Kuopio is a Finnish city located in the province of Eastern Finland and the region of Northern Savonia. A population of over 90,000 makes it the 8th biggest city in the country. The city has a total area of 1,730 km², of which 805 km² is water and half forest. The population density is only 52 inhabitants/km², but the center of the city is populated densely. If we count the population of the whole Kuopio region, it is about 120,000. Sydney, Australia at Night. ... The Province of Eastern Finland is a province of Finland. ... Northern Savonia is a region (maakunta / landskap) in eastern Finland. ... A square metre (US spelling: square meter) is by definition the area enclosed by a square with sides each 1 metre long. ...

Kuopio was founded in 1653 by Governor Peter Brahe, but the official date is recognized as November 17, 1775, when King Gustav III of Sweden ordered the establishment of the city of Kuopio. Events February 2 - New Amsterdam (later renamed New York City) is incorporated. ... Count Per Brahe (February 18, 1602 - September 2, 1680) was a Swedish soldier and statesman. ... 17 November is also the name of a Marxist group in Greece. ... 1775 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Gustav III (13 January 1746 (O.S.) (24 January 1746 (N.S.))–March 29, 1792) was King of Sweden from 1771 until his death. ...

Central Kuopio from the Puijo tower

Kuopio is known as the cultural center of Eastern Finland. Photo of a part of Kuopio taken from the Puijo tower. ... Photo of a part of Kuopio taken from the Puijo tower. ...

The city is surrounded by lake Kallavesi, and several parts of it are built on islands. Kuopio is known for its association with a national delicacy, Finnish fish pastry (Kalakukko), and the dialect of Savo, as well as the hill of Puijo and the Puijo tower. Kalakukko is a traditional Savonian food made out of fish baked inside a bread. ... Puijo is a 150 metres high hill, the famous landmark of city of Kuopio in Finland and a remarkable tourist attraction. ... The Puijo tower is a 75 metre high TV tower in Kuopio, Eastern Finland. ...

The traffic connections of the city are good, and include the Pendolino trains, Finnair and Blue1. Pendolino ( small pendulum in Italian) is a tilting train used in Italy, Portugal, Slovenia, Finland, the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom. ... Finnair A320-200 Finnair MD-11 Finnair is Finlands biggest airline and the national flag carrier. ... Blue1 is an airline based in Finland and is the new name for the former Air Botnia, owned by SAS. It is the first regional member of Star Alliance, since 2004. ...

As of 2004, the biggest employers of the city are: Town of Kuopio (5 868 employees), Kuopio University Hospital (KUH; in Finnish KYS) (4 055), University of Kuopio (1 620), Post of Finland PLC (524), Niuvanniemi hospital (518), Peeässä Coop (501), Atria PLC (378), Vocational college of Northern Savonia (306), Fenestra Oy (297) and Kesko PLC (284). Atria may refer to: Atria is an alternative spelling for the Etruscan city that is now Adria in the Veneto region of Northern Italy. ... Kesko is a Finnish retailing conglomerate. ...

Kuopio has always been a school town. The most important institutions are the Vocational College of Northern Savonia, the Pohjois-Savo Vocational Institute, Savonia University of Applied Sciences, the University of Kuopio and the Kuopio department of the Sibelius Academy (students include eg. Tarja Turunen, ex-Nightwish). Savonia University of Applied Sciences Savonia University of Applied Sciences (Finnish: Savonia-ammattikorkeakoulu) is a Finnish institution of higher education based in the city of Kuopio. ... The Sibelius Academy in downtown Helsinki. ... Tarja Turunen Tarja Soile Susanna Turunen Cabuli (born August 17, 1977, in Kitee, Finland), commonly known as Tarja Turunen, is the former lead singer of the Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. ... Nightwish is a Finnish musical band formed in 1996 in the town of Kitee. ...

In Finland the inhabitants of Kuopio have a special reputation: they are known as jovial and verbally joking. People of Kuopio region and Eastern Finland have always had many health problems and the mortality has been higher than on an average in Finland. Nowadays Kuopio is known as a strong center of welfare and health profession, as the university is particularly oriented to those areas.

During the 2000’s Kuopio has situated very well in many imago, popularity and city-attractiveness-queries. It has always been near the top among the Finnish cities.

The municipality of Vehmersalmi joined the city of Kuopio on January 1st 2005 like some other municipalities before. Vehmersalmi is a municipality of Finland. ...

Notable persons

• Juhani Aho
• Martti Ahtisaari
• Minna Canth
• Pekka Halonen
• Olli Jokinen
• Hannes Kolehmainen
• Lasse Lehtinen
• Paavo Lipponen
• Pertti "Spede" Pasanen
• Wille Riekkinen
• Juho Rissanen
• Kimmo Timonen
• Johan Vilhelm Snellman
• Fridolf Weurlander
• von Wright -brothers, Magnus, Wilhelm and Ferdinand

Juhani Aho (September 11, 1861 - August 8, 1921) was the first professional Finnish writer. ... President Martti Ahtisaari December 6th 2004 Martti Oiva Kalevi Ahtisaari (born June 23, 1937) is a former President of Finland (1994–2000) and UN diplomat, noted for his international peace work. ... Minna Canth (1844 - 1897) was a Finnish writer and social activist. ... Pekka Halonen (September 23, 1865 - December 1, 1933) was a Finnish painter. ... Olli Jokinen (b. ... Hannes Kolehmainen Johannes Petteri Hannes Kolehmainen (December 9, 1889 – January 11, 1966) was a Finnish long-distance runner. ... Lasse Lehtinen (born 23 January 1947 in Kotka, Kymenlaakso) is a Finnish politician and Member of the European Parliament. ... Paavo Lipponen Paavo Tapio Lipponen (b. ... Pertti Spede Olavi Pasanen (Kuopio, April 10, 1930 – September 7, 2001 at Kirkkonummi) was a Finnish film director, humorist and practitioner of gags. ... Kimmo Timonen Kimmo Timonen (born March 18, 1975, in Kuopio, Finland) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenseman in the NHL, playing for the Nashville Predators. ... Johan Vilhelm Snellman (May 12, 1806 - July 4, 1881) was a Finnish (Fennoman of Swedish origin) writer, philosopher and statesman. ...

Sports in Kuopio

• KalPa
• KuPS
• Puijon Pesis plays the national sport of Finland, pesäpallo
• FIS World Cup Ski Jumping March 7th 2006 in Puijo

KalPa, short for Kalevan Pallo, is a Finnish ice hockey team based at Kuopion jäähalli (capacity 5165), Kuopio. ... Kuopion Palloseura (or KuPS) is a Finnish football club, based in the 8th biggest city of Finland, Kuopio. ... Finnish baseball (pesäpallo) is a fast-moving ball sport greatly similar to baseball. ... Ski jumping is a winter sport in which skiers go down a hill with a take-off ramp (the jump), attempting to go as far as possible. ... Puijo is a 150 metres high hill, the famous landmark of city of Kuopio in Finland and a remarkable tourist attraction. ...

External links

• Kuopio - Official site of city's government in english
• KuopioInfo - Various resources about different areas of interest related to Kuopio History and Life (English, Russian, Finnish, Swedish)
• Savonia University of Applied Sciences
• University of Kuopio
• Satellite picture by Google Maps