Sortavala

Sortavala is a small city on the northern shore of Europe's largest lake, Ladoga, in the Republic of Karelia, Russia. The city with population of 19,235 citizens was founded by the Swedish in 1643 on an idyllic location on the shore of the Vakkolahti bay. The surrounding coastal area with its islands is known for its magnificent natural scenery and unique flora and fauna. The famous Valamo monastery can be found mere 40 kilometers south of Sortavala.

Read about other Karelian towns!

History

The district of Sortavala was first recorded in Swedish documents dating to 1468. Russian documents first mention it as Serdovol or Serdobol in 1500. It is disputed which name was the earliest. The settlement of Sortavala was attested in 1582. It was ceded to Sweden after the Ingrian War; the modern town seems to have been founded in 1632.

With the 1721 Treaty of Nystad, the settlement was joined to Russia along with the rest of Old Finland and was given the Russian name Serdobol. It became known for its marble and granite quarries which provided materials necessary for construction of imperial palaces in St. Petersburg and its neighborhood. In 1812, along with the rest of Viipuri Province, it was joined to the newly formed Grand Duchy of Finland.

In 1917, the town remained a part of independent Finland. It suffered extensively from mass Soviet bombardment during the Winter War, and through the Moscow Peace Treaty Finland was forced to cede the town to the Soviet Union. All of the population of the town was evacuated for the first time. Like the rest of Finnish Karelia, Sortavala was retaken by Finland during 1941–1944 (the period of the Continuation War) and most evacuees returned to rebuild their homes. However, after the armistice of 1944, the Finns were evacuated again and the town was ceded back empty of population. After the war, the town was resettled by the Slavic population.

Until 1940, the Ladoga shore southwest of Sortavala had been one of the very few relatively densely populated areas north of the Karelian Isthmus populated by Karelians.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, it is, together with two urban-type settlements and forty-seven rural localities, incorporated as the town of republic significance of Sortavala—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts.As a municipal division, the town of republic significance of Sortavala is incorporated as Sortavalsky Municipal District; the town of Sortavala and ten rural localities are incorporated within it as Sortavalskoye Urban Settlement. The remaining urban-type settlements and rural localities are incorporated within the municipal district into two urban settlements and two rural settlements.

Transportation

Sortavala is a railway station on the Khiytola-Matkaselkä railway. You can as well get here by car or by bus. There is o airport in Sortavala.

Industry

Urban development enterprise - Karelian Industrial Complex. It is a fish processing plant and manufacturer of surimi, crab sticks and minced fish. Karelian Industrial Complex is the only manufacturer of surimi in Russia. Before 2006 the plant was called the Sortavalsky Fish Factory. The biggest fish processing plant in the region. Karelian Industrial Complex has more than 1000 employees. The plant is included in the list of socially important enterprises of the Republic of Karelia.

Nature and climate peculiarities

The nature of Sortavalsky region is unique. Numerous narrow bays, capes, islands and granite cliffs give this place a very picturesque character. No wonder this territory is called "Karelian Switzerland". The current landscape of the territory has been created during the whole geological history of the Baltic crystalline shield. The rocks that form it are mainly of granite and mica shales. The use of the building rock of Priladozhje started in XVIII century at the construction of St.Petersburg.

Marble and granites of Piladozhje decorate architectural masterpieces and bridges of Russian northern capital. On the shores of the northern part of Ladoga and on its islands there are lots of old stone breaking.

Climatic zone of Sortavalsky region is considered to be the most smooth. The plants of the territory are pines, fir-tres, birches and rowan-trees. The unique plantations, which are growing on Valaam, in the arboretum of Sortavala city and in Sortavala botanic reserve, are especially interesting. More than 250 plant species, including elm, linden, maple and old birch, are registered on the territory of the botanic reserve. Old arboretum, which was founded in the beginning of XX century by Dr. Vinter, is also on the territory of the reserve. Its collection consists of 76 species of acclimatized foreign plants, including 20 rare species.

Fifty eight fish species inhabit the waters of the Ladoga lake. The most valuable are salmon species. The unique species of freshwater pinnipedia – Ladoga seal – also lives in the lake.