Valkeakoski
Encyclopedia
Valkeakoski is a town and municipality in Finland
.
Valkeakoski is located 35 kilometres (21.7 mi) south of Tampere
and 150 km (93.2 mi) north of Helsinki
in the province
of Western Finland
and is part of the Pirkanmaa
region
. The municipality has a population of
and covers an area of km2 of
which km2
is water. The population density
is
PD/km2.
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.
. 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 forest industry. The municipality of Sääksmäki, from which the town of Valkeakoski was detached in 1923 was consolidated with Valkeakoski in 1973.
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
.
Valkeakoski is located 35 kilometres (21.7 mi) south of Tampere
Tampere
Tampere is a city in southern Finland. It is the most populous inland city in any of the Nordic countries. The city has a population of , growing to approximately 300,000 people in the conurbation and over 340,000 in the metropolitan area. Tampere is the third most-populous municipality in...
and 150 km (93.2 mi) north of Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
in the province
Provinces of Finland
The state of Finland consisted of six provinces between the years 1997 and 2009. The provincial authority was part of the central government's executive branch, not directly elected. The system was created in 1634, and its makeup was changed drastically in 1997, when the number of the provinces...
of Western Finland
Western Finland
Western Finland was a province of Finland from 1997 to 2010. It bordered the provinces of Oulu, Eastern Finland and Southern Finland. It also bordered the Gulf of Bothnia towards Åland.- History :...
and is part of the Pirkanmaa
Pirkanmaa
Pirkanmaa , or the Tampere Region , is a region of Finland. It borders on the regions of Satakunta, Tavastia Proper, Päijänne Tavastia, Southern Ostrobothnia and Central Finland....
region
Regions of Finland
Finland consists of 19 regions called in Finnish and in Swedish. The regions are governed by regional councils, which serve as forums of cooperation for the municipalities of a region. The main tasks of the regions are regional planning and development of enterprise and education. In addition,...
. The municipality has a population of
and covers an area of km2 of
which km2
is water. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
is
PD/km2.
The municipality is unilingually Finnish
Finnish language
Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...
.
Valkeakoski is best known for its paper industry and domestically highly successful football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
team, FC Haka
FC Haka
Haka is a Finnish football club, based in the industry town of Valkeakoski. It is one of the most successful clubs in Finland, with nine Finnish championships and 12 Finnish Cup wins.- History :...
.
The town and the paper industry have both grown by the Valkeakoski rapids between the lake Mallasvesi in the north and the lake Vanajavesi
Vanajavesi
Vanajavesi is a lake in Finland. It is part of the Kokemäenjoki basin. The lake gathers waters from a wide area in the regions of Pirkanmaa, Tavastia Proper and parts of the Päijänne Tavastia region.-Settlements:...
in the south.
History
The Valkeakoski area is known to have been inhabited since the iron ageIron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
. 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
Sääksmäki
Sääksmäki is a village and a former municipality, currently part of Valkeakoski in the Pirkanmaa region of Western Finland. A past president of Finland, Pehr Evind Svinhufvud, the Finnish film producer and director Veikko Aaltonen,eminent Finnish historian Eino Jutikkala, and actress Pirkko Mannola...
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 forest industry. The municipality of Sääksmäki, from which the town of Valkeakoski was detached in 1923 was consolidated with Valkeakoski in 1973.
Notable persons from Valkeakoski
- Veikko HakulinenVeikko HakulinenVeikko Johannes Hakulinen was a Finnish forestry technician and cross country skier, triple champion in both the olympics and world championship competition in cross country skiing...
- Mika KallioMika KallioMika Kallio is a Finnish Grand Prix motorcycle racer. He debuted in the 125cc World Championship with the Finnish rookie team Ajo Motorsport in 2001 and was awarded the "Rookie of the Year" in 2002...
- Pentti LinkolaPentti LinkolaKaarlo Pentti Linkola is a radical Finnish deep ecologist, polemicist, and fisherman. He has written widely about his ideas and is a prominent thinker in Finland, but, at the same time, is also an extremely controversial figure. He lives a simple and austere life. Linkola was occupitional...
- Iris SihvonenIris SihvonenIris Hellin Sihvonen is a former Finnish speedskater. She represented Finland at the Olympic Winter Games of 1960 in Squaw Valley, Placer County, California and made seven consecutive appearances at the World Allround Speed Skating Championships for Women between 1955 and 1961...
- Emil WikströmEmil WikströmEmil Wikström was a Finnish sculptor. Among his best known works are the statues outside Helsinki Central railway station and the memorials of Elias Lönnrot and Johan Vilhelm Snellman....
External links
- Town of Valkeakoski – Official site