Valkeakoski | |
|---|---|
Small city | |
| Valkeakosken kaupunki Valkeakoski stad | |
) Sääksmäki Church in Valkeakoski | |
) Coat of arms | |
) Location of Valkeakoski in Finland | |
| Coordinates: 61°16′N 024°02′E / 61.267°N 24.033°E | |
| Country |  Finland |
| Region | Pirkanmaa |
| Sub-region | Southern Pirkanmaa |
| Charter | 1923 |
| Government | |
| • Town manager | Jukka Varonen |
| Area (2018-01-01)[1] | |
| • Total | 372.03 km2 (143.64 sq mi) |
| • Land | 271.98 km2 (105.01 sq mi) |
| • Water | 100.06 km2 (38.63 sq mi) |
| Area rank | 240th largest in Finland |
| Population (2020-12-31)[2] | |
| • Total | 20,800 |
| • Rank | 50th largest in Finland |
| • Density | 76.48/km2 (198.1/sq mi) |
| Population by native language | |
| • Finnish | 98.1% (official) |
| • Swedish | 0.2% |
| • Others | 1.6% |
| Population by age | |
| • 0 to 14 | 16% |
| • 15 to 64 | 64.4% |
| • 65 or older | 19.6% |
| Time zone | UTC+02:00 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+03:00 (EEST) |
| Municipal tax rate[5] | 18.75% |
| Website | www.valkeakoski.fi |
Valkeakoski (lit. white rapids) is a small city and municipality in Finland.
Valkeakoski is located 35 kilometres (22 mi) south of Tampere and 150 km (93 mi) north of Helsinki in the Pirkanmaa region. The municipality has a population of 20,800 (31 December 2020)[2] and covers an area of 372.03 square kilometres (143.64 sq mi) of which 100.06 km2 (38.63 sq mi) is water.[1] The population density is 76.48 inhabitants per square kilometre (198.1/sq mi).
The municipality is unilingually Finnish.
Valkeakoski is best known for its paper industry and domestically highly successful football team, FC Haka.
The town and the paper industry have both grown by the Valkeakoski rapids between the lake Mallasvesi in the north and the lake Vanajavesi in the south.
History
The Valkeakoski area is known to have been inhabited since the Iron Age. More than a thousand years ago, the ridges on the area served as a foundation of the Rapola fort. In the following Middle Ages, the mill town Sääksmäki was the center of the area. However, industrialization towards the end of the 19th century increased the importance of what became the contemporary town of Valkeakoski. The channel of Valkeakoski was opened in 1869, and the first paper mill was completed in 1873, marking the beginning of a continuing tradition of the forest industry. The municipality of Sääksmäki, from which the town of Valkeakoski was detached in 1923 was consolidated with Valkeakoski in 1973.[6]
Districts, neighborhoods and villages
Countryside and villages
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The entire countryside of Valkeakoski consists mainly of the former Sääksmäki municipality areas.
- Sääksmäki (consists of Huittula and Ritvala, Kemmola, Mälkiäinen, Haukila, Uskila, Tykölä, Viranmaa, Kasuri / Koivuniemi / Raija, Metsäkansa, Ylenjoki, Konho, Nikkarinhanko / Muti, Rantoo, Yli-Nissi, Kärjenniemi, Vedentaka, Kaapelinkulma, Kannistonmäki, Viuha, Mattila, Vuorentaka, Valto, Paino, Tarttila, Pyörönmaa and Vanhakylä)
Districts
There are 25 districts in what is considered the urban area of Valkeaskoki. These districts are further divided into neighborhoods. The districts and neighborhoods of Valkeakoski are:[7]
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In addition, outside of but in the vicinity of these districts lay Vanhakylä and Viuha.
Sports
Valkeakoski is notable for the football team FC Haka and also other Haka sections, especially the cross-country skiing section. The "skiing Haka" is one of the most successful skiing teams in Finland. The other major local sports organization Koskenpojat has also been really successful, winning many national championships in aerobic gymnastics.
International relations
Twin towns — sister cities
Valkeakoski is twinned with:[8]
Notable persons from Valkeakoski
- Veikko Hakulinen
- Mika Kallio
- Pentti Linkola
- Iris Sihvonen
- Emil Wikström
- Juhani Peltonen
- Alpo Suhonen
- Antti Muurinen
Notable places and events
- National Football Museum
- Työväen Musiikkitapahtuma music festival (freely translated as Workers' Music Event)
- Tehtaan kenttä
References
- ^ a b "Area of Finnish Municipalities 1.1.2018" (PDF). National Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
- ^ a b "Suomen virallinen tilasto (SVT): Väestön ennakkotilasto [verkkojulkaisu]. Joulukuu 2020" (in Finnish). Statistics Finland. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
- ^ "Population according to language and the number of foreigners and land area km2 by area as of 31 December 2008". Statistics Finland's PX-Web databases. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
- ^ "Population according to age and gender by area as of 31 December 2008". Statistics Finland's PX-Web databases. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 28 April 2009.
- ^ "List of municipal and parish tax rates in 2011". Tax Administration of Finland. 29 November 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
- ^ History of Valkeakoski
- ^ "Kaupunginosat". valkeakoski.fi (in Finnish). Valkeakoski. Retrieved 2019-12-30.
- ^ "Ystävyyskaupungit". valkeakoski.fi (in Finnish). Valkeakoski. Retrieved 2019-12-07.
Gallery
Tehtaan kenttä – the football stadium in Valkeakoski, Finland, home of the football team FC Haka Valkeakoski
Valtakatu, the main shopping street of Valkeakoski
Downtown Valkeakoski
Factories in Valkeakoski
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External links
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Media related to Valkeakoski at Wikimedia Commons
- Town of Valkeakoski – Official site