Monument to the Heroes of the War of Independence
This memorial is located on the cemetery next to the Second World War Heroes' graves. It was presumably erected in the 1920s by the Kuusamo civil guard. The memorial has the names of those 11 men from Kuusamo who died fighting on the side of the whites in eastern Karelia and Tampere in 1918.
After Finland became independent on 6.12.2017, war of independence began in January 1918. There were no fighting in the Kuusamo area. In March 1918 the first draft during the independence was held in Kuusamo, and some of the approximately 700 people assigned to serve on the military were commanded to assist in liberating the Vienan Karelia from the Russian empire.
The independence of eastern Karelia didn't happen. The red army took victory in 1922, and approximately 11 000 eastern Karelians fleed to Finland. Approximately 2000 refugees came through Lämsänkylä in Kuusamo. The were accommodated in Kuusamo and education was arranged for the children. The border to the Soviet Union closed for good by the mid 1920s.
Memorial stone text
”Urhoot astuvat kumpuin yöstä ja kertovat Suomensuvun työstä ja neuvovat polvea nousevaa.”
Translation: The valiant spring from the night and tell of the work of the Finland Family and advise the emerging generation.
Address
Kitronintie 11
Kuusamo Statues and Monuments
The Kuusamo municipality has a total of twenty four statues and monuments. Most of them are about war history, but there are also some that are about significant people and events.
A Monument can be a decorated stone, a wooden, stony or metallic structure, or a simple mark like a metal plate or a carving on a rock.