Leisure in Iisalmi

The Iisalmi Town Library is located in the town centre in the Iisalmi Cultural Centre. You can freely visit the library and use material such as newspapers, magazines, books and digital material, electronic magazines and databases. You can also spend time in the library studying, listening to music or playing games. You need a library card to borrow material. Pokkari, the mobile library, serves customers in urban and rural areas. The Iisalmi Town Library organises events, cooperates with organisations and other operators, and serves special-needs customers. Children and adults can take part in the library’s diverse events, such as author visits and story hours.

Kirkkopuistonkatu 9
74100 IISALMI

Read more: Libraries

Iisalmi invests heavily in the promotion of an active lifestyle and health. Well-maintained, diverse and easily accessible sports and exercise facilities inspire and enable a diverse range of physical activity. The high-quality and well-maintained pitches, halls, routes and tracks are available to all citizens – there are also plenty of slots for users who are not members of sports clubs.

The range of guided sports organised in Iisalmi is wide and varied. The sports calendar, which is compiled annually in the autumn and distributed to households, features most of the guided sports groups for children, adults and special groups in Iisalmi (excluding sports clubs’ own coaching and training activities).

The Iisalmi Swimming Hall is the most popular venue for recreational and health exercise in the area. The swimming hall has a pool section, saunas and a gym. The swimming hall offers about 50 weekly groups for the adult population and special groups both at the pool and in the gym. You can borrow sports equipment and various measuring instruments at the swimming hall free of charge for your use or to organise events.

More information and bookings:
weekdays 8:00–15:30,
Sports Planner, tel. +358 40 830 2703

or during the swimming hall opening hours, customer service uimahalli(at)iisalmi.fi, tel +358 40 350 2534.

Read more: Sports

In Iisalmi, the nearest exercise venue starts at your front door. Outdoor enthusiasts in the Iisalmi area have access to the City Trails, the hiking trails of Koljonvirta and Soidinvuori, the Sikokallio area and the hiking trails and marked trails of the Paloisvuori outdoor activity area. It is also possible to use outdoor gyms along walking routes.

For orienteers, there are fixed control point networks in Paloisvuori and Sourunsalo.

The hiking trails, visitor’s marinas and campfire places with a lean-to in Iisalmi can be found on the free map service retkikartta.fi maintained by Metsähallitus.

Skiing trails and their maintenance situation can also be checked in the ski trail services web application.

Read more: Outdoor activities

Iisalmi’s cultural life provides residents and visitors with enjoyable experiences and energy. The Cultural Centre is the heart of Iisalmi’s events with its facilities for concerts, theatre, exhibitions and conferences. The centre also functions as a multi-service building that houses the town library.

The varied theatre and cinema offerings ensure that there is plenty of interesting things to see all year round in Iisalmi and its surrounding area.

For more information on Iisalmi theatre and cinema activities and contact information for different organisations, please visit the town’s website:

Read more: Theatre and cinema

Iisalmi’s museums introduce you to the history of Iisalmi and the region in a variety of ways.

For example, the Juhani Aho Museum gives you a peek at the former home and past of our national author.

At the Local Heritage Museum, you can get acquainted with the customs of peasant culture and the folk artefacts associated with agriculture, fishing and hunting.

At the Nature Museum, you can see the natural diversity of the region.

The Church Museum presents the various stages of the Iisalmi parish and its development cycle.

At the Brewery Museum, visitors can look at over a century-old beer items, laboratory and office premises as well as an advertising workshop where handcrafted advertisements for shops, vehicles and magazines were designed and made.

Read more: Museums

The Ylä-Savo Music Institute operates in Iisalmi, Kiuruvesi, Pielavesi, Sonkajärvi and Vieremä. The institute’s headquarters are located at the Iisalmi Cultural Centre. The music institute organises basic art education in accordance with the extensive curriculum of music studies, which also prepares the students for vocational studies in the field.

The subjects taught are:

• Solo subjects: Piano, kantele, accordion, guitar, electric guitar, electric bass, percussion, violin, viola, viola, cello, flute, recorder, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, tenor horn, baritone horn, French horn, tuba and vocals
• Common subjects: Basics of Music 1–7

There are several choirs in Iisalmi, and the local adult education centre offers a variety of music courses for playing and singing.

Diverse events throughout the year offer jazz, great concerts and music festivals featuring some of Finland’s most famous artists.

All persons under 29 living in the municipality are entitled to the services of municipal youth work.

Youth work activities in Iisalmi include spatial and group activities, events and courses, and the deployment of youth counsellors into educational institutes and the library. In addition, the activities include the Twist summer work programme and the implementation of projects aimed at young people. All current activities are described in the youth portal Po1nt.fi/iisalmi. The youth services are available on Instagram and Facebook as Iisalmi_nuorisopalvelut.

Iisalmi is home to the Iisalmi Youth Council (INN) youth advocacy group, which plays a role in the participation and consultation of young people in the town’s decision-making. Its purpose is to promote the interests of young people and to promote and develop their living conditions and leisure facilities in Iisalmi.

Youth meeting places in Iisalmi are the youth spaces Luukku at the bus station and Kuoppa at the LUMA Centre. Ohjaamo, located on Pohjolankatu, is a low-threshold information and counselling service for young people under 30.

Read more: Hobbies for children and young people

The senior card for physical activities was developed at the initiative of the Iisalmi Council for Senior Citizens. Any Iisalmi resident who is 65 years or over can go get the card at the Iisalmi Swimming Hall. The card includes:

• free admission to the Swimming Hall and its gym from Mon–Fri before 16:00
• fees for guided sports (e.g. water gymnastics, ‘päiväjoutilaat’ exercise, geriatric exercise, senior gym…)
• after 16:00, fees for sports groups organised by Sports and Exercise Services, which are also included in the season card for guided exercise, such as yoga, broomstick workouts, neck and shoulder workouts, stretching, etc.

Iisalmi has many active organisations and operators that provide third-sector services to the population of the region, providing a versatile framework for engaging in activities and physical activities that are suitable for you, regardless of age and condition.

More information about organisational activities and contact information:

Exercise Planner, tel. +358 40 830 2703

Read more: Associations

Read more: Leisure