Pielavesi
Pielavesi[dead link] is a town and municipality in North Savonia. It's most famous as being the birthplace of Urho Kekkonen, serving as Finland's president for almost 26 years.
Understand
Get in
By car
Highway 77 between Siilinjärvi and Viitasaari, part of the northern European Blue Highway goes through the south of the municipality (passing between the two major lakes in Säviä); regional road 561 and local road 5572 connect the highway to the town of Pielavesi.
By bus
Get around
As elsewhere in Finland, you reach most places by car, bike or taxi, while bus connections are sparse.
The lakes 1 Pielavesi 
and 2 Nilakka have fairways (extending by locks and canals to Päijänne, Lahti and Heinola) and boating routes, and especially Pielavesi, with an area of 110 km2 (42 sq mi) and a shoreline of 420 km (260 mi), an abundance of islands. Nilakka, shared with Keitele and Tervo, is Finland's 25th, with an area of 169 km2 (65 sq mi).
See
- 1 Lepikon torppa, Urho Kekkosentie 121 (a few kilometres from Pielavesi centre), ☏ +358 40-489-4827 (café), +358 44-274-7408. 23—31 May daily 10:00—16:00, Jun–4 Sep daily 10:00–18:00. Birthplace and childhood home of President of Finland Urho Kekkonen (1900–1986), a small croft bought by the family, now a museum. Fish soup served for groups (min. 10 persons) on advance request. €5/3/3, family €10.
Do
Buy
Eat
- 1 Satamaravintola Laivuri, Puustellintie 4. Lakeside pizzeria.
Drink
Sleep
- 1 Villa Honkamäki, Honkamäentie 1, ☏ +358 44 334 3037, irma@villahonkamaki.fi. Small guesthouse.
Connect
Go next
- The Rautalampi Route is proposed as a "national water route" because of its landscapes, partly desolate, partly with parish villages and cultural landscapes. Thanks to locks and canals, the waterway is navigable all the way via Päijänne to Lahti and Heinola (depth 2.4 m, bridge height 5.5 m), with some alternative whitewater routes available for those with canoe or similar.