Enonkoski is a
municipality||-|The municipalities represent the local level of administration in Finland and act as the fundamental, self-governing administrative units of the country. The entire country is incorporated into municipalities and legally, all municipalities are equal, although certain municipalities are called...
of
FinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland
, is a Nordic country and democracy situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. It borders Sweden on the west, Russia on the east, and Norway on the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland...
. It is located about north of
SavonlinnaSavonlinna is a town and a municipality of inhabitants in the southeast of Finland, in the heart of the Saimaa lake region....
in the
provinceThe state of Finland consists of 6 provinces . The provincial authority is part of the central government's executive branch, not directly elected. The system was created in 1634, and its makeup was changed drastically in 1997, when the number of the provinces was reduced from 12 to 6...
of
Eastern FinlandThe Province of Eastern Finland is a province of Finland. It borders the provinces of Oulu, Western Finland and Southern Finland. It also borders to Russia.- Former provinces :For history, geography and culture see: Savonia and Karelia...
and is part of the
Southern SavoniaSouthern Savonia is a region in the south-east of Finland. It borders to the regions Northern Savonia, North Karelia, South Karelia, Kymenlaakso, Päijänne Tavastia, and Central Finland....
regionFinland is divided into 20 regions . The regions are governed by regional councils, which serve as forums of cooperation for the municipalities of a region. The main tasks of the regions are regional planning and development of enterprise and education. In addition, the public health services are...
.
Enonkoski was founded in 1882. Before that it was part of
KerimäkiKerimäki is a municipality of Finland.It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Southern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water...
and
HeinävesiHeinävesi is a municipality of Finland.It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Southern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water...
. The major reason for the foundation of independent parish of Enonkoski happened in 1858. There was no own church in Enonkoski, and the in Sundays people had to row to the church to
KerimäkiKerimäki is a municipality of Finland.It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Southern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water...
, a parish Enonkoski was part of that time.
Enonkoski is a
municipality||-|The municipalities represent the local level of administration in Finland and act as the fundamental, self-governing administrative units of the country. The entire country is incorporated into municipalities and legally, all municipalities are equal, although certain municipalities are called...
of
FinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland
, is a Nordic country and democracy situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. It borders Sweden on the west, Russia on the east, and Norway on the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland...
. It is located about north of
SavonlinnaSavonlinna is a town and a municipality of inhabitants in the southeast of Finland, in the heart of the Saimaa lake region....
in the
provinceThe state of Finland consists of 6 provinces . The provincial authority is part of the central government's executive branch, not directly elected. The system was created in 1634, and its makeup was changed drastically in 1997, when the number of the provinces was reduced from 12 to 6...
of
Eastern FinlandThe Province of Eastern Finland is a province of Finland. It borders the provinces of Oulu, Western Finland and Southern Finland. It also borders to Russia.- Former provinces :For history, geography and culture see: Savonia and Karelia...
and is part of the
Southern SavoniaSouthern Savonia is a region in the south-east of Finland. It borders to the regions Northern Savonia, North Karelia, South Karelia, Kymenlaakso, Päijänne Tavastia, and Central Finland....
regionFinland is divided into 20 regions . The regions are governed by regional councils, which serve as forums of cooperation for the municipalities of a region. The main tasks of the regions are regional planning and development of enterprise and education. In addition, the public health services are...
.
History
Enonkoski was founded in 1882. Before that it was part of
KerimäkiKerimäki is a municipality of Finland.It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Southern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water...
and
HeinävesiHeinävesi is a municipality of Finland.It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Southern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water...
. The major reason for the foundation of independent parish of Enonkoski happened in 1858. There was no own church in Enonkoski, and the in Sundays people had to row to the church to
KerimäkiKerimäki is a municipality of Finland.It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Southern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water...
, a parish Enonkoski was part of that time. In 1858 there was church boat accident in the lake Ylä-Enonvesi, in which led to the death of eight people. After that a Russian businessman and a leader of Enonkoski glass factory and a sawmill decided to built a church in Enonkoski. He is told to have said: "the people in Enonkoski do not anymore have to drown on their trips to the church". The wooden church was built in the next year but it was destroyed in a fire caused by
lightningLightning is an atmospheric discharge of electricity accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms...
in 1884. A new church made of wood, which is still in use, was built in 1886.
Languages
The municipality is unilingually
FinnishFinnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland and by ethnic Finns outside of Finland. It is one of the official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a Finnish dialect, are spoken...
.
There also is a Russian speaking minority.
Religion
The majority of the people living in Enonkoski are
Evangelical LutheranThe Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland is the Lutheran national church and the largest church of Finland. The church professes the Lutheran branch of Christianity, and is a member of the Porvoo Communion....
. There is a church in the centre of Enonkoski, built in 1886. The only Evangelical Lutheran monastery in Finland, the Monastic Protestant Community in Enonkoski, is located in Enonkoski.
Transport
Enonkoski has one main road which leads to Savonlinna, away. It also has other roads which lead to the small dock neighborhood called Hyypiänniemi and to another area known as Hanhivirta.
Amenities
Enonkoski is a very small town, with two small supermarkets, a gas station, a gift shop, and several bakeries/cafés and a bar infamous to the local population for the drunks that lounge around the area. It also has an old peoples home called Iltasatu literally meaning bedtime story.
Towards the edge of the town, near a fire station, there is a running track with a well-kept field (usually used for association football) in the middle. In addition, there is a school (grades 1–9) which has an ice skating rink, used in the winter, and an indoor sports arena. Adjacent to the school is a beautiful small library built in 1992.
Enonkoski also has a rehab facility for drug addicts.
Industry
The largest business in the town is a fish research plant where they raise fish in a controlled environment and then release them into the lakes which are abundant in the area.
Sport
Enonkoski has a juniors and senior
volleyball Volleyball is an Olympic team sport in which two teams of 6 players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules...
team
Enonkosken PyrintöEnonkosken Pyrintö is a volleyball club from Enonkoski, Finland. The men's team of Pyrintö is playing in the second highest tier of Finnish volleyball, Southern group of 1-sarja. Team's coach is Pasi Arkko....
playing in the second highest tier of men's volleyball in Finland. Football club Karvilan Kivekkäät has a couple of youth teams. There is also a cross country track used for
cross-country skiingCross-country skiing is a winter sport in which participants propel themselves across snow-covered terrain using skis and poles. It is popular in many countries with large snowfields, primarily Northern Europe, Canada, Alaska and the upper midwest United States...
in winter and jogging in summer. Participation in the yearly skiing competitions is very high.
OrienteeringOrienteering is a family of sports that requires navigational skills using a map and compass to navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain. Participants are given a map, usually a specially prepared orienteering map, which they use to find control points...
is also quite popular sport. The sports club for athletics, skiing and orienteering is called Enonkosken Urheilijat.
Villages
Hanhijärvi, Ihamaniemi, Joutsenmäki, Karvila, Laasala, Makkola, Muhola, Paakkunala, Parkumäki, Simanala, Suurimäki and Vuorikoski are villages in Enonkoski.
Border changes
In 2009 the neighbouring municipalities of Enonkoski,
SavonrantaSavonranta is a former municipality of Finland. It became part of Savonlinna in the beginning of the year 2009.It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Southern Savonia region. The municipality had a population of 1,263 and covered an area of 568.59 km² of which 182.55...
and the city of
SavonlinnaSavonlinna is a town and a municipality of inhabitants in the southeast of Finland, in the heart of the Saimaa lake region....
, unified as a one municipality. According to the law of Finland, the unifying municipalities must have a land connection between them, which Savoninna and Savonranta did not have. Because of that a land strip of was be taken off from the area of Enonkoski municipality to connect the parts together.
External links