Iitti

Iitti is a municipality along the Kymijoki river in Päijänne Tavastia, southern Finland; its parish village has been voted one of the most beautiful in the country. The municipal centre, Kausala, grew up after the railway connecting Riihimäki and Saint Petersburg was built through it in the 1960s. The Kymijoki's rapids here are harnessed by hydroelectric plants and bypassed by the Kimola Canal, which today is used mainly for leisure boating. The Kymi Ring motorsports circuit, completed in 2019, has struggled financially after pandemic-related postponements.

By Train

Direct trains connect Helsinki and Kouvola via Kausala railway station.

By Bus

Iitti has direct buses from Lahti, Kouvola, Kotka, Tampere, and Lappeenranta.

By Boat

Boating routes on the Pyhäjärvi of Iitti connect the parish village with Kouvola via the Kimola Canal.

By Car / Road

Iitti is on the road corridor between Tampere (west) and Kouvola (east), via Highway 12.

Service traffic (palveluliikenne) offers dial-a-ride service. Taxis are also available; smartphone apps such as Valopilkku can be used to book one.

• Iitti church: A wooden church dating to 1693, still used as a concert venue.

• Kilkkilän Farmi, Ojassuontie 68, ☏ +358 40-752-2207, [email protected]. A visitor farm with farm animals, a bouncy castle, trail tractors and trolley, a horse carousel, and a farm shop.

• Zoo Olga's farm (Kotieläinpiha Olgan farmi), Hanjärventie 11, ☏ +358 44 235 6911, [email protected]. €6 admission.

• Hiidensaari (by Jaalanselkä of Pyhäjärvi, 7.5 km north of the parish village). A recreation island with a jetty, campfire area, pit toilet, and trails, plus a prehistoric hill fort, grave site, and dwelling site within a nature reserve — visitors are asked not to disturb the archaeological stones. In summer the island hosts events, including concerts.

• Iitti Music Festival (Iitin musiikkijuhlat), held in June, mostly chamber music (bus transport available from Kausala, 7 km from the festival site). Most concerts are in the 1693 wooden church, with some at other venues and some outdoors; a youth music school runs concurrently. €20–40, some concerts free; bus transport around €3–7 each way.

• Rantamesta, Vuolenkoskentie 1476 (along road 363 in Vuolenkoski, about 30 km north of Kausala), ☏ +358 41 311 9485, [email protected]. A lakeshore summer restaurant.
• Vanha Sampo, Rieskantie 24. Has an outdoor playground with climbing frames, chickens and ducks in summer, and a pony in the yard.

Routes through Iitti run toward Tampere to the west and Kouvola to the east via Highway 12.