Lappeenranta (Finnish: [ˈlɑpːeːnˌrɑntɑ]; Swedish: Villmanstrand) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of South Karelia.

Lappeenranta is one of the most important urban centres in the entire Saimaa region, together with the cities of Imatra, Mikkeli and Savonlinna.

[6] Lappeenranta incorporated the late municipalities of Lappee and Lauritsala in 1967, Nuijamaa in 1989, Joutseno in 2009 and Ylämaa in 2010.

[7] In a survey conducted among business representatives in 2011, Lappeenranta was ranked 17th among Finnish cities in terms of image.

The public market was established here, which became so important as a trading place that general Governor Count Per Brahe the Younger proposed that the Swedish government should grant town privileges to Lapvesi.

[12] Between 1721 and 1743, Lappeenranta was the capital of Kymmenegård and Nyslott County and during this period the Swedes built the fortress out in stages.

The town was pillaged, wooden structures including the provincial chancellery were burnt and the ecclesiastical archives damaged.

[15] The name Lappeenranta consists of the genitive of Lappee (the name of the original core town) and the common noun ranta which means "shore".

Located on the southern shore of Lake Saimaa, Lappeenranta's neighboring municipalities on the Finnish side are Imatra, Lemi, Luumäki, Miehikkälä, Ruokolahti and Taipalsaari, and on the Russian side, neighbors include Svetogorsk and Kamennogorsk.

But Lappeenranta is still able to receive heat waves that cross Central Europe in a warmer climate than cool.

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

The number of persons with foreign citizenship living in Lappeenranta was 4,621[24] Most foreign-born citizens came from the former Soviet Union, Russia, China and India.

In addition, its inland location means that summers tend to be warmer and winters colder than along the coastal areas.

Various cabins around Lake Saimaa, as well as numerous snowmobiles, Nordic skating, floating in the river, reindeer rides, paragliding, skiing and sledding tracks draw a fair number of winter visitors.

Lappeenrannan NMKY is a basketball team playing in the third highest level in I-division B and have won two championships in 2005 and 2006.

[32] The city hosted the first ever Women's Bandy World Championship in 2004 and in 2014 the tournament was again played in Lappeenranta.

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

The Allegro train service operating between Helsinki and St. Petersburg stops in Vainikkala, a village in Lappeenranta.

Regional lines are operated by Savonlinja, Soisalon Liikenne, V-S Bussipalvelut, Vento and Mikkonen.

Lappeenranta is also a commercial centre of South-East Finland and the meeting point of the EU and Russia, 215 kilometres (134 mi) from both Helsinki and St. Petersburg.

Lappeenranta has numerous schools at almost all levels of education, including the LUT University, LAB University of Applied Sciences,[36] located in a shared Skinnarila campus of around 8000 students, the Army Academy (branch of the Finnish Defence Forces), South Karelia Vocational College and South Karelia Adult Education Centre.