The town of Viborg (Finnish: Viipuri) was founded in 1293 by the Swedish commander Torkel Knutson in order to confirm Sweden's dominion over the Karelian Isthmus. In the aftermath of the foundation, the territory between the Lake Ladoga and the Baltic Sea was acridly fought both by Sweden and Russia for centuries so that it was the town's fate to change hands again and again. According to the Treaty of Nystad (1721) Viborg became the capital of a Russian governorate. But after Finland's independence in 1917 parts of the Karelian Isthmus including Viborg were added to the Finnish territory. During the mid-war period Viborg, which had a population of some 80 000 inhabitants, became Finland's second biggest city with a highly-developed infrastructure. In respect of the urban management and architectural design this time was doubtlessly a period of prosperity; Finnish architects such as Alvar Aalto, Uno Ullberg and Oiva Kallio were significantly engaged.

In 1939 the Soviet Union attacked Finland (Winter War); the Karelian Isthmus, including the city of Viborg, was occupied. After the Finns had returned the lost territories during the Continuation War (1941 – 1944), this part of Karelia was finally annexed by the USSR. Finland's former metropolis became an insignificant district centre with about 40 000 inhabitants being a part of the Leningrad area. In the Paris Peace treaties (1947) Finland relinquished all claims to Vyborg.