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Heinola
Heinola
Town
	Heinolan kaupunki; Heinola stad
	A view from Heinola railway bridge towards the town center
	Flag Coat of arms
	Location of Heinola in Finland
	Coordinates: 61°12′N 026°02′E / 61.200°N 26.033°E
Country	Finland
Region	Päijänne Tavastia
Sub-region	Lahti sub-region (current); Heinola sub-region (former)
Charter	1776
City rights	1839
Government
• Town manager	Jari Parkkonen
Area (2018-01-01)
• Total	839.28 km2 (324.05 sq mi)
• Land	675.97 km2 (260.99 sq mi)
• Water	162.96 km2 (62.92 sq mi)
• Rank	125th largest in Finland
Population (2024-10-31)
• Total	17,838
• Rank	64th largest in Finland
• Density	26.39/km2 (68.3/sq mi)
Population by native language
• Finnish	94.7% (official)
• Swedish	0.2%
• Others	5%
Population by age
• 0 to 14	11%
• 15 to 64	53.9%
• 65 or older	35.1%
Time zone	UTC+02:00 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Climate	Dfc
Website	www.heinola.fi

Heinola (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈhei̯nolɑ]) is a town and a municipality of 17,838 inhabitants (31 October 2024)^[2] located in the eastern part of the Päijänne Tavastia region, Finland, near the borders of the South Savonia region and the Kymenlaakso region. It is the third largest municipality in the region in terms of population after Lahti and Hollola.^[5] The neighbour municipalities of Heinola are Asikkala, Hartola, Iitti, Kouvola, Mäntyharju, Nastola, Pertunmaa and Sysmä.

In the coat of arms of Heinola, the Tavastia's provincial animal, the Eurasian lynx, crosses a fess resembling an arch bridge; it refers to the Jyränkö Bridge (Jyrängönsilta) from 1932, which crosses Jyrängönvirta, the smaller part of the Kymi River. The coat of arms was designed by Gustaf von Numers and approved by the Heinola Town Council at its meeting on 23 September 1958. The coat of arms was approved for use by the Ministry of the Interior on 11 November of the same year.^[6]^[7]

In June 2024, Heinola was included in The Times newspaper's list of 30 attractive summer destinations where people can vacation without the oppressive heat.^[8]

History

Heinola used to be a remote village of then larger Hollola until it gained significance in 1776 when Gustav III of Sweden promoted it to be the governmental center of the province in which it was then located. The grid plan of the city center is from that era. Heinola also became a center of commerce for nearby regions.^[9]

When Finland became a part of Russia in 1809, the capital of the province was moved eastwards with the state border. To compensate this, Heinola was granted town rights on December 26, 1839 by Czar Nicholas I.^[10]^[11] Before World War II, Heinola was widely known as a spa town, and until 1972 it served as a location for an institute (seminaari) that taught elementary school teachers. These both were established in the 1890s and played an important role in the town life.^[9]

Heinolan maalaiskunta was merged into Heinola in 1997.

Geography

Heinola is largely situated between two lakes, Ruotsalainen and Konnivesi. A waterway connecting the lakes crosses the town and is, along with an esker also crossing the town, a characterising geographical feature of Heinola. A motorway (Finnish national road 4/E75) connects Heinola to Lahti (distance 35 km or 22 mi) and Helsinki (distance 138 km or 86 mi); it also acrosses Lake Ruotsalainen on the Tähtiniemi Bridge in the northern part of town. Heinola is also southern head of the Finnish national road 5, which goes over 900 kilometres to the north through the cities Kuopio and Kajaani to Sodankylä.

Climate

Heinola has a subarctic climate (Dfc) bordering on a humid continental climate (Dfb).

Climate data for Heinola Asemantaus (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1959- present)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	8.1 (46.6)	9.3 (48.7)	16.0 (60.8)	23.7 (74.7)	30.8 (87.4)	32.7 (90.9)	34.9 (94.8)	33.8 (92.8)	27.5 (81.5)	19.5 (67.1)	12.9 (55.2)	11.0 (51.8)	34.9 (94.8)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	−3.3 (26.1)	−3.0 (26.6)	1.8 (35.2)	8.6 (47.5)	16.0 (60.8)	20.2 (68.4)	22.8 (73.0)	20.8 (69.4)	14.7 (58.5)	7.5 (45.5)	2.2 (36.0)	−1.1 (30.0)	8.9 (48.0)
Daily mean °C (°F)	−5.9 (21.4)	−6.3 (20.7)	−1.8 (28.8)	3.8 (38.8)	10.4 (50.7)	15.0 (59.0)	17.8 (64.0)	15.9 (60.6)	10.7 (51.3)	4.8 (40.6)	0.3 (32.5)	−3.2 (26.2)	5.1 (41.2)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	−8.9 (16.0)	−9.6 (14.7)	−6.2 (20.8)	−0.7 (30.7)	4.7 (40.5)	9.8 (49.6)	12.8 (55.0)	11.5 (52.7)	7.0 (44.6)	2.2 (36.0)	−1.7 (28.9)	−5.6 (21.9)	1.3 (34.3)
Record low °C (°F)	−37.5 (−35.5)	−36.6 (−33.9)	−31.4 (−24.5)	−19.0 (−2.2)	−6.2 (20.8)	−1.3 (29.7)	3.4 (38.1)	0.5 (32.9)	−6.1 (21.0)	−14.0 (6.8)	−21.2 (−6.2)	−33.5 (−28.3)	−37.5 (−35.5)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	46 (1.8)	36 (1.4)	33 (1.3)	30 (1.2)	43 (1.7)	66 (2.6)	71 (2.8)	67 (2.6)	53 (2.1)	65 (2.6)	56 (2.2)	50 (2.0)	617 (24.3)
Average precipitation days	11	10	8	7	8	10	10	10	9	11	11	12	117
Source 1: FMI climatological normals for Finland 1991-2020^[12]
Source 2: Record highs and lows 1961- present^[13]

Economy

After World War II Heinola has been economically an industrial town, mainly due to its wood processing industry. Industry remained the largest source of employment until the 1970s, when the trade and services sector grew larger, following a national trend.

Volkswagen Beetles were built in Heinola.^[14]

Heinola has been hit hard by Late-2000s recession. UPM-Kymmene, that used to be the largest employer after the public sector, reported closing down its sawmill and plywood mill in Heinola during 2010.^[15]

Sights

The bird zoo is located just next to the old bus station. The founding idea of the bird zoo is to offer help for birds that have injured themselves in the traffic, power lines and glass surfaces, and to rehabilitate them back to the nature. The birds that remain in the care, and the ones that are not capable of returning to the nature, but are considered to maintain a meaningful life in capture, are available for spectators to see. For school groups and tourists, this can be a good opportunity to identify some of the species that are not so easily spotted in the wild. In the summer, tropical birds that spend the winter inside are also to be seen.^[16]