| Ilomantsi | |
| Official Name: | Finnish: Ilomantsin kunta Swedish: Ilomants kommun |
| Other Name: | Ilomants |
| Settlement Type: | Municipality |
| Coordinates: | 62.6667°N 86°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  Finland |
| Subdivision Type1: | Region |
| Subdivision Name1: | North Karelia |
| Subdivision Type2: | Sub-region |
| Subdivision Name2: | Joensuu |
| Leader Title: | Municipal manager |
| Leader Name: | Markku Lappalainen |
| Established Title: | Charter |
| Established Date: | 1875 |
| Timezone: | EET |
| Utc Offset: | +02:00 |
| Timezone Dst: | EEST |
| Utc Offset Dst: | +03:00 |
Ilomantsi (Karelian: Il'manči or Ilomančči, Swedish: Ilomants) is municipality and a village of Finland. It is located in the North Karelia region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of NaNIlomantsi}} of which NaNIlomantsi}} is water. The population density is NaNIlomantsi. The most eastern point of Finland and of the continental part of the European Union is located in Ilomantsi near the village of Hattuvaara. (In the EU, only Cyprus is located further to the east.)
The nearest town is Joensuu, away; the distance to Helsinki is 511km (318miles). Neighbouring municipalities are Lieksa and Joensuu. In the east, Ilomantsi shares 100km (100miles) long border with the Russian Republic of Karelia. The municipality is sparsely populated and is mostly characterized by forests and boglands. About 250km2 of the area is designated as natural reserves, among them the national parks Petkeljärvi and Patvinsuo. The most important bodies of water in Ilomantsi are the lakes Koitere and Nuorajärvi and the river Koitajoki. The Pampalo gold mine is located in Ilomantsi.[1] [2]
The municipality is unilingually Finnish. Local words of Karelian or Russian extraction might be used in Ilomantsi. For example, the central village of the municipality is not called kirkonkylä as is usual in Finland, but pogosta (a Russian loan-word, originally pogost). Even the local newspaper is called Pogostan Sanomat, i.e. "The Pogosta News".[3]
Ilomantsi has 17.4% Orthodox minority, which is the largest percentage among Finnish municipalities. The wooden Orthodox church of Ilomantsi is the largest in Finland and is dedicated to the prophet Elijah. There are also five Orthodox chapels (tsasouna) in the municipality. The Orthodox community of Ilomantsi is more than 500 years old and counts 1,100 members.
The following table shows the decrease in population of the municipality every five years since 1980. The regional allocation used is 1 January 2017.
| 1980 | 8 753 | |
| 1985 | 8 469 | |
| 1990 | 8 054 | |
| 1995 | 7 832 | |
| 2000 | 7 129 | |
| 2005 | 6 422 | |
| 2010 | 5 883 | |
| 2015 | 5 336 |
Ilomantsi offers a number of historical sights, beautiful scenery and nature, several unique cultural sights and events, as well as tasty culinary delights.
A few places to visit: