Valtionhotelli

How the Stage was Set HISTORY IN BRIEF 1903: Opening of the Grand Hotel Cascade 1982: Opening of The Congress Hotel. Together with The Cascade, it forms the Valtionhotelli. HISTORY IN DETAIL Stone Age: The Imatra region has been inhabited since the Stone Age and boasts several Stone Age settlements. 16th century: The first written records concerning Imatra date from the 16th Century: tax inventories from that period contain references to taxes paid on salmon fishing on the River Vuoksi. 1772: Catherine the Great visited Imatra – this date marks the beginning of the official history of tourism at the Imatrankoski Rapids. It did not take long to travel from St Petersburg to Imatra, and the rapids were an exotic attraction for the Russians 1892: The railway came to Imatra, which immediately shortened the journey from St Petersburg and increased the influx of tourists. 1903: The Grand Hotel Cascade d'Imatra (the Valtionhotelli) opened its doors; earlier hotels had preceded it on the banks of the rapids but they had been destroyed in fires. The Finnish Senate commissioned the building of The Cascade, which was made of stone and resembled a knight's castle. It was soon rechristened in Finnish as the State Hotel of Imatra. 1903-1914: A golden age for local tourism. At the turn of the century the rapids - with Imatra's famous hotel, the Valtionhotelli, standing on its banks - was the most popular tourist attraction in Finland. All of St. Petersburg’s aristocracy and the upper echelons of Finnish government frequented the hotel as a venue for recreation. Tsar Nicolai II was a frequent visitor and in deference to these imperial visits the hotel still has an ‘Imperial Hall’. In days gone by, of the local inhabitants, only the rural police chief and the apothecary used to be entitled to enter the State Hotel. 1917: During Finland's war for independence, the hotel served as a military hospital. After Finland's independence, the Russians found themselves barred from crossing the border and the remote location of the Imatrankoski Rapids near the Russian border no longer held any attraction to Finnish tourists. 1939-45: During the Second World War it served as the Staff headquarters of the Kannas army. 1948: The Borough of Imatra was formed from certain areas of Ruokolahti, Joutseno and Jääski in 1948 after the Second World War 1982: The hotel was equipped with congress facilities. 1985-1987: The hotel was completely restored. 2005: After a renovation, the hotel reopened.