Every design for Iisalmi

At Koljonvirta in Iisalmi, Swedish troops won their last victory on Finnish soil, a battle J.L. Runeberg later wrote into Vänrikki Stoolin tarinat. The parish had grown up around its church long before that, and Kustaa Adolfin Kirkko, the old wooden church, still stands as a reminder of those years.

What makes Iisalmi feel like itself is how much it makes for a town of its size. Olvi, the last big independent brewery in Finland, brews here, Genelec builds studio loudspeakers used around the world, and Normet makes machines for mining and tunnelling. The year turns on local events: Oluset fills July with music, its little sister Limuset is for children, and Rompepäivät brings out everything from sewing needles to old tractors. The town even claims the world's smallest restaurant, Ravintola Kuappi, and Panimomuseo keeps the brewing story.

Then there is the railway station, which for years was the end of the electric line, where many express trains from the south came to a stop and turned back.