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The Kissakoski Power Plant and Electricity Exhibition is located 6 km from downtown Hirvensalmi towards Mäntyharju. The power plant and electricity exhibition is owned and run by Suur-Savon Sähkö Oy.
A paper mill and groundwood mill were built in Kissakoski in 1909. Although the paper mill closed its doors in 1920, the groundwood mill continued running up until 1939. To power these factories, an electricity-producing hydroelectric power plant was built in 1932, which produces electricity for both the factories and for the town of Mikkeli. At its best, the Kissakoski power plant produced electricity for almost all of Southern Savo.
The power plant is still in operation. It produces enough electricity for about a thousand households. The electricity exhibition is connected to the generator hall, which allows visitors to learn more about the past and present of electricity production in an actual operational power plant.
The electricity exhibition displays items related to building and servicing power lines, to the power plant’s office and a diver’s suit needed for repairs at the hydroelectric power plant. The exhibition has informational and lively settings that depict raising power line poles, etc. The museum grounds also have a wooden box converter built in 1948 from Pökkää, Ristiina that was operational up until 1990.
The brick building of the former groundwood mill where the electricity exhibition is located, together with worker accommodations and villas at Kissakoski, give rise to a unique milieu that is significant to the history of the industry. Besides the exhibition, the factory building has a restaurant, a tinned fish factory and art exhibitions.
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