Det var en sommerdag i 2023 at jeg tilfelidigvis passerte Imatra for første gang. Ja, du leste riktig – «passerte» – for jeg skulle ikke til Imatra. Men, så ville Vår Herre det sånn at mitt planlagte hotell i Kouvula ble overbooket, og jeg måtte finne et annet sted å bo.
Jeg kjørte nordøstover gjennom den sørlige delen av Karelen på praktfulle veier. Finland har fantastiske veier å kjøre på, stort sett over hele landet.
Utpå kvelden endte jeg opp i Imatra – og, det eneste jeg kjente til om stedet fra før var at det var en grenseby mot Russland, den lå ved innsjøen Saimaa, og den hadde et navn som jeg ikke visste hva betydde (dét vet jeg forresten ikke fremdeles…).
Imatra har et flott Scandic-hotell, som ser ut som et gammelt slott. Det måtte testes. Og, når jeg tok en morgentur dagen etter, så oppdaget jeg de flotte omgivelsene rundt hotellet. The Crown Park, med sine flygende ekorn, elvene og strykene, og demningen. Jeg tenkte at hit vil jeg tilbake.
Sommeren etter var jeg på plass, og hadde da både planlagt å bruke litt tid her, samt å lage en guidet rundtur for VoiceMap. Byen fortjente det!
Som tenkt, så gjort.
Å vandre rundt i Imatra gir ro -vel, så lenge du ikke blir påkjørt av en syklist i gågata, slik jeg ble – han skulle rekke en jobb, og jeg…vel, jeg skulle ikke rekke noen ting. Det gikk heldigvis bra!
I innsjøen har de en egen sel-art. Artig liten krabat, som stikker opp hodet av og til, og kikker nysgjerrig på deg.
At byen er grenseby er tydelig. Avstanden til nabobyen Svetogorsk på russisk side er bare et par kilometer, men nå etter at Russland invaderte Ukraina er stemningen ved grensa spesiell. Grenseovergangen er stengt, og Finland har bygget opp et tre meter høyt grensegjerde, for å kontrollene den bedre. Trist at verden er blitt sånn. Her i området har man tradisjonelt hatt både nærings- og industrisamarbeid gjennom århundrer, og de russiske turistene fra Sankt Petersburg (2 timers kjøretur unna) har hatt stor innflytelse på byens oppbygging. Vel, sånn er det ikke nå.
Jeg forlot Imatra med en ro og litt undring. Når jeg kjørte videre nordover Karelen, så var tankene mange. Flotte inntrykk, trivelige mennesker og en hyggelig by å rusle i. Men, om noen kan fortelle meg hvor navnet Imatra stammer fra, så blir jeg glad…
It was a summer day in 2023 that I happened to pass Imatra for the first time. Yes, you read that right – «passed» – because I wasn’t going to Imatra. But, as Our Lord would have it, my planned hotel in Kouvula was overbooked, and I had to find another place to stay.
I drove northeast through the southern part of Karelia on magnificent roads. Finland has wonderful roads to drive on, pretty much all over the country.
Towards evening I ended up in Imatra – and, the only thing I knew about the place from before was that it was a border town with Russia, it was located on Lake Saimaa, and it had a name that I didn’t know what it meant (by the way, I still don’t know that…).
Imatra has a great Scandic hotel, which looks like an old castle. It had to be tested. And, when I took a morning walk the next day, I discovered the beautiful surroundings around the hotel. The Crown Park, with its flying squirrels, the rivers and rapids, and the dam. I thought I wanted to go back here.
The following summer I was there, and had planned to spend some time here, as well as to make a guided tour for VoiceMap. The city deserved it!
As planned, so done.
Walking around Imatra is peaceful – well, as long as you don’t get hit by a cyclist in the pedestrian zone, like I did – he was supposed to get to work, and I… well, I wasn’t supposed to get to anything. Luckily it went well!
In the lake they have their own species of seal. A funny little crab, who sticks his head up every now and then, and looks at you curiously.
That the city is a border town is clear. The distance to the neighboring town of Svetogorsk on the Russian side is only a couple of kilometers, but now after Russia invaded Ukraine, the atmosphere at the border is special. The border crossing is closed, and Finland has built a three-meter-high border fence, to control it better. Sad that the world has become like this. Here in the area, people have traditionally had both commercial and industrial cooperation for centuries, and the Russian tourists from Saint Petersburg (2 hours drive away) have had a great influence on the development of the city. Well, it is not like that now.
I left Imatra with a sense of calm and a little wonder. As I drove further north through Karelia, my thoughts were many. Great impressions, pleasant people and a nice city to stroll in. But, if someone can tell me where the name Imatra comes from, I would be happy…
