The Saimaa Canal connects Lake Saimaa to the Gulf of Finland. The
difference between the water levels of Lake Saimaa and the Gulf of
Finland is 76 meters, which has been offset by means of eight
locks. Three of them are situated on the Finnish side of the border
and the rest locks are on the other side of the border.
The construction of the Saimaa Canal started in 1845 and the
work was finished in 1856. The budget of the project was bigger
than the entire annual budget for Finland in those days, so the
construction work was a remarkable investment. But definitely it
has been worth of that! Traffic volumes have increased during the
history which has forced to improve the efficiency of the canal
couple of times. In the beginning of last century the canal was
made wider and later the sizes of the locks were also
increased.
You can easily find more interesting facts about the Saimaa
canal from internet or library. And of course, you can also visit
Saimaa Canal museum which is located in a former cashier's
residence on the eastern side of the Mälkiä lock at
Sulkuvartijankatu 16. N.B it is open only from June to August
(situation in summer ‘03).
