Yövesi is the most beautiful area of Saimaa since 5000 years

The shores of Saimaa's Yövesi are an ancient homeland of our ancestors. After the Ice Age, early hunter-gatherers settled in Yövesi, choosing the best lakeside locations of Saimaa. They fished in the waters and hunted in the surrounding forests. Signs of their Stone Age dwellings have been discovered along the shores of Yövesi, as well as mythical images they immortalised in the rock paintings of Astuvansalmi and Uittamonsalmi. The Rock Art Visitor Centre Astuva Ristiina offers a virtual experience and insights into the wonders of rock art. During the summer, you can explore the Astuvansalmi rock paintings on boat tours, with tickets available on the Visit Mikkeli Shop.

With its ruggedly beautiful shores, canals, rare wildlife, and UNESCO Saimaa Geopark sites, Yövesi offers travelers remarkable experiences and a timeless atmosphere.

Yövesi is a beatiful creation of the Ice Age

Ice Age has left many marks on Yövesi and Astuvansalmi. The majestic and steep cliffs along Yövesi's shores reflect darkly on the lake's surface, giving it the name Yövesi, meaning "Night Water." The melting waters of the Ice Age have also formed beautiful sandy beaches along Yövesi.

At Käenniemenselkä in Yövesi, the forces of ice sheet carved the deepest point in Saimaa in the bedrock at the bottom the lake. The place is known as Käenniemen kaivo, the "well of Käenniemi", and it has a depth of 86 meters. The 49-meter deep Haukkavuorenselkä, the 44-meter deep Mustansaarenselkä located near Ristiina, the 71-meter deep Salonelkä and the 55-meter deep Lehtisenselkä are other deep basins carved by the ice age.

Historic habitation along the Yövesi waterways

Yövesi, "Night water", in Saimaa has been an important waterway for thousands of years. On the opposite shore of Astuva island, accross Salonselkä, is Himalansaari island on which our ancestors dwelled thousands of years ago. Due to its height, the island was also one of the only possible places to live when the water level was high after the ice age. Himalansaari island was a busy village along the inland waterway right until the early 20th century.

Ristiina is full of character

The village and county of Ristiina situated on the shore of Yövesi was a significant parish in the Middle Ages. In 1649, Peter Brahe, a Swedish statesman, Count and Governor-General of Finland, separated Ristiina as an independent parish and made it the center of government of his fief. Ristiina was named after Per Brahe's wife Kristiina, and in time, the initial K was dropped from the name. 

Brahe built the Brahelinna castle mansion as the center of administration in the village of Pyrhölä on the Linnanmäki ridge. The building fell into disrepair during the Greater Wrath, and today, only part of the foundation and the ruins of the wall that surrounded the main building remain on the site.

Between 1777 and 1779, a new Brahelinna mansion was built in the center of Ristiina. The building housed the first cadet school in Finland headed by Count Georg Magnus Sprengtporten.

Per Brahe also built the first church in the area in the 1650s. The current church of Ristiina was built in its place in 1775. In the church, you can see the authentic portraits of Per and Kristiina Brahe originating from the 1600s. 

Kallioniemi villa

Yövesi is the most wonderful resort area. One of the most famous holidaymakers in the region in the late 1800s and early 1900s was Emil Nestor Setälä, professor of Finnish language and literature,  and politician.

In 1896, Setälä built a beautiful national romantic style villa in Kallioniemi, Ristiina, along the Louhivesi–Someenjärvi–Yövesi waterway. Setälä spent summers in Kallioniemi with his family and invited also many of his contemporaries, such as the famous Finnish composer Jean Sibelius, to enjoy their summer holidays there. 

Kallioniemi is one of the most famous and charming villas in the region, from which a beautiful waterway leads to Astuvansalmi rock paintings.

It was here in his villa that Setälä is said to have written Finland's Declaration of Independence on November 30, 1917.

Pien-Toijola Open-Air Museum

The Pien-Toijola Open-Air Museum in Ristiina is a rare cultural environment where you can take a journey to the rural life in the 1800s. The oldest buildings date back to the 18th century and the estate has been owned by the same family since 1672. 

All 28 buildings of the estate are in their original locations and you can find a rich collection of nearly 900 original farm tools and items inside the sheds and other buildings.

Pien-Toijola has been selected as one of the nation's significant built cultural environments and it is one of Saimaa Geopark natural and cultural sites. 

Enchanting waterways and canals of Yövesi

Lake Yövesi with more than 360 islands is about 27 km long and 10 km at the widest. The ice sheet shaped the landscape in the direction from northwest to southeast and the meltwaters filled the depths of the lake. In the southeast, Yövesi connects to the larger lake basin of Great Saimaa.

For travellers, the islands, straits and canals offer facinating waterways to explore. You can get to Louhivesi from Yövesi via the canals of Nikinsalmi or Kirkkotaipale and with a small boat or canoe, via the beautiful Vuoltee canal.

Rock Art Visitor Centre Astuva introduces you to the secrets of prehistoric rock art

The Rock Art Visitor Centre Astuva in Ristiina, Finland's only information and visitor centre specialising in rock art, will be established in the premises of the historical cadet school in Ristiina. The Rock Art Centre Astuva will open in summer 2025. 

Tickets for the boat trips to the Astuvansalmi rock paintings are available in the Visit Mikkeli online shop.