Louhi

Louhi (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈlouɦi]) is a queen of the land known as Pohjola in Finnish, Karelian and Lappish mythology.

In mythology

Louhi is described as a powerful witch with the ability to change shape and weave mighty enchantments. She is also the main opponent of Väinämöinen and his group in the battle for the magical artifact Sampo in the Kalevala. She has a number of beautiful daughters, whom Ilmarinen, Lemminkäinen and other heroes attempt to win in various legends. In true fairy tale form, Louhi sets them difficult to impossible tasks to perform in order to claim such a prize, which leads to the forging of the Sampo.

As many mythological creatures and objects are easily conflated and separated in Finnish mythology, Louhi is probably an alter-ego of various other goddesses, notably Loviatar.

In popular culture

Louhi was the main antagonist in the Finnish-Soviet film Sampo and was also an inspiration for a foe of Conan the Barbarian's in the Marvel comics version of the character (no such foe ever appears in Howard's stories), the Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light boss character Louhi the Witch of the North, the Final Fantasy XI item Louhi's Mask, the orchestral work Louhi by the Finnish composer Kalevi Aho, and the wind orchestral work Louhi's Spells / Louhen loitsut by Finnish composer Tomi Räisänen. Louhi is the main antagonist of Michael Scott Rohan's fantasy trilogy The Winter of the World.

Loukhi

Loukhi (Russian: Лоухи; Karelian: Louhi) is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) and the administrative center of Loukhsky District in the Republic of Karelia, Russia, located on the shore of Lake Panovo, 500 kilometers (310 mi) north of Petrozavodsk, the capital of the republic. As of the 2010 Census, its population was 4,772.

History

It was founded in 1912–1914 due to the construction of a railroad. Urban-type settlement status was granted to it in 1944.

In 1978, Korean Air Lines Flight 902 was forced to land at the nearby Lake Korpiyarvi after being attacked by Soviet aircraft.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Loukhi serves as the administrative center of Loukhsky District, of which it is a part. As a municipal division, Loukhi is incorporated within Loukhsky Municipal District as Loukhskoye Urban Settlement.

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Finnish pollution control vessel Louhi

Louhi (pennant number 999) is a Finnish multipurpose oil and chemical spill response vessel owned by the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE), but manned and operated by the Finnish Navy. The ship, ordered in 2007, was built by Uki Workboat in Uusikaupunki, Finland, and entered service in May 2011.

History

Development and construction

The development of the new multipurpose vessel began on 25 May 2003 when the Ministry of Transport and Communications appointed a work group to investigate the technical requirements and economic aspects of building a new multipurpose icebreaker capable of combating oil and chemical spills around the year. The amount of oil transported in the Gulf of Finland had increased from a mere 15 million tons per year in the early 1990s to 69 million tons in 2003 and was expected to reach 130 million tons by 2010 after the new Russian oil terminals became operational, increasing the risk of a large spill in the vulnerable sea area considerably. While Finland already had a fleet of vessels with oil recovery equipment, none of them were capable of collecting spilled oil efficiently in heavy seas or in ice. The new multipurpose icebreaker would be designed to be capable of recovering spilled oil and chemicals in both open water and ice conditions, extinguishing shipboard fires and emergency towing of the largest merchant ships operating in the Gulf of Finland. The new vessel would also have sufficient icebreaking capability to assist oil tankers to the Kilpilahti oil refinery in Porvoo during winter. However, in the interim report, published on 30 September 2003, the work group noted that unless other work outside the winter months could be arranged and the new multipurpose icebreaker would have to spend the rest of the year in pollution control readiness, the operating expenses would be very high.