The nearest major city, Kuopio in North Savonia, is located 136 kilometres (85 mi) to the west.

From Joensuu, the distance to Lappeenranta, the capital of South Karelia, is 233 kilometres (145 mi) along Highway 6.

Along with Kuopio, Joensuu is one of major urban, economic, and cultural hubs of Eastern Finland.

[9] The explanation of the coat of arms of Joensuu reads: "shield twice blocked with upper moat and lower corrugated; fields in red, silver and black."

The coat of arms was designed by Toivo Vuorela, and it was approved by the Joensuu City Council at its meeting on May 10, 1957.

[10][11][12] The city of Joensuu, founded by the Czar Nicholas I of Russia in 1848, is the regional centre and the capital of North Karelia.

When in 1860 the city received dispensation rights to initiate commerce, former restrictions against industry were removed and the local sawmills began to prosper and expand.

The Pielisjoki River has also been an important log raft route, providing wood for the sawmills and for the entire lumber industry.

[citation needed] During the last few decades, the formerly modest agrarian town has developed into a vital centre of the province.

The neighboring municipalities of Joensuu are Liperi, Kontiolahti, Lieksa, Ilomantsi, Tohmajärvi and Rääkkylä.

In addition, the city is part of the Joensuu sub-region, which currently also includes the municipalities of Heinävesi, Ilomantsi, Juuka, Kontiolahti, Liperi and Polvijärvi, as well as the town of Outokumpu.

For example, Joensuu is on average warmer than Dublin or Manchester in July, and colder than Moscow in January.

[20] As English and Swedish are compulsory school subjects, functional bilingualism or trilingualism acquired through language studies is not uncommon.

The concentration of information and communication technology companies has taken place in the premises offered by the Joensuu Science Park.

[24] Largest employers in 2006: City of Joensuu (4,409 employees), North Karelia Hospital District Consortium (2,220), University of Joensuu (1,244), Abloy Oy (800), North Karelia Education Consortium (537), Pohjois-Karjalan Osuuskauppa or PKO (512), VR companies (430), Pohjois-Karjalan Kirjapaino Oyj or PunaMusta Media (317) and Schauman Wood Oy (292).

In the 2010s, the Palkeet Agency[25] and the Finnish Defense Forces Service Center[26] were established in Joensuu.

There are four shopping centers in Joensuu: Iso Myy,[27] Metropol,[28] Plaza Centrum[29] and one department store belonging to the Sokos chain.

Joensuu is located along the Blue Highway, which is an international tourist route from Mo i Rana, Norway to Pudozh, Russia via Sweden.

Finnish baseball enjoys popularity as well and the local team, Joensuun Maila, plays in the top division Superpesis.

[38] There is also the Joensuu Sports Academy, which is a co-operation network of educational institutions that offers athletes training and coaching.