Iisalmi is a small Upper Savo town between Kuopio and Kajaani, set among lakes and low forested country. It is not a headline destination, but it has enough local identity to justify a day if you are already moving through eastern Finland.
The best thread is history. Koljonvirta was the site of an important battle in the Finnish War, and the nearby Juhani Aho Museum ties the same landscape to one of Finland's major writers. In town, Gustav Adolf Church gives an older wooden-church anchor.
Iisalmi also has a pleasingly specific modern claim: Olvi, founded in 1878, is Finland's last large independent brewery. The Olvi Brewery Museum is not a reason to cross the country, but combined with the battlefield and literary museum it gives the town a clear, local flavour.