Country Russia Area 10 km² | Federal subject Republic of Karelia Local time Monday 12:12 PM | |
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Administratively subordinated to town of republic significance of Sortavala Administrative center of town of republic significance of Sortavala Municipal district Sortavalsky Municipal District Urban settlement Sortavalskoye Urban Settlement Weather 3°C, Wind NW at 23 km/h, 63% Humidity Points of interest Museum of Northern Ladoga, Park Vakkosalmi, zaliv Vakkolakhti | ||
Sortavala (till 1918 Serdobol; Russian: Со́ртавала; Finnish and Karelian: Sortavala; Swedish: Sordavala) is a town in the Republic of Karelia, Russia, located at the northern tip of Lake Ladoga. Population: 19,235 (2010 Census); 21,131 (2002 Census); 22,579 (1989 Census).
Contents
- Map of Sortavala Republic of Karelia Russia
- History
- Administrative and municipal status
- Transportation
- Industry
- Twin towns and sister cities
- References
Map of Sortavala, Republic of Karelia, Russia
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 was ceded to Sweden after the Ingrian War.
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.
Industry
Urban development enterprise - Karelian Industrial Complex.