Monument to the Heroes in Joensuu

Monument to the heroes was unveiled at the Joensuu cemetery on December 6, 1920. The memorial was designed by Finnish sculptor John Munsterhjelm.

On the front of the memorial is carved an excerpt from Eino Leino's verse drama The King of Karelia:

Freedom will not come without effort,
Nor without burden,
Nor without sacrifice
To the lords of life and death.
Self-sacrifice will be most wonderful —

The monument is inscribed with the names of 34 warriors who died in the Finnish War of Independence, including two who remain unidentified.

On the rear side of the memorial are also carved the names of two fallen in the Olonets expedition: Herman Kettunen (12.10.1901 – 26.4.1919) and Erik Kontio (14.11.1900 – 28.4.1919, Alexander-Svirsky Monastery).

Special thanks to Igor Sergejev for the help in collecting materials for this page.