Forest road towards Haapavirta canal and crossing (road number 5100) in Mönni village.
A turnaround for trucks.
Look towards the hill and left. A round stone is in the ditch. Here begins the path to the canal.
Path to the canal.
Building a lock chamber in Haapavirta 1882 - 1883
Other Pielisjoki canals were ready-made and in use when canal building was initiated in Haapavirta. In 1879, Haapavirta channel had been cleared but the result was poor. Berndt Höök drew up a plan for building a lock in 1881. In January 1882, the Finnish senate allocated 125.000 Finnish marks for the project.
A wooden lock chamber was built through a point of land located in the eastern side of the Haapavirta rapid. The new lock was built by using the same dimensions as the other Pielisjoki canals. The total price of the canal was 124.999 FIM. The wooden lock chamber was turned into a concrete one probably during 1913 - 1915.
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Forest road towards Haapavirta canal and crossing (road number 5100) in Mönni village. | A turnaround for trucks. | Look towards the hill and left. A round stone is in the ditch. Here begins the path to the canal. | Path to the canal. |
© Photos 2004 Riitta Kankkunen
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Almost there! Bollards ahead. | Haapavirta lock chamber upstreams. | Haapavirta lock chamber downstreams. | Canal keepers house and signPrivate. |
© Photos 2004 Riitta Kankkunen
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Canal keepers house is near the lock. Emptying mechanism of the lock chamber is visible. | The gate downstreams. The level of the water is higher than before 1971. | The canal line upstreams. The old stone paving is partly broken. | Channel towards the City of Nurmes upstreams. |
© Photos 2004 Riitta Kankkunen
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Channel downstreams towards the City of Joensuu. | A stone near the upper gate. These years 1913-14-15 are probably the years when the wooden lock chamber was rebuilt. |
© Photos 2004 Riitta Kankkunen
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Haapavirta today. | Haapavirta lock without the gates. | Haapavirta lock without the gates. | The upper parts of the gates on land. |
© Pictures 2010 by Pentti Sorsa
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The upper parts of the gates on land. | Old lockgates nevergive up without violence. | The Canal hous in Haapavirta. | "Paul Wahl & Co 1882" - The company is closed since long. |
© Pictures 2010 by Pentti Sorsa
Canal dimensions
Total length | Elevation | Number of locks | Length of lock | Breadth of lock | Depth of lock |
354 m | 0,3 m | 1 | 35,6 m | 7,7 m | 2,1 m |
Haapavirta canal today
The Haapavirta canal is still left. It was taken out of use when the current Kuurna canal was built in 1971. The water level has changed and today it is higher than before 1971. There is no road to the canal but the forest path is good. The canal area and the canal keepers house are private.
In winter, a snowmobile route is available at Karelia Expert.
Riitta Kankkunen © 2008
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