View source for Sortavala

{{Short description|Town in the Republic of Karelia, Russia}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2012}}
{{Infobox Russian inhabited locality
|en_name=Sortavala
|ru_name=Сортавала
|other_name=Sortavala
|other_lang=Karelian
|image_skyline=DJI Sortavala 3.jpg
|image_caption=An aerial view of the town center of Sortavala in 2020.
|coordinates = {{coord|61|42|20|N|30|41|45|E|display=inline,title}}
|map_label_position=right
|image_coa=Sortavala Coat of Arms.svg
|coa_caption=
|image_flag=Sortavala_flag.svg
|flag_caption=
|anthem=
|anthem_ref=
|holiday=
|holiday_ref=
|federal_subject=[[Republic of Karelia]]
|federal_subject_ref=<ref name="Ref62" />
|adm_city_jur=[[city of federal subject significance|town of republic significance]] of Sortavala
|adm_city_jur_ref=<ref name="Ref62" />
|adm_ctr_of=town of republic significance of Sortavala
|adm_ctr_of_ref=<ref name="Ref62" />
|inhabloc_cat=Town
|inhabloc_cat_ref=<ref name="Ref62" />
|inhabloc_type=
|inhabloc_type_ref=
|mun_district_jur=[[Sortavalsky District|Sortavalsky Municipal District]]
|mun_district_jur_ref=<ref name="Ref738" />
|urban_settlement_jur=Sortavalskoye Urban Settlement
|urban_settlement_jur_ref=<ref name="Ref738" />
|mun_admctr_of1=Sortavalsky Municipal District
|mun_admctr_of1_ref=<ref name="Ref738" />
|mun_admctr_of2=Sortavalskoye Urban Settlement
|mun_admctr_of2_ref=
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|pop_2010census=19235
|pop_2010census_ref=<ref name="2010Census">{{ru-pop-ref|2010Census}}</ref>
|pop_density=
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|established_date=1468
|established_title=First mentioned
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|website=http://городсортавала.рф/
}}

'''Sortavala''' ({{langx|ru|Сортавала}}; [[Finnish language|Finnish]] and {{langx|krl|Sortavala}}; {{langx|sv|Sordavala}}), previously known as '''Serdobol''' ({{langx|ru|Сердоболь|label=none}}) until 1918, is a [[types of inhabited localities in Russia|town]] in the [[Republic of Karelia]], Russia, located at the northern tip of [[Lake Ladoga]] near the [[Finland|Finnish]] border, {{convert|246|km}} west of [[Petrozavodsk]], the [[capital city]] of the Republic of Karelia. The closest city on the Finnish side of the border is [[Joensuu]], which is located {{convert|136|km}} from Sortavala. In 2021, the population of Sortavala was 19,215.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://population-hub.com/en/ru/population-of-sortavala-2931.html|title=Population of Sortavala 2022 &#124; Sortavala population - statistics}}</ref>

==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 [[Saint Petersburg|St.&nbsp;Petersburg]] and its [[Ruskeala|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]],<ref>[http://heninen.net/sortavala/historia/02_02_1940/english.htm The Soviet bombing of Sortavala in pictures]</ref> 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 Russian and Karelian 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]].

==Geography==
===Features===
*[[Paasonvuori]],  79.2 m. hill near Sortavala

===Climate===
<div style="width:70%">
{{Weather box
|location = Sortavala 
|metric first = Yes
|single line = yes
|source = [https://weatherlabs.in/climate/sortavala/ Weather and climate in Sortavala]
|Jan mean C = -8.4
|Feb mean C = -8.1
|Mar mean C = -3.4
|Apr mean C = 2.6
|May mean C = 9.0
|Jun mean C = 13.9
|Jul mean C = 17.2
|Aug mean C = 15.3
|Sep mean C = 10.2
|Oct mean C = 4.6
|Nov mean C = -1.1
|Dec mean C = -5.3
|year mean C =3.9
|Jan low C = -11.5
|Feb low C = -11.6
|Mar low C = -7.4
|Apr low C = -1.7
|May low C = 3.7
|Jun low C = 9.0
|Jul low C = 12.5
|Aug low C = 10.9
|Sep low C = 6.5
|Oct low C = 2.0
|Nov low C = -3.3
|Dec low C = -8.1
|year low C =0.1
|Jan high C = -5.3
|Feb high C = -4.6
|Mar high C = 0.6
|Apr high C = 7.0
|May high C = 14.2
|Jun high C = 18.8
|Jul high C = 21.9
|Aug high C = 19.6
|Sep high C = 13.9
|Oct high C = 7.2
|Nov high C = 1.1
|Dec high C = -2.4
|year high C =7.7
|Jan record high C = 6.4
|Feb record high C = 8.8
|Mar record high C = 15.0
|Apr record high C = 22.0
|May record high C = 27.5
|Jun record high C = 32.0
|Jul record high C = 35.4
|Aug record high C = 29.9
|Sep record high C = 24.5
|Oct record high C = 18.4
|Nov record high C = 11.4
|Dec record high C = 9.4
|year record high C =35.4
|Jan record low C = -42.8
|Feb record low C = -36.0
|Mar record low C = -28.3
|Apr record low C = -18.6
|May record low C = -6.6
|Jun record low C = -0.8
|Jul record low C = 3.5
|Aug record low C = 0.8
|Sep record low C = -5.8
|Oct record low C = -12.3
|Nov record low C = -24.8
|Dec record low C = -33.2
|year record low C =-42.8
|Jan precipitation mm = 47.2
|Feb precipitation mm = 35.9
|Mar precipitation mm = 34.6
|Apr precipitation mm = 31.7
|May precipitation mm = 42.9
|Jun precipitation mm = 61.8
|Jul precipitation mm = 58.0
|Aug precipitation mm = 84.8
|Sep precipitation mm = 63.5
|Oct precipitation mm = 68.9
|Nov precipitation mm = 65.9
|Dec precipitation mm = 62.4
|year precipitation mm =657.6
|}}
</div>

==Administrative and municipal status==
Within the [[subdivisions of Russia#Administrative divisions|framework of administrative divisions]], it is, together with two [[urban-type settlement]]s and forty-seven rural localities, incorporated as the '''[[city of federal subject significance|town of republic significance]] of Sortavala'''—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the [[administrative divisions of the Republic of Karelia|districts]].<ref name="Ref62">Law #871-ZRK</ref> As a [[subdivisions of Russia#Municipal divisions|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'''.<ref name="Ref738">Law #825-ZRK</ref> The remaining urban-type settlements and rural localities are incorporated within the municipal district into two urban settlements and two rural settlements.<ref name="Ref736">Law #813-ZRK</ref>[[File:Sortavala - streets of Ulitsa Karel'skaya & Ulitsa Vyaynemyaynena.jpg|thumb|A corner of the Ulitsa Karel'skaya and Ulitsa Vyaynemyaynena streets in the center of Sortavala]]

==Transportation==
Sortavala is a railway station on the [[Khiytola-Matkaselkä railway]].

== Layout and development ==

=== Architecture ===
The central part of the city consists mainly of stone 3-4-storey buildings built at the beginning of the XX century (until the 1930s). As a rule, these are buildings in the style of Northern Art Nouveau ([[Romantic nationalism|national Romanticism]]), [[Neoclassical architecture|neoclassicism]], the most recent — [[Functionalism (architecture)|functionalism]], their authors are the most famous Finnish architects [[Uno Ullberg|Uno Werner Ullberg]], [[Eliel Saarinen|Gottlieb Eliel Saarinen]], [[Johan Jacob Ahrenberg|Johan Jacob Arenberg]], etc. In addition, a large number of wooden buildings built in the middle of the XIX century, usually in the [[Empire style]], have been preserved. The most notable buildings are:<ref>{{Cite web |title=Список объектов культурного наследия и выявленных объектов культурного наследия, находящихся на территории Сортавальского муниципального района |url=https://monuments.karelia.ru/ob-ekty-kul-turnogo-nasledija/spiski-ob-ektov-kul-turnogo-nasledija-po-rajonam-i-poselenijam-respubliki-karelija/sortaval-skij-r-n/ |website=monuments.karelia.ru |language=ru}}</ref>

* The building of the Bank of Finland (arch. Uno Ulberg, 1915)
* The building of the United Bank of the Nordic Countries (architect firm [[Gesellius, Lindgren, Saarinen|GLS]], 1905)
* Lyceum building (arch. Johan Jacob Arenberg, 1901)
* The gymnasium building (arch. Johan Jakob Arenberg, 1911)
* The administration building of the [[Orthodox Church of Finland]] and the Church of St. [[John the Apostle]] (arch. Juhani Viiste, 1935)
* The house of the merchant Siitonen (arch. Ustin).
* Wing of the Evangelical Community house
<gallery>
File:Дом Леандера.JPG|"Leander's House." Arch. Eliel Saarinen
File:Sortvala - Posti.jpg|United Bank of the Nordic Countries (now the Post Office). Arch. [[Uno Ullberg|Uno Werner Ullberg]]
File:Risti ya Raamattu.jpg|The former building of the publishing house of spiritual literature Risti ja Raamattu. Arch. Vyane Leander
File:Sortvala - Pankki.jpg|The former Finnish Bank (now the Bank of Russia). Arch. Uno Werner Ulberg
File:Sortavala - Gimnazia2.jpg|Former women's gymnasium. Arch. Johan Jakob Arenberg
File:Sortavala - Gimnazia.jpg|Former women's Gymnasium
File:Sortavala - ortodoksinen kirkko.jpg|St. Nicholas Church. Arch. Nikolay Grebenka
</gallery>

==Industry==
Urban development enterprise - [[Karelian Industrial Complex]].

==Notable people==
* [[Alexander Semyonovich Belyakov]] (born 1945), Russian politician
* [[Aarne Juutilainen]] (1904–1976), Finnish army captain, also known as nickname "The Terror of Morocco"
* [[Martti Kosma]] (1927–1999), former manager of the [[Finland national football team]]

==Twin towns and sister cities==
*{{Flagicon|Finland}} [[Joensuu]], [[Finland]]
*{{Flagicon|Finland}} [[Kitee]], Finland
*{{Flagicon|Germany}} [[Bogen, Germany|Bogen]], [[Germany]]
*{{Flagicon|Russia}} [[Serdobsk]], Russia

==See also==
{{Portal|Russia}}
* [[Impilahti]]
* [[Vyborg]]

==References==
===Notes===
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
*{{RussiaAdmMunRef|kr|adm|law}}
*{{RussiaAdmMunRef|kr|mun|mdlist}}
*{{RussiaAdmMunRef|kr|mun|list}}

==External links==
* {{commons category-inline|Sortavala}}
* {{wikivoyage inline|Sortavala}}
* [https://www.sortavala.fi/sortavala-ja-lahiymparisto/sortavala/sortavalan-kaupunki/ Sortavala.fi] (in Finnish)

{{Republic of Karelia}}
{{Placename toponym Sortavala}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Cities and towns in the Republic of Karelia]]
[[Category:Grand Duchy of Finland]]
[[Category:History of Karelia]]
[[Category:Former municipalities of Finland]]
[[Category:Populated places in Sortavalsky District]]