Inkeri of Imatra

Over the years, Imatra's Inker has become a symbol of Imatra, a character who is known all over Finland and represents our city as best as possible.

The Imatran Inker is chosen annually by the Imatran Youth Chamber of Commerce.

The first Inkeri was elected in 1970 and she was self-righteous writer and teacher Hilja Valtonen, who was also involved in many other things at Imatra. From the beginning, the requirement for those selected as an Inker has been that he is from Imatra, he doesn't have to be born in Imatra, and working for Imatra is enough. It is also important that he has made Imatra famous in some field. Over the years, Ingers have been selected from very different fields and also of very different ages.

The new Inker gets an Imatra stone from the bottom of Imatrankoski, which is used to make a pendant. The Imatran stone statue also rotates as a rotating prize. As clothing, Inkeri has a feresi individually tailored for each person, which includes a cotton, colorful bodice skirt and a white wide-sleeve blouse of a border-karelian woman. The attractiveness of the outfit is further enhanced by a decorative apron. The costume also includes a woman's headdress, a scarf or a decorative ribbon for the hair. The Inkers still have a white scarf decorated with red stitching on their shoulders. The new Inkers get to choose the suit color that suits them.

Imatra's Inkeri got its name from the Imatra waltz composed by Toivo Kärje and lyrics by Reino Helismaa, which tells about a mythical female figure along Vuoksi.

The new Inkeri is announced annually in connection with the Imatra Day celebrated in August.

Imatra Youth Chamber of Commerce: Imatra Inkeri