800m long Kukonharju canal

Kukonharju canal

The 800m long Kukonharju canal was partially quarried from mica gneiss rock and partially formed with embankments. The canal aptly illustrates the need for canals in the Saimaa area: there are lots of bedrock faults in the area all running in the same direction and forming long valleys and bays in the terrain, with the isthmuses between them forcing boaters to take very long routes. The canal was of great significance to water traffic in the 18th century in particular, when the waterways were primarily transport routes.

Näe ja koe GEOKOHTEET Kukonharju canal

Experience a centuries old canal

The excavation works of the Kukonharju canal were organised by a famous Russian general, Aleksander Suvorov, how was between 1791-1798 tasked with using four canals to combine the badly sunken yet strategic Saimaa bays into a functioning waterway and part of the Russian system of fortifications. The Kutvele, Käyhkää, Kukonharju and Telataipale canals allowed for Russia’s Saimaa navy to pass safely between the Lappeenranta, Kärnäkoski and Olavinlinna fortifications near the border.

Images: Heli Rautanen, Veikka Liljeström, Veera Hakkarainen

GEOLOGICAL VOCABULARY

Coordinates

Geographic coordinates

61.526500535, 27.909269094

GPS-devices

x=548361,400 y=6821771,000