Pirkkala (; ) is a

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

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, located in the

Pirkanmaa Pirkanmaa (; ; ), 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 and Southwest Finland. Most of the wate ...

region. It lies to the southwest of the regional capital,

Tampere Tampere is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Pirkanmaa. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Tampere is approximately , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately . It is the most populous mu ...

. The population of Pirkkala is approximately , while the

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share Industry (economics), industries, commercial areas, Transport infrastructure, transport network ...

has a population of approximately . It is the most populous

in Finland. Pirkkala has an area of of which is water. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

is , which makes it the most densely populated municipality in Finland that does not use the title of town or city. Pirkkala is also currently the fastest-growing municipality in the Pirkanmaa region. The municipality is unilingually Finnish. Tampere-Pirkkala Airport is located in southwest Pirkkala. The most significant main road in Pirkkala is Tampere Ring Road.

History

Great Pirkkala

The former parish of Suur-Pirkkala (Great Pirkkala) is mentioned in historical writings from the 14th century. It occupied over half of Pirkanmaa, a region nowadays populated by about 526,000 inhabitants. Suur-Pirkkala began to split when new parishes and municipalities were founded and wanted independence.

South and North Pirkkala

In 1922 the Pirkkala was split into Pohjois- (Northern) and Etelä-Pirkkala (Southern Pirkkala) due to a movement in Southern Pirkkala led by agronomist Hannes Palmroth of the Partola Estate to gain independence from the more industrial North.

Pirkkala

In 1938 the name of Northern Pirkkala was changed to

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and after an appeal to the

President of Finland The president of the Republic of Finland (; ) is the head of state of Finland. The incumbent president is Alexander Stubb, since 1 March 2024. He was elected president for the first time in 2024 Finnish presidential election, 2024. The presi ...

Kyösti Kallio in 1939, Southern Pirkkala reverted to its original name Pirkkala. The present-day province of

that was founded in the 1950s is named after Pirkkala as it was in the center of the region that was more or less the same area as the historic Great Pirkkala

Sights

Pirkkala has been inhabited by the

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...

and

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

, and many ancient finds have been made in the area. The red-brick old church was designed by Ilmari Launis in 1921, and it is known that it was built on the site of the old Pirkkala parish church. The white new church from 1994, designed by Simo Paavilainen and Käpy Paavilainen, is located near the current town center, Naistenmatka. In its year of completion, the church, which has a modern appearance, was chosen as the most beautiful new building in Finland. The Sculpture Park has been formed near the municipal center from the works of art of the international cast iron symposia of 2001 and 2003. It consists of sculptures of contemporary art, which are mostly placed around Lake Vähäjärvi. The idea of the cast iron symposiums is Villu Jaanisoo, an artist from Pirkkala who moved from

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

to Finland. Other materials were used in the 2003 event. Perhaps the most prominent of the sights is the Jaaniso's ''Peruspirkkalalainen'' statue on the edge of the Suupantori

market square A market square (also known as a market place) is an urban square meant for trading, in which a market is held. It is an important feature of many towns and cities around the world. A market square is an open area where market stalls are tradit ...

in the town center, or the ''Valte'' statue according to its model.Pirkkalan kunta: Peruspirkkalalainen
(in Finnish)

Notable people

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Pirkkala is twinned with: * Solna, Sweden

Gallery

File:Pirkkala municipal office 2018.jpg, Pirkkala Municipal Ofiice File:Kauppakeskus Veska 20180625.jpg, Veska Shopping Centre File:Bauhaus Tampere 20180625.jpg, Bauhaus store in Pirkkala File:Pirkkala Library C IMG 8186.JPG, Pirkkala Public Library File:Vanha Kirkko Pirkkala - panoramio.jpg, Old Church of Pirkkala File:Suuppa Pirkkala.jpg, Naistenmatka district along Suupantie

References

External links

Municipality of Pirkkala
– official site {{Authority control Tampere metropolitan area Populated places established in 1922