Olonets is located at the confluence of the
Olonka and Megrega rivers, on the Olonets Plain, 140 km southwest of
Petrozavodsk, 269 km northeast of
St. Petersburg along the R 21 highway (
«Kola» highway).
In the 18th century, Olonets' importance shifted from trade to ironworking industries. In 1773, it was made the seat of
Olonets Governorate. Eleven years later, however, the seat was moved to
Petrozavodsk and Olonets started to decline.
Modern Olonets is classified as a historical town of the Republic of Karelia and is the only town in the republic where
Karelians are in majority (over 60% as of 2005[update]).
Olonetskaya district station of young naturalists. It was opened on December 17, 1971.[8]
Music, sports and art schools of the city.
Center for Additional Education. It was opened in 1951 as the House of Creativity of children and youth, later - the House of Children's Creativity.[8]
Olonets branch of
Sortavala College (previously the branch was an independent educational institution under the names: PU-2 (in the period from 1962 to 2014), Olonets Technical School - from 2014 to February 2019 before reorganization).
Attractions
The city has preserved the layout of the
XVIII century.
Mass graves of Soviet soldiers at the civil cemetery of Olonets, who died during the Great Patriotic War.[9][10] 449 Soviet soldiers were buried in mass graves.[11]
The mass grave of Soviet soldiers and civilians shot by the
Belofin invaders during the occupation of Olonets in
1919.[12]
Monument to Soviet military pilots — participants of the Svir-Petrozavodsk operation (1944).[13] The monument (the wing of a combat aircraft) was installed in 1974 on Karl Marx Street.[11]
Monument to the heroes of the Olonets underground.[14]
The monument to the Soviet soldiers-liberators[15] was installed on the street of Svir Divisions in 1969 (
76-mm divisional cannon).[11]
Church of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God (1828).
The Church of the Holy Cross of the Church of Ingria (see the
Church of Ingria).
In the courtyard of one of the houses there are Soviet sculptures of a lion, a woman and a boy.
City holidays and events
Every year, since 1999, on the initiative of the then mayor of Olonets Vasily Anatolyevich Popov, the «Olonets Games of
Ded Moroz» began to be held on the first day of winter.[17]
Olonets is the only city on the territory of
Karelia where
Karelians make up the majority of the population, in addition, the
Olonets district is a place of compact residence of Karelian Livviks and the most populated Karelian district of the Republic of Karelia.
Besides Karelians, Olonets is home to such traditional Karelian peoples as
Finns,
Russians, as well as
Belarusians,
Ukrainians,
Poles and
Lithuanians. In relation to the Belarusian and Ukrainian population, this is primarily due to the post-war resettlement from the destroyed villages of
Belarus and
Ukraine, Karelia was a place of exile for Poles and Lithuanians.
There is a small community of
Chechens in Olonets and Olonets district, which is not typical for this region and the republic as a whole. According to the
2002 census, 53 representatives of this nationality live here. In this regard, a number of
ethnic conflicts have arisen in the area.[21][22]
Ethnicity
Population
Percentage
Karelians
5827
58%
Russians
3720
37%
Belarusians
211
2%
Ukrainians
157
1,5%
Finns
126
1,3%
Telecommunications
Cellular communication
Cellular communication services according to the
LTE standard are provided by the operators «
MTS», «
Megafon», «
Tele2», «
Beeline», «
Rostelecom», and «
Yota».
Wired telephone connection
The wired telephone connection in the city is provided by «
Rostelecom» PJSC and «Svirtelekom» LLC.
Internet connection
High-speed wired Internet connection is provided by the operators «Svirtelekom», «Rostelecom».
Television
Digital terrestrial (DVB-T2 standard), satellite, cable TV broadcasting is available in the city.
Witold Pilecki (1901–1948) was born in Olonets. He was an army officer and a member of
Armia Krajowa who got himself arrested in order to infiltrate the Nazi operation in
Auschwitz concentration camp. He escaped from the camp and was one of the first direct witnesses of the
Final Solution which he reported to his
Underground superiors. He took part in the
Warsaw Uprising. After WWII he was tried and executed by the Polish communist regime in 1948. He was a decorated Polish National hero.[23]
^Jack Fairweather (2019). The Volunteer:The true Story of the Resistance Hero Who infiltrated Auschwitz. London: WH Allen.
Sources
Законодательное Собрание Республики Карелия. Закон №871-ЗРК от 29 апреля 2005 г. «Об административно-территориальном устройстве Республики Карелия», в ред. Закона №1895-ЗРK от 2 июня 2015 г. «О внесении изменения статью 9 Закона Республики Карелия "Об административно-территориальном устройстве Республики Карелия"». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: газета "Карелия", №48, 7 мая 2005 г. (
Legislative Assembly of the Republic of Karelia. Law #871-ZRK of April 29, 2005 On the Administrative-Territorial Structure of the Republic of Karelia, as amended by the Law #1895-ZRK of June 2, 2015 On Amending Article 9 of the Law of the Republic of Karelia "On the Administrative-Territorial Structure of the Republic of Karelia". Effective as of the official publication date.).
Законодательное Собрание Республики Карелия. Закон №813-ЗРК от 1 ноября 2004 г. «О городских, сельских поселениях в Республике Карелия», в ред. Закона №1694-ЗРK от 2 апреля 2013 г. «О преобразовании муниципальных образований "Нюхчинское сельское поселение" и "Сумпосадское сельское поселение" Беломорского муниципального района и внесении изменений в некоторые законодательные акты Республики Карелия». Вступил в силу по истечении десяти дней со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: газета "Карелия", №124, 126, 129, 132, 135, 136, 139, 4 ноября — 9 декабря 2004 г. (
Legislative Assembly of the Republic of Karelia. Law #813-ZRK of November 1, 2004 On the Urban, Rural Settlements in the Republic of Karelia, as amended by the Law #1694-ZRK of April 2, 2013 On the Transformation of the Municipal Formations of "Nyukhchinskoye Rural Settlement" and "Sumposadskoye Rural Settlement" of Belomorsky Municipal District of the Republic of Karelia and on Amending Various Legislative Acts of the Republic of Karelia. Effective as of the day which is ten days after the day of the official publication.).
Законодательное Собрание Республики Карелия. Закон №825-ЗРК от 1 декабря 2004 г. «О муниципальных районах в Республике Карелия», в ред. Закона №1694-ЗРK от 2 апреля 2013 г. «О преобразовании муниципальных образований "Нюхчинское сельское поселение" и "Сумпосадское сельское поселение" Беломорского муниципального района и внесении изменений в некоторые законодательные акты Республики Карелия». Вступил в силу по истечении десяти дней со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: газета "Карелия", №141, 16 декабря 2004 г. (
Legislative Assembly of the Republic of Karelia. Law #825-ZRK of December 1, 2004 On the Municipal Districts in the Republic of Karelia, as amended by the Law #1694-ZRK of April 2, 2013 On the Transformation of the Municipal Formations of "Nyukhchinskoye Rural Settlement" and "Sumposadskoye Rural Settlement" of Belomorsky Municipal District of the Republic of Karelia and on Amending Various Legislative Acts of the Republic of Karelia. Effective as of the day which is ten days after the day of the official publication.).