Iisalmi (; ) is a town and municipality in the region of Northern Savonia in Finland. It is located north of Kuopio and south of Kajaani. The municipality has a population of (), which makes it the second largest of the five towns in Northern Savonia in population, only Kuopio being larger. It covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality is unilingually Finnish. In the 2010s, Iisalmi is known as an export industry town, as well as a significant study town in the region. History Iisalmi traces its roots back to 1627, when the parish of Iisalmi was formed around the local church. The town's old wooden church, Gustav Adolf Church, was consecrated in 1780. In the 18th century, when Finland was under Swedish control, Sweden was frequently at war with Imperial Russia, and the area of Koljonvirta in Iisalmi was a battlefield on which one of the greatest Swedish victories occurred. However, Sweden lost its last war with Russia and had to surrender Finland to the Russian Empire in 1809. Iisalmi gained its status as town on October 20, 1891. Geography There are 111 lakes in the Iisalmi region, the largest of which are Lake Onkivesi, Lake Haapajärvi, Lake Porovesi and Lake Nerkoo. Economy Olvi, the last big independent beer brewery in Finland, has its factory and headquarters in Iisalmi. (Other big Finnish breweries have been bought by multinational companies.) Genelec, a manufacturer of active monitors and loudspeakers] used in recording studios worldwide, has its factory and headquarters in Iisalmi. Normet, engineers and manufacturers of mechanised equipment for underground rock-mining and tunnelling, also has its factory and headquarters in Iisalmi. Headquarters is located in Espoo. Profile Vehicles makes ambulances and police cars. Iisalmi has its own railway station on the VR network. The line between Iisalmi and Oulu was electrified in December 2006, replacing diesel haulage of trains. Culture Events Iisalmi, even though being a relatively small town, has many cultural events on small and somewhat larger scales. One memorable event, of the many, is "Rompepäivät", which translates as "the days of old junk and stuff". People gather together bringing various old items, from small sewing needles to old tractors, for everyone to see and many small things to be sold. A few old restored cars, trucks, motorcycles and tractors, some of them Finnish-made, are displayed for others to see. Here