250 years of international breezes

The tourism history of Imatra and at the same time the whole of Finland can be said to have started in 1772, when the Empress of Russia Catherine the Great visited Imatra to admire the rapids.

For the five-day trip from St. Petersburg, 130 horses were needed to transport the entire party to Vuoksi to the beach.

The party crossed Vuoksi in Siitola and admired the rapids from the east shore. However, Imatra didn't get much out of the trip even the two gazebos erected for attention and company were allowed to fall into disrepair after the visit.

However, information about Imatra spread from travelogues written in different languages, which were published in newspapers.

The fear-inducing rapid was also a fascinating force of nature at the same time. A young lieutenant also wrote about it Bernardin of Saint-Pierre from his trip to Eastern Finland in 1763.

He handed over a report to the empress in which he described the loud roar of Imatra's water and thought about the utilization of hydropower as an energy source for factories. The travelogue published from the report could very well have also attracted Katariina Suure to travel to Imatra.

Famous cultural guests

Imatra was mostly visited on a day-long visit from Vyborg, but sometimes we also stayed overnight. Accommodation was provided by a kestikievari located in Siitola and a modest inn completed in 1846 on the shore of Imatrankoski.

At that time, from Vyborg of Zilliacus once owned by a merchant family The Neitsytniemi manor was also accommodated cultural guests invited by the family, such as Albert Edelfelt ja Zacharias Topelius. Traffic connections from St. Petersburg improved when the Saimaa canal was opened in 1856 and the railway between St. Petersburg and Vyborg graduated in 1870. A year later The Imatra company built a wooden hotel on the site of the current Valtionhotelli.

Puuhotellin's housewarming was a big media event, to which the press from the United States and Europe, Finnish authorities and visual artists were invited. A nocturnal light show was organized for the guests, where the bubbles of the water were illuminated with different colored spotlights. A visual artist inspired by that evening Axel Gallen-Kallela painted a dozen works with Imatra motifs. The Imatra company also ordered two Imatra tourism posters from him for marketing purposes.

The floodgates were closed for the first time in 1929

The state hotel was completed in 1903. There were plenty of tourists: at that time, up to 14 trains a day could come from St. Petersburg.

Finnish travelers discovered Imatrankoski again in the 1920s. The power plant was solemnly opened on May 25.5.1929, XNUMX: the president of the republic arrived Rauli Kristian Relander with their spouses and a large number of guests of honor, those who participated in the work and local residents.

The sluice gates were closed for the first time that day, and it is said that when the hatches were closed, there were splashes instead of roars the silence that followed was "creepy".

For the first time we saw the rockiness and sharp edges of the dry bed. The most daring walked across the riverbed.

In the 1930s, tourists and residents were brought in by the establishment of a cooperative store and bus service.

Only a few could afford Valtionhotelli, ordinary travelers had Hotelli Imatra. Väärätalo was completed in the 1930s.

The state hotel was damaged during the winter and continuation wars. The hotel wanted to be kept in a central position and the wartime damage was repaired so that the building was opened again for tourist use in Midsummer 1945. Ordinary tourists were also welcomed to the house.

Other milestones of the 1900th century were the industrialization of Ylä-Vuoki in the 30s, the completion of Alvar Aalto's master plan in 1953, the completion of the Three Crosses Church in 1958, and the becoming of Imatra as a city 1971.

The first Inkeri is elected in 1970

Ukonniemi began to be developed as a leisure center in the 1970s. The plan included a campsite, a port, the development of sports venues, fishing, exercise and municipal engineering networks and spas.

Imatran Spa received its first customers in the spring of 1985.

World Championship points were competed for in Imatra on the street track between 1964 and 1982. In the peak years of the 1970s, the event had an audience of over 50. The Imatra week was formed around the competitions. One of the highlights of the week was the naming of the Imatra Inker, who was named for the first time already in 000. The first Imatra Inker was a writer and teacher Daughter Valtonen.

The central bus station was completed in 1977, and in connection with it, facilities were also provided for the city's tourism office, which operated under the Board of Tourism.

The Imatra Races and the Imatra Big Band Festival organized between 1983 and 2011 brought domestic and international competitors, performers and tourists to Imatra every year.

Tourists and city residents could enjoy the roar of the rapids through organized rapids shows on certain days during the summer holidays, most often on weekends.

250 years of tourism in Imatra

Sources:

At Imatra in Imatra, Pentti Rossi 2006
The Story of Imatra, Sven Hirn, Kanta-Imatrasociety's publication No. 3
Wikipedia: Breastfeeding races
History of the city of Imatra, imatra.fi
Imatra City Museum

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