The city of Joensuu was founded by the Czar Nicholas I of Russia in 1848. Today Joensuu is the capital of the region of North Karelia and has much to offer tourists. Joensuu City Hall (1914), designed by Eliel Saarinen, has always been an important part of the Joensuu cityscape. Nowadays the building houses the city's central government, the Joensuu City Theatre, and the Theatre Restaurant. Joensuu Art Museum ONNI, located on Kirkkokatu, is a treasure trove with its permanent collections, changing exhibitions and icon collection. In Carelicum, across from the Market Square, you'll find the exhibitions of the North Karelian Museum as well as Carelicum Services.

The Joensuu City Orchestra offers high-quality concerts for all music lovers and a must for young people is Ilosaarirock in July. Botania is a botanical garden and tropical butterfly garden with also an outdoor garden open year-round. Joensuu has a relatively young population, thanks to the University of Eastern Finland, Karelia University of Applied Sciences and a large number of other educational institutions.

The Joensuu sub-region consists of two cities; Joensuu and Outokumpu, and six municipalities; Juuka, Kontiolahti, Polvijärvi, Liperi, Ilomantsi, and Heinävesi. The region’s biggest musical event is the rock festival ‘Ilosaarirock’ which is held annually in the festival stage ‘Laulurinne’ in Joensuu. Outokumpu’s old mine and mining museum let you familiarize yourself with what the mine workers’ lives used to be like.

We also suggest to visit the small town of Utra: Its surrounding areas, stories from archives, newspapers, and the people of Utra. Sad destinies, prophetic dreams, nasty thefts and unexplained cases. Explore at least one of three different paths, where you can find stories on different points of interests. Link to the website: https://tarinasoitin.fi/utra