Imatra


Imatra is a town and municipality in eastern Finland. Imatra is dominated by Lake Saimaa, the Vuoksi River and the border with Russia.
On the other side of the border, away from the centre of Imatra, lies the Russian town of Svetogorsk. St Petersburg is situated to the southeast, Finland's capital Helsinki is away and Lappeenranta, the nearest Finnish town, is away. Imatra belongs to the administrative province of Southern Finland and the region of South Karelia.
The main employers are pulp and paper manufacturer Stora Enso Oyj, the Town of Imatra, engineering steel manufacturer Ovako Bar Oy Ab, and the Finnish Border Guard.
, the total number of employees was 12,423., 1,868 employees were employed by the Town of Imatra.
The town manager of Imatra is Kai Roslakka. The town's nicknames include Imis, Ibiza and Nahkalippis City.

History

An Art Nouveau or Jugend style castle, currently known as Imatran Valtionhotelli, was built near the rapids in 1903 as a hotel for tourists from the Russian Imperial capital Saint Petersburg.
During the Continuation War, Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim met with Adolf Hitler in secrecy near the town for the former's 75th birthday.
Imatra was founded in 1948 on the territory of three municipalities – Jääski, Ruokolahti and Joutseno. Finland ceded 11% of its territory to the Soviet Union after the Winter War. Jääski lost 85% of its territory and it was decided that a new municipality, Imatra, should be established on the remaining 15% of Jääski and some areas of Ruokolahti and Joutseno. This is why the Imatra coat of arms has three flashes – in honour of those previous municipalities that granted areas to it. It gained its municipal charter in 1971.

Sport

is a bandy club in Imatra.
Imatra is the birthplace of National Hockey League players Jussi Markkanen and Petteri Nokelainen.
In motorsport history, Imatra is best known for its road races from 1963 to 1986. From 1962 to 1982 it was the home of the Finnish motorcycle Grand Prix. Racing on the Imatra road circuit ended after fatal accident during the 1986 European Championship event. Racing resumed in 2016 as an :fi:International Road Racing Championship|International Road Racing Championship event.
There is an annual indoor rowing race at Imatra, which attracts competitors from across Finland.

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Imatra is twinned with: