The bombing of Ristisaari

From Lehmo Cuisine the rowing tour continues along the Pielisjoki River to Joensuu and the Ilosaari island. During the busy Pielisjokisprint event, some might miss the beautiful scenery along the river. Ristisaari Island in the Pielisjoki River was the largest wood sorting area in Finland in its day and it was in operation for nearly a hundred years. At best nearly 1,000 people were employed by wood sorting in Ristisaari, until it was closed down in 1970. During the Continuation War, a decoy city was established in Ristisaari to save Joensuu from air raids. There were no proper bomb shelters in Joensuu during the Winter War. The speciality of the civil defence of Joensuu was the 12 kilometres long decoy city with lighting, built on a clearing on the north side of the city, between Ristisaari and Lake Höytiäinen. The idea of the decoy city arose when some workers at Ristisaari had accidentally left some lights on at night. Soviet Union bombed the area thinking that it was Joensuu. Newspapers included instructions for the citizens on how to regulate their lighting. The decoy lights were in use for less than six months, from November 1942 until April 1943.