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Welcome to Heinä­vesi

Heinä­vesi is a munici­pa­lity in Eastern Finland. It is located in the North Karelia region . The munici­pa­lity has a popula­tion of 3000 and covers an area of 1320 sq 20 % is water. Neigh­bou­ring munici­pa­li­ties are Liperi, Outokumpu, Tuusniemi, Leppä­virta, Varkaus ja Savon­linna. The city of is located 80 northeast of Heinä­vesi. In 2021, Heinä­vesi had its region reassigned from South Savo to North Karelia.

The mayor of Heinä­vesi is Ms Maarika Kasonen.

The only Orthodox Chris­tian monas­te­ries in Finland, the New Valamo Monas­tery and the Holy Trinity Convent , are located in Heinä­vesi.

The narrow and winding waterways, the island-open lakes and old canals make Heinävesi’s route a unique ensemble. The canali­sa­tion of the Heinä­vesi route began in the late 1800s, and there are six canals on-route. Karvio’s canal opened a ferry route from Kuopio to Heinä­vesi, when it was completed in 1896. Kerma, Vihovuonne and Pilppa canals above Kerma­järvi, were built in the years 1903–1906. This opened up a ferry route to Savon­linna.

A wilder­ness environ­ment, where you can quiet down at the shore of Lake Saimaa. Rugged cliff s and ancient rock paintings tell of the millennia coexis­tence of nature and human beings. The Saimaa ringed seals can also be seen in the area. The National Park waters are excel­lent for canoeing and rowing. There are two marked nature trails in the region: Nahkiais­salo 3.3 km and Mänty­salo 3.8 km.