Vuoksi and Imatrankoski

Vuoksi and Imatrankoski are an important part of Imatra

Vuoksi

"Three are hard to touch, three lakes are noble, three mountains are high under the cover of this air: Hämehess' is Hälläpyörä, Kaatrakoski in Karelia; no one has conquered Vuoksen, gone over Imatra." Kalevala

Vuoksi is a tributary of the Saimaa watershed that flows down to Laatokka, which was born with enormous force about 5700 years ago, leaving behind a line of rapids on its way to Laatokka. The biggest rapid is Imatrankoski. The height difference between Saimaa and Laatoka is about 70 meters. On the Finnish side of the river there are Tainionkoski and Imatrankoski, both of which are dammed. The Imatrankoski power plant, completed in 1929, is still the largest hydropower plant in Finland.

Vuoksi's fishing is hundreds of years old, even the first mentions of Imatra tell about Vuoksi's salmon catches. In the 1800th century, St. Petersburg and English aristocrats discovered the rich fishing waters of Vuoksi and established their own fishing bases here. The English had the Wuoksi Fishing Club and the Russians practiced fishing from their own yards along the Vuoksi.

Most of the Vuoks flows on the Russian side. 

Virtual Vuoksi - Virtual trip from Saimaa to Laatoka

Along the river

Today, you can find all the city's museums, the main library, and the swimming hall and sports hall renovated in 2004 along the river Vuoksi. The town hall of Imatra is also located on the shore of Vuoksi. It was designed by Arto Sipinen and Mane Hetzer and was completed in 1970. Next to it is also a cultural center designed by Arto Sipinen from 1986.

The Omenapuupuisto was completed on the shore of Vuoksi in 2001. The park has an apple tree personally named for every person from Imatra born in 2000 - more than 200 trees.

Washing carpets in Vuoksi is part of the summer for many people from Imatra. There are several carpet piers on both sides of Vuokse.

The so-called Vallitie follows the stream of the river, which keeps the water lifted by the power plant away from the populated area. The beautiful light traffic route is framed by 90-year-old pine trees. You can conveniently cycle along the road between Imatrankoski and Mansikkala.

Vuoksi also has an excellent year-round rowing stadium. In Vuos you can see rowers practicing even in winter.

Fish water is popular for Vuoksi, whose fish stocks are actively managed. There are also piers for fishing and places for barbecuing and grilling on the beaches.

Imatrankoski

Imatrankoski is the most famous attraction in Imatra, which has been admired for centuries. At the turn of the century, Imatrankoski was the most popular tourist attraction in Finland, and the Imatran State Hotel also stood on the bank of the rapid at that time. Imatrankoski is permanently lit, so you can admire it all year round. Information about rapids shows is updated To Imatrankoski's website.

To deepen the rapids experience, a virtual rapids language experience has been developed, where Taimi, small Vuoksi's taime introduces the visitor to the history of the surrounding rapids. Virtual touch language experience includes augmented reality that works with a mobile phone and in a touch-only environment.

Imatrankoski has been of interest to geologists for many centuries. Imatrankoski is an important geological and cultural destination, when The Saimaa region is aiming for UNESCO Geopark status.

City stream

In the seepage waters of the dammed Imatrankoski, an old stock of trout has been preserved, to strengthen it and for general recreation, a "Kaupunkipuro" was created in 2015, into which part of the power plant's water was diverted. The Kaupunkipuro runs on the island between the old rapids bed and the bed of the power plant.