- Population
- 20,960
- 21K
- Elevation
- 124 m
- above sea level
- Local time
- UTC+02:00
- Europe/Helsinki · UTC+02:00
- Places inside
- 1
- listed under Iisalmi
- Airports
- KUO Kuopio Airport64 km
- KAJ Kajaani Airport90 km
About Iisalmi
Iisalmi is a municipality. Location: Ylä-Savo, Northern Savonia. Population: 20,960. Elevation: 124 m.
Iisalmi (Finnish: [ˈiːsɑlmi]; Swedish: Idensalmi) is a town and municipality in the region of North Savo in Finland. It is located 87 kilometres (54 mi) north of Kuopio and south of Kajaani. The municipality has a population of 20,205 (31 December 2025), which makes it the second largest of the five towns in North Savo in population, only Kuopio being larger. It covers an area of 872.20 square kilometres (336.76 sq mi) of which 109.22 km2 (42.17 sq mi) is water.
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
Travel notes for Iisalmi
From Wikivoyage
Iisalmi is a city in North Savonia.
Understand+
Formerly a fairly important railway junction, nowadays Iisalmi is probably mostly associated with the Olvi brewery and its products.
Municipal information:
Iisalmi city website
Get in+
By plane:
Iisalmi doesn't have an airport, the closest ones are in Kuopio and Kajaani, 80 km south and north, respectively.
By train:
Trains on the line between Kuopio and Kajaani, including trains from Helsinki to Oulu, stop at Iisalmi. There is also a train from Ylivieska.
1 Iisalmi railway station (Iisalmen rautatieasema). (updated Apr 2020)
By bus:
Coaches between Helsinki and Oulu stop at Iisalmi. From Kuopio there are frequent connections. There is also a coach line from Joensuu.
2 Iisalmi bus station (Iisalmen linja-autoasema), Kauppakatu 18 (in the town centre, about 800 m from the railway station). (updated Nov 2026)
By car:
As with most other towns in Finland, arriving by car is always an option.
By boat:
The town is reachable by boat from Saimaa and thereby from the sea. After Kuopio there is a 12 m height and 2.4 m depth restriction. 1.0-m and 1.2-m fairways continue towards Kiuruvesi and Vieremä.
Source: Wikivoyage · CC BY-SA 4.0 · abridged
Places bordering Iisalmi
- Kiuruvesi
- Kuopio
- Lapinlahti
- Pielavesi
- Sonkajärvi
- Vieremä
Twin towns and sister cities of Iisalmi
- Lüneburg· Germany
- Võru· Estonia
- Pécel· Hungary
- Nykøbing Falster· Denmark
- Nyköping· Sweden
Source: Wikidata. Only places with a page on this site are shown.
Population of Iisalmi over time
| 2008 | 22,289 | |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 22,169 | |
| 2010 | 22,095 | |
| 2011 | 22,147 | |
| 2012 | 22,135 | |
| 2013 | 22,171 | |
| 2014 | 22,197 | |
| 2015 | 21,945 | |
| 2016 | 21,767 | |
| 2017 | 21,639 | |
| 2023 | 20,618 | |
| 2025 | 20,205 |
Censuses and official estimates; source: Wikidata.
Climate of Iisalmi
Best months for sightseeingBest months for sightseeing: June–August.
This month · November
A cold month
Day -1° · Night -5° · Rain 51 mm
- Hottest month
- July (day 21°)
- Coldest month
- January (night -13°)
- Wettest month
- August (84 mm)
- Driest month
- February (31 mm)
Bars: average monthly low and high temperature. Below: precipitation. Monthly averages for 1970–2000 at about 18 km resolution, adjusted for elevation. Highlighted months are mild and relatively dry. Source: WorldClim 2.1 (CC BY 4.0).
Show values as a table
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average high (°C) | -7° | -7° | -1° | 5° | 14° | 19° | 21° | 18° | 12° | 5° | -1° | -5° |
| Average low (°C) | -13° | -13° | -8° | -3° | 4° | 9° | 12° | 10° | 5° | 0° | -5° | -11° |
| Precipitation (mm) | 40 | 31 | 33 | 32 | 42 | 64 | 81 | 84 | 60 | 53 | 51 | 43 |
How to get to Iisalmi
The nearest airport is Kuopio Airport (KUO), 64 km to the southeast as the crow flies. The nearest large city is Umeå, 345 km to the west.
Airports
- Kuopio Airport (KUO) Kuopio / Siilinjärvi 64 kmsoutheast
- Kajaani Airport (KAJ) Kajaani 90 kmnorth
- Jyväskylä Airport (JYV) Jyväskylän Maalaiskunta 146 kmsouthwest
Nearby large cities
- Umeå Population: 130.2K 345 kmwest
Straight-line distances; road distances are longer. Airport data: OurAirports.
Day trips from Iisalmi
Within 100 km: 1 historic or cultural site, 2 natural sites, 43 lakes, rivers and coasts.
0–25 km3 places
- Porovesi Lake 5 kmNW
- Onkivesi Lake 24 kmS
- Lampaanjärvi Lake 20 kmSW
25–60 km14 places
- Näläntöjärvi Lake 48 kmNW
- Kiuruvesi Lake 27 kmNW
- Koivujärvi Lake 60 kmS
- Tallusjärvi Lake 60 kmS
60–100 km29 places
- Iso Lamujärvi Lake 72 kmNW
- Oulujärvi Lake 92 kmN
- Nuasjärvi Lake 86 kmNE
- Kajaaninjoki River 86 kmN
Straight-line distances.
Places in Iisalmi
1 placeBar: population relative to the most populous place in this list.
Nearby attractions & nature
Everything nearby-
Porovesi Lake, Northern Savonia5 km NW
-
Lampaanjärvi Lake, Northern Savonia20 km SW
-
Onkivesi Lake, Northern Savonia24 km S
Sources & licences
Data last updated: · 2 independent sources