Pielinen

Pielinen is a great lake in North Karelia, its waters gathering from a broad basin that reaches eastwards across the forests. Dark water reflects the many bogs that drain into it. Settlements such as Nurmes grew around its shores; in 1651 Nurmes became a chapel community of the Pielisjärvi parish. The lake's outlet leads south into the waterways of eastern Finland, while the wooded hills of Koli rise along its western shore.