"Headquarter town" a Mikkeli Travel Page by Jarra

Mikkeli is the capital of the new super province of East Finland and lies in the heart of Europe`s most extensive lake district. Quite apart from the natural beauty its surroundings in both winter and summer, it also has an exceptionally lively cultural scene for a town only 33 000 people. For tourists and holidaymakers, Mikkeli offer an exceptionally broad range of opportunities for memorable trips in unique natural surroundings. Some of the most dramatic stages in Finnish history are closely associated with Mikkeli. During the WW II, the Finnish Army was led from Mikkeli., where Field-Marshall Mannerheim set up his headquarter. Czar Nicholas I in 1838 founded the town, but there had been settled population in the area since the beginning of the last millennium. Mikkeli derives its name from its patron St. Mikael, who lived in the 16th century.