s/s heinävesi

Opening of the Heinävesi Canals and Heinävesi History of the I-ship

The completion of the Heinävesi canals and the opening of the route in 1906 aroused great local enthusiasm. The beautiful waterway offered a great opportunity for passenger traffic, and even before the opening, a Heinävesi Steamboat Cooperative in 1905. Since sufficient funding could not be raised from the residents of Heinävesi, the fundraising was expanded to include local farmers. The shareholders were mainly farmers, merchants and craftsmen from the area, but there were also farmhands.

Heinävesi I Ship Construction and Routes

The first ship, Heinävesi I, was built At Paul Wahl's machine shop in Varkaus in 1906. The ship could carry 200 passengers and offered them several cabins and several salons.

The ship's schedules were carefully planned:

• Kuopion departures: At 13:30 p.m. (except on Confirmation Sundays, when churchgoers were transported).
• Savonlinna departures: At 13:00 PM.
• KermaDepartures from the beach: At 03:00 PM.
• Overnight stay: In Heinävesi (until 1916, when it was moved to Säynetkoski).

Heinävesi Route: A Favorite of Tourists and Locals

The Heinävesi waterway attracted tourists with its beauty. The ship's guest books contained numerous greetings from both domestic and foreign passengers. Most of the visitors arrived from Europe, but there were also passengers from more exotic countries.

Although the ship was popular with tourists, it was especially important to local residents. Heinävesi I was the only means of transportation in the region to the cities, where people sold their own products and bought necessary supplies.

Technological Development and the Change of Tourism

In the 1950s, the rise of cars and road construction affected shipping, and Heinävesi I focused more on tourist traffic. The Kuopio-Savonlinna route was now operated in one day. In 1965, an oil burner was installed on the ship to replace the log heating system to improve economy.

The Termination of Heinävesi Steamship Oy and the Ship's New Owner

Heinävesen Steamship Oy ceased operations in 1967, when Heinävesi I moved Saimaan Laivamatkat Ltd. This municipally owned company purchased a total of about ten traditional passenger steamships. At the same time Heinävesi I simply became Heinävesi.

Saimaan Laivamatkat The company went bankrupt in 1981, when ship enthusiasts from Savonlinna bought Heinävesi at an auction and founded Savonlinnan Laivat Oy. The new route ran from Savonlinna to Punkaharju to Savonlinna, and outside of scheduled traffic, the ship was also used for charter cruises.

On this day S/S Heinävesi is more than just a ship – it is a living museum piece, a tourist attraction and a theatre of memories on Lake Saimaa. Cruise passengers can step back in time, enjoy peaceful “slow travel” and see with their own eyes the landscapes that made the Heinävesi route famous more than a century ago.

The ship's original steam engine still pulses in the engine room at over 110 years old, and its horn blasts out to the villages along the canal as if bidding farewell to a bygone world. S/S Heinävesi combines the present and history in a unique way: it transports passengers along the same routes that merchants, painters, presidents and rock stars of the past have traveled. Every journey on board the steamship is part of a continuum – a story that began in 1906 and continues to live on in the experiences of new generations.