finland had to give up territory to the Soviet Union and an important part of the canal was on the Soviet side of the new border. The negotiations with the Russians to finish the project were difficult. At last, thanks to skill of the popular president Kekkonen there was an agreement to restart the building project. The plans of 1929 turned out to be out of date. The capacity of the canal should be bigger and a total reconstruction was completed in 1968. Yearly 1,5 million tons of goods are transported over the canal.

From Lappeenranta  to the Gulf of Finland 8 locks are passed trough, 4 on Russian territory. Maintenance of locks and canal is done by the Finnish government.

In the marina of Lappeenranta you find ships for a cruise over the canal and even a visit to Vyborg. For a visit to Russia you need a visa.