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As part of the Salpa-line protecting Finland from the threat of Russia during World War II, the museum displays several models of concrete bunkers fully equipped with original guns and gear. A bizarre but worthwhile visit. During summer some local history students will hang around geared up as soldiers serving tea and are willing to answer all your questions. Open only during the summer.
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Sinkkolan kotieläinpiha
A botanical garden established in 1957, containing about 2,000 different species.
The largest wooden building in Finland which offers a magnificent setting for various types of events. The arena is a venue for a variety of events from fairs to exhibitions, concerts and from small-scale meetings to large conferences. For the uses of sports, the arena is used for football, Finnish baseball, athletics, boxing, climbing and many another indoor sports.
Keskusta
Wooden 19th-century houses close to the Pielisjoki river. Some other remains of the wooden Joensuu remain here and there, but the old town as it was is now mainly lost due to construction speculation since the 1960s. The centre still follows the town plan that was made in 1848. Streets were made wide to prevent fire in a wooden town, and the trees in the streets are birch for the same reason, for example in Kirkkokatu (Church St.), which has a church in both ends, Greek Orthodox and Lutheran. Otherwise the centre is a rather ugly grid system post war concrete collection of houses with the typical shops and bars and restaurants you will find in any Finnish city. Most important modern buildings are the new library and Metla building in the university campus (There is a cafe inside).
The North Karelian Museum displays a wide range of stuff from Karelian folklore dresses to maps and photographs of places nowadays forgotten behind the Russian border. If you have made the effort to go to Joensuu, it is well worth a visit. If you are a student of Finnish Culture (e.g. in Helsinki University), you might get in for free, try!
Kaupungintalo
On the main square in the Art Nouveau style by the famous Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen. Saarinen is also the architect of the Helsinki Central Railway Station (1909), and they resemble each other remarkably. The theatre of the city also functions in the same building.