In the town center is situated a post office, an Alko store, a kiosk, several supermarkets and a few restaurants.

The reason for the survival of these entrepreneurs is the arrival of summer inhabitants who triple the population of Puumala during the season.

In June 1788, Swedish soldiers wearing uniforms of the Imperial Russian Army, staged an attack against the town.

The subject of Puumala's coat of arms refers to the local history: in the Treaty of Åbo in 1743, Puumala became a border parish, but due to its strategic location, the narrow Puumalansalmi has been the scene of several battles since the 16th century, which the flaming bombshells on the coat of arms refer to.

The coat of arms was designed by Tapio Vallioja, and the Puumala municipal council approved it at its meeting on September 24, 1962.