Entry 4 - Käkisalmi (Part 1; The City)
Hey guys, it's time for our annual entry 
Just kidding about that, I hope I can post more entries this year. The thing is, I started this city back in october I think lol (of course I didnt work on it 24/7 
) so yeah, its kinda hard for me to give you guys more updates since I take some time to finish my cities.
This city I will show you guys - Käkisalmi - will be presented in two parts. The first one, which you will see today, is the city itself - the urban area, old city center, apartments blocks, suburbs and etc. In the next weeks or in the next month I will post the part II, which will be focused on the industrial area (with details of the big lumber operation you will be able to see in the overview), farmlands and the surrounds of the city, like the small settlements that lays around Käkisalmi.
Fun fact: Every single thing you will see in these pics was manually built, nothing in this tile is growable, the forests included. Yeah, it was kinda Demanding 
. But let's go to what really matters 
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Käkisalmi (former known as Priozersk while it was under Soviet administration) is a city and the administrative center of Käkisalmi District in South Karelia, located at the northwestern shore of Lake Ladoga, at the estuary of the northern armlet of the Vuoksi River on the Karelian Isthmus. It has a population of 70,000 inhabitants, making Käkisalmi the second biggest South Karelian city, only after Viipuri.
The most traditional way to reach Käkisalmi is by rail. Situated on the southern edge of the town, this train station was built in the 20th century but using typical Karelian architecture from the 19th century.
Our first stop will be at the city's postcard landmark. The Korela Fortress, the main landmark of Käkisalmi, historically served as the focal point for the Karelians of the Karelian Isthmus and alternated between being the northwestern outpost of the Russian realm or the eastern outpost of the Swedish realm.
A little to the northeast, there's another famous gathering spot in Käkisalmi. The Kaupunkipuisto (or City Park in english), which brings a taste of the Karelian forests that surround the city, along with the statue of Boris Soininen, who served as the mayor of Käkisalmi for over a decade during the 20th century. This park is a perfect place for an outdoor stroll.
Another interesting point in this park that you may have noticed is the building located on the other side of the statue. This is the Käkisalmi Community Cultural Center (Käkisalmen Kulttuurikeskus), a venue where municipal and regional events, art exhibitions, dance performances, cultural gatherings, sports, and much more take place. Everything is open to the public (with few exceptions :P) completely free of charge.
The Old Town center of the city stands out from the other constructions you find throughout the city. This is because much of this area was built in the 19th century, before Russian rule, with a beautiful Nordic architecture. You can even see the outline where the old city walls stood, with avenues now separating the old center from the rest of the city. Additionally, we also have this beautiful boardwalk with a marina, another delightful spot for strolls in the city by the lakeside.
In the heart of the Old Town, we find two famous landmarks of the Karelians cities: the market square - in front of the town hall - and the main church of the town.
Getting married in this church is the dream of every couple in Käkisalmi, leading to fierce competition for available dates for this type of event.
Leaving the Old Town behind, we enter the part of the city that developed mainly in the 20th century, under Soviet rule. At this time, the city was renamed Priozersk - an alternative name that is still used on signs throughout the city despite not being officially correct anymore - and the architecture of the buildings began to follow the Soviet standard: primarily focused on practicality and functionality. During this period, there was a boom in the city's growth, driven mainly by increased government investments in the city's industrial area (which we will see in the next chapter), requiring new housing to accommodate the influx of new city workers.
In this image, we see the Regional Hospital of Kakisalmi and a franchise of the Russian-origin supermarket Perekryostok.
Here we see the Raitis Mäkinen Stadium, home to the pride of the city, Kakisalmi FC, a club that competes in the Tähtiliiga - the premier league of Karelian football.
This modern sculpture in the center of the Roundabout was made by the artist Matilda Leskinen in the 2000s, a renowned architect born in Käkisalmi, responsible for various constructions around Karelia and Europe.
As we are finishing our tour, we conclude with various aerial images of the city that convey the beauty of Kakisalmi.
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I hope you enjoyed this first part of our visit to Käkisalmi. While this was the most laborius city I've ever built since I started playing SimCity 4 around 2010, and it was also the first time I completed a large tile city, it was a very enjoyable city to create. I had to create some BATs for this city in a customizable way, such as the Korela Fortress, create a new Tree Controller, edit textures, etc. But all of this was really fun to do. I like playing SC4 in this sandbox mode, having almost complete control over all aspects of the city. Again, thank you for visiting. If you enjoyed it, please leave a like and if possible, a comment. See you, hopefully, soon 
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