Mikkeli

Mikkeli is a town and municipality in Finland. It is located in what used to be the province of Eastern Finland. The town’s coat of arms incorporates a pair of crossed Marshal Mannerheim’s batons. The Astuvansalmi rock paintings in Ristiina, dating back to 4000-2200 BCE, are the largest rock painting site in the Nordic countries.

About Mikkeli in brief

Summary MikkeliMikkeli is a town and municipality in Finland. It is located in what used to be the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Etelä-Savo region. Mikkeli was the site for the headquarters of the Finnish armed forces during World War II. The town’s coat of arms incorporates a pair of crossed Marshal Mannerheim’s batons, and the town was awarded the Cross of Liberty, 4th class, to be displayed with the coat of Arms. The municipality has a population of 52,962 and covers an area of 3,229. 57 square kilometres. The Astuvansalmi rock paintings in Ristiina, dating back to 4000-2200 BCE, are the largest rock painting site in the Nordic countries. The peace treaty of Nöteborg in 1323, with which the Pogosta of Savilahti was transferred from the control of Novgorod to Sweden, is the oldest written record of the settlement in the present region.

The locality received its present name MikKEli after Archangel Michael by the early 16th century at the latest. On 23 January 1597 more than 200 peasant rebels were killed in the parsonage of Kenkävero in the larger Cudgel War. In 1918 during the Civil War, the HQs of the White Army were established in MikkeLI. In 1986, there was a hostage crisis when a bank robber drove from Mikkelin to Helsinki with three hostages and shot at the hostage taker’s car, killing himself and killing one hostage. In 1997 there were a province reform, which made Mikkelis the new capital of the new province of the Eastern Finland. In 2001, the rural municipality of Antivtola and the municipality of Haukkola were consolidated to form the new municipality of Mikkli in the beginning of the year. It contains an exhibit dedicated to Finnish war hero Lauri Törni.