Ylöjärvi () is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

and a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the

Pirkanmaa Pirkanmaa (; sv, Birkaland; la, Birkaria, link=no), also known as ''Tampere Region'' in government documents, is a region of Finland. It borders the regions of Satakunta, South Ostrobothnia, Central Finland, Päijät-Häme, Kanta-Häme an ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

, northwest of

Tampere Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...

and north of the capital city

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

is . Ylöjärvi is mostly a rural town. It does not have a clear center; the Tampere–Vaasa highway ( E12) and the Tampere– Seinäjoki

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

divide the municipality's

town center A town centre is the commercial or geographical centre or core area of a town. Town centres are traditionally associated with shopping or retail. They are also the centre of communications with major public transport hubs such as train or bus st ...

into two major distinct parts: the church village and Soppeenmäki. The railway, completed in 1971, has no passenger seats in the Ylöjärvi area, so

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

es handle all

public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typi ...

. The population has increased rapidly in recent years. In 1990 it was slightly over 18,000, while on December 31, 2011 it was 30,942. The neighbouring municipalities are Hämeenkyrö,

Ikaalinen Ikaalinen (; sv, Ikalis) is a town and municipality of Finland. It is part of the Pirkanmaa region, located northwest of Tampere. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The munici ...

Kihniö Kihniö is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the region of Pirkanmaa. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality is unilingually Finnish. Polit ...

Nokia Nokia Corporation (natively Nokia Oyj, referred to as Nokia) is a Finnish multinational telecommunications, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation, established in 1865. Nokia's main headquarters are in Espoo, Finland, i ...

, Parkano,

Ruovesi Ruovesi is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Pirkanmaa region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbouring municipalities are Juupajoki, Mänttä-Vil ...

and

Virrat Virrat (; sv, Virdois) is a town and municipality of Finland. It is part of the Pirkanmaa region, and it is located north of Tampere and west of Jyväskylä. The distance between Virrat and Helsinki is . The town has a population of ...

. The municipality of Viljakkala was consolidated with Ylöjärvi on January 1, 2007. The municipality of Kuru was consolidated with Ylöjärvi on January 1, 2009. The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

of Ylöjärvi was designed by Gustaf von Numers and it was confirmed in 1954. Results of the

2021 Finnish municipal elections Municipal elections were held in Finland on 13 June 2021 after being rescheduled from 18 April due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Context The 2017 Finnish municipal elections, last municipal elections were held in 2017 and were won by the National Co ...

, resulted in the

True Finns The Finns Party, formerly known as the True Finns ( fi, Perussuomalaiset, PS, sv, Sannfinländarna, Sannf.), is a right-wing populist political party in Finland. It was founded in 1995 following the dissolution of the Finnish Rural Party. The ...

being the largest group on Ylöjärvi council, in Ylöjärvi.

History

The chapel parish of Ylöjärvi was founded in 1779 by separating it from

Pirkkala Pirkkala (; sv, Birkala) is a municipality of Finland. It is located some south-west from Tampere in the Pirkanmaa region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is , which makes ...

.YLÖJÄRVI – Svala & Joutsi
(in Finnish) The first church in Ylöjärvi, located on the site of the current church, was completed in 1781, but was destroyed in a fire caused by

lightning Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous release of an avera ...

in 1842. Ylöjärvi was founded as a

in 1869. Since January 1, 2004, it has been known as a town (''kaupunki''). The Finnish Museum of Refrigeration also locates at Ylöjärvi.

Demographics

The following graph shows the population development of the city since 1805. The diagram uses the area division in force at the time.

Culture

Food

In the 1980s, overly sweeted '' limppu'' and the " sauna smoked"

ham Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 39. As a processed meat, the term "ham ...

were named Ylöjärvi's traditional parish dishes.Jaakko Kolmonen: ''Kotomaamme ruoka-aitta: Suomen, Karjalan ja Petsamon pitäjäruoat'', p. 80. Helsinki: Patakolmonen Ky., 1988. (in Finnish)

''Tree Mountain''

The town is the location of ''Tree Mountain'', Land Art by

Agnes Denes Agnes Denes (Dénes Ágnes; born 1931 in Budapest) is a Hungarian-born American conceptual artist based in New York. She is known for works in a wide range of media—from poetry and philosophical writings to extremely detailed drawings, sculptu ...

. This work was conceived in 1983, and construction was announced by the Finnish government at the 1992

Earth Summit The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the Rio Conference or the Earth Summit (Portuguese: ECO92), was a major United Nations conference held in Rio de Janeiro from June 3 to June 14, 1992. Earth Su ...

. Construction was complete in 1996, and the site is legally protected for the next 400 years. Tree Mountain was dedicated in June 1996 by the President of Finland.

Notable people

* Jenni Banerjee (born 1981), actress * Esa Keskinen (born 1965), ice hockey player * Kirsi Kunnas (1924–2021), writer, poet and translator * Rosa Lindstedt (born 1988), ice hockey player *

Jaakko Löytty Jaakko Löytty (born 1955, Finland) is one of the most significant Finnish gospel musicians. Löytty spent much of his youth, 12 years, in Namibia, where his parents, Seppo Löytty and Kirsti Löytty worked as missionaries with the Finnis ...

(born 1955), gospel musician *

Saara Niemi Saara Elisa Niemi, (born 1 January 1986) is a Finnish retired ice hockey player and current general manager and head coach of HIFK Naiset of the Naisten Liiga (NSML). At the 2006 Torino Olympics, Tuominen competed for . scoring one goal and fo ...

(born 1986), ice hockey player and current head coach of HIFK Naiset * Jaakko Syrjä (1926–2022), writer * Ari Vallin (born 1978), ice hockey player * Maria Ylipää (born 1981), singer and actress * Esa Keskinen (born 1965), ice hockey player * Aron (born 1968), singer, songwriter, and musician The rock band Eppu Normaali originates in Ylöjärvi.

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Ylöjärvi is twinned with:

Gallery

References

External links

– Official website Ylöjärvi, Cities and towns in Finland Populated places established in 1869 1869 establishments in the Russian Empire {{WesternFinland-geo-stub