Every design for Taipalsaari

Taipalsaari is known as the most watery municipality in Finland. More than half of it is Lake Saimaa, and the rest is broken into hundreds of islands strung out north of Lappeenranta, edged by sandy and rocky shores. Kirkkosaari, the largest island, holds most of the villages, and life follows the water, from boats at the jetty to long summer evenings by the shore.

What makes the place unusual is its climate. Taipalsaari has the highest average summer temperature of any municipality in Finland, The church is the oldest standing church in South Karelia, and around it the ridges of Pikku-Punkaharju and Hepoharju rise between the bays of Haikkaanlahti and Hepolahti. Kotiseututalo Röytty keeps the memory of the old Röytty inn, where travellers once rested before the roads took over, while the Taipalsaaren soudut memorial recalls rowing on the lake.

People here have long made their living from the water, and the islands have always meant a little more effort to reach. That is part of the charm: when Saimaa opens up on both sides of the road, you are home.