Heinola is a town of 18,000 people (2021) in Päijänne Tavastia.

Understand

The name Heinola is derived from the Finnish word "heinä," which means hay, and refers to the town's location in a rich agricultural area. The town was officially founded in 1776, but it had already become an important trading hub by the 1700s due to its location on the shores of Lake Ruotsalainen and the Heinola rapids, which were important transportation routes for goods.

In the late 1700s and early 1800s, Heinola experienced significant growth as new industries were established in the area, including a paper mill, a sawmill, and a tannery. The town became an important center for commerce, industry, and transportation, and it played a key role in the development of the Päijänne Tavastia region.

During World War II, Heinola suffered significant damage from bombings, and many buildings and infrastructure were destroyed. However, the town was quickly rebuilt after the war, and it continued to develop and modernize in the post-war era.

Get in

Heinola is located halfway between Helsinki and Jyväskylä (140 km from each) on highway 4 (E75), some 40 km north of Lahti, and 100 km south-west of Mikkeli. There are good coach connections especially along highway 4, see Matkahuolto.

The railway from Lahti has no passenger transport, except occasional museum trains.

Get around

You can walk around downtown.

By bus

See Lahti#By bus

By taxi

• Taksi Heinola, ☏ +358 500-492-852 (normal price), tilaukset@taksiheinola.net. M–F 06:00–20:00 €6, Sa 06:00–16:00 €7, other times €9; + €0.80–0.90/min + €1.10/km. (updated Feb 2022)
• Lahen Taksi, Lahden aluetaksi, Menevä: see Lahti#By taxi

See

Tähtiniemi Bridge

• 1 Heinola Bird Zoo (Heinolan lintutarha), A. F. Aironkatu 3. Heinola Bird Zoo is an aviary that contains more than 500 species of birds. (updated Sep 2022)
• 2 Heinola Art Museum (Heinolan taidemuseo), Kauppakatu 4, ☏ +358 44 769 4216, museo@heinola.fi. Heinola Art Museum is located in the 1830 Empire-styled house, and includes the Art Foundation's library and a collection of European porcelain from the 18th to 19th centuries. (updated Sep 2022)
• Some wooden houses in central Heinola.
• 3 Tähtiniemi Bridge (Tähtiniemensilta). Finland's second longest bridge, which takes motorway 4 across Lake Ruotsalainen. (updated Sep 2022)

Do

• 1 Heinola DiscGolfPark World, Kippasuonväylä 30. Finland's largest disc golf center. (updated Sep 2022)
• 2 The Sport Institute of Finland Vierumäki (Suomen Urheiluopisto Vierumäki), Pihkalantie 3 (Bus 72, 69), ☏ +358 300 870 870, myynti@vierumaki.fi. A leisure centre. You can rent an electric bicycle, SUP board and canoe. Flow-park adventure track in woods. Possibility to practice many sports. There is also a spa for relaxation. (updated Oct 2022)

Buy

There are some shops downtown, and about 2 km southwest next to the motorway you can find a large hypermarket store 1 K-Citymarket.

• 2 Heinola Market Halls (Heinolan Kauppahallit), Kausantie 1. M–F 10:00–17:00, Sa Su 10:00–15:00. One of Finland's largest flea markets, which has sections for sports goods, fishing equipment, clothes, crafts, household goods, music and antiques. (updated Jul 2022)
• 3 Heila farmer's market (Heinolan Heila), Työmiehentie 35 (Easy stopover along the main road 5/E75.). It offers memorable experiences with genuine Finnish flavours in the restaurant and cafeteria and wide range of local foods from all over Finland. Visitors will be pleased to find a spacious car park, and tidy toilets and baby care facilities. (updated Nov 2023)

Eat

• 1 Restaurant Kymenkartano (Ravintola Kymenkartano), Konsulinkatu 2, ☏ +358 44 797 2438. 07:30–15:00 (Breakfast 07:30–09:30; Lunch 11:00–14:00). Breakfast and lunch are served every day, including versatile salad buffet, bread assortment and coffee. (updated Sep 2022)
• 2 Kettu ja Kana, Torikatu 5, ☏ +358 3 715 7921, info@kettujakana.fi. A restaurant bar. Mostly known for its chicken dishes. (updated Sep 2022)
• 3 Restaurant Lily (Ravintola Lily), Savontie 10. Chinese restaurant. (updated Oct 2022)

Drink

• 1 Drink Bar Bulmer, Kirkkokatu 15, ☏ +358 3 7188 755, myynti@bulmer.fi. M–Th 10:00–00:00; F–Sa 10:00–02:00; Su 12:00–00:00. (updated Sep 2022)

Sleep

• 1 Hotelli Kumpeli Spa, Muonamiehenkatu 3, ☏ +358 3 812 7100, hotelli@kumpeli.fi. (updated Sep 2015)
• 2 Hotelli Valo, Pikijärventie 1, ☏ +358 44 700 8820, respa@nowene.fi. (updated Jul 2022)

Go next

• Lahti — the nearest large city, 40 km south
• The world heritage listed former groundwood and board mill in the village of 1 Verla, about 50 km southeast.
• Continue north along Highway 4 to Jyväskylä and beyond, or northeast to Mikkeli and Eastern Finland along Highway 5.

Routes through Heinola

Jyväskylä ← Leivonmäki National Park ← Joutsa ← Hartola ←	N  S	→ Lahti → Helsinki
Mikkeli ← Pertunmaa ←	N  S	→ END