RAJAMAILLA: WHERE AND WHY?
Finland has often been characterized as a borderland between East and West, and Karelia as its frontline. The geographical tip of present-day South Karelia – Ruokolahti, Rautjärvi, and Parikkala – forms a region here that truly lies on multiple borders. Temporally, geographically, and culturally.
Nature has bordered the area, setting visible frameworks for it. Most of the municipalities' land area lies between the Salpausselkä ridges. Broadening the perspective, we are Between Saimaa and Ladoga. Saimaa is most present in the western part of Ruokolahti, where vast waters and archipelago gradually change to forestland with smaller lakes in the east. Ladoga influences the climate of the Parikkala region and the occurrence of species such as hazel, hornet, or wild boar.
Humans moved in these waterways thousands of years ago: for example, there are about 50 Stone Age dwelling sites around Lake Simpelejärvi. The nature of the borderlands long ago involved drawing the boundary of a living area on a favorable shoreline at the water's edge. Pyhämäki on Saari, representing one of the oldest place names, also refers in the original meaning of the word 'pyhä' (holy) to a border, which marked a hunting area during the wilderness era.
The Rajamailla region is the core area of Finland's oldest state borders. The border of the Treaty of Nöteborg (1323) ran through Torsanjärvi in Rautjärvi to Särkilahti in Punkaharju. It is suspected to have already been the wilderness border between the western and eastern Karelian populations. Subsequently, several borders between Sweden and Russia divided the area. Boundary markings from the Treaty of Teusina (1595) and the Treaty of Nystad (1721) can still be found in the terrain.
Here, there have long been cultural borders concerning religion and language. Due to old Swedish influence, Lutheranism eventually became dominant, but Orthodoxy has also held its place in some areas to this day. The Karelian dialect base was complemented by Savonian influences. The same applies to the rich food tradition. Here's a recipe, if you're unsure: make a kukko or a pasty!
The Winter and Continuation Wars in the 1940s redrew the region's borders in a completely new way. All municipalities lost parts of their territories to the Soviet Union. Old connections to Vyborg and, on the other hand, to Ladoga's centers such as Käkisalmi and Sortavala were severed. Border control brought new jobs, and border traffic and crossing points brought mobility, but the development trajectory of northern South Karelia changed permanently.
What about now? The long-standing depopulation of rural areas has negatively affected the population, which in the Parikkala, Rautjärvi, and Ruokolahti areas combined is still nearly 13,000. An internal division has developed, with Rautjärvi and especially Ruokolahti beginning to orient towards the Imatra region, and Parikkala partly towards Savonlinna, with the tip of Uukuniemi even leaning towards North Karelia.
In Rajamailla (the borderlands), we are now facing a new reality together, as is the case elsewhere in Finland. The Iron Curtain has once again descended on Finland's eastern border. Regional economic survival strategies include strengthening border security, improving telecommunication connections, increasing remote work opportunities, and further developing domestic and European tourism. The traditional, though always contradictory, connection to Russia has practically closed for a long time. Open questions include the balance between an aging and a new population, the economic structure, and local immigration.
The Rajamailla.fi tourism portal is a new two-way window into the future of this distinctive region. The local significance of tourism is still evolving, but the seeds for the gradual rise of accommodation and program service businesses are already present. The presentation of historical and current borders still awaits productization, but there is already both ordinary and extraordinarily exceptional on offer.
The restored free-flowing Hiitolanjoki River is developing into a border river for wild salmon and trout ascending from Ladoga, water recreation, and museum-like hydropower. Its unparalleled rapids are now also accessible without barriers, for strollers, rollators, and wheelchairs alike.
Diverse cottage holidays on Lake Simpelejärvi, sunny beaches with services at Papinniemi on Lake Pyhäjärvi, unforgettable winter day ice skating in Punkaharju, or year-round cultural experiences in the opera town of Savonlinna are opportunities for which our location provides excellent resources.
Our region is one of the old centers for historical transit traffic from Ladoga to Saimaa. Now, Highway 6 traverses our municipalities, connecting the southern front areas to the northern wildernesses.
In Rajamailla (the borderlands), you have arrived at the borders that have always been drawn and traced here. Draw your own too.
