Pälkäne () 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, ...

. It is part of 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 In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which . 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 .

Onkkaala Onkkaala (formerly known as the Pälkäne church village; ) is a village and the administrative center of the Pälkäne municipality in Pirkanmaa, Finland. At the end of 2020, the village had a population of 2,569. Onkkaala is situated on the isth ...

is the

administrative center An administrative centre is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune, is located. In countries with French as the administrative language, such as Belgiu ...

of the municipality.

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 ...

is located northwest of the center of Pälkäne. The municipality is unilingually Finnish. Many people from

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

and the surrounding cities own summer cottages and residences in Pälkäne, making the small town very busy during summer vacation seasons. Pälkäne is a very popular summer vacation resort given its diverse services, high-quality swimming beach, beautiful nature and close location to big cities. From start of year 2007 Pälkäne and

Luopioinen Luopioinen is a former municipality of Finland, situated about from Tampere. It is part of the Pirkanmaa region and in 2007 it was joined to the municipality of Pälkäne. It is a rural town containing a few lakes, most famous being lake Kukkia ...

were merged to a new municipality of Pälkäne.

Geography

Nature

The landscape of Pälkäne is dominated by several lakes, the largest of which are

Lake Mallasvesi Mallasvesi is a medium-sized lake in Finland. The lake is part of the Kokemäenjoki basin and located in the municipalities of Pälkäne and Valkeakoski in the Pirkanmaa region. It is a part of a chain of lakes that begins from the lakes Lummene, ...

on the west side of Onkkaala and

Lake Pälkänevesi A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from t ...

on its east side, as well as

Lake Roine Roine is a medium-sized lake in Finland. The lake is located in the Pirkanmaa region, mostly in the municipality of Kangasala and for a lesser part in the municipality of Pälkäne.Kangasala is a town in Finland, located in the Pirkanmaa region. It lies to the east of the regional capital, Tampere. The population of Kangasala is approximately , while the Tampere metropolitan area, metropolitan area has a population of approximat ...

side and Lake Ilmoilanselkä on the

Hauho Hauho is a former municipality of Finland. It was situated in the province of Southern Finland and is today a part of the region of Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme / Egentliga Tavastland). Hauho was amalgamated with the municipality of Hämeenlinna ...

(

Hämeenlinna Hämeenlinna (; ; ; or ''Croneburgum'') is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Kanta-Häme. It is located in the southern interior of the country and on the shores of Vanajavesi, Lake Vanajavesi. The population of Hämeenlinna is appr ...

) side.

Lake Kukkia Kukkia is a medium-sized lake in Finland. It is a part of a chain of lakes that begins from the lakes Lummene, Vehkajärvi and Vesijako at the drainage divide between the Kokemäenjoki and Kymijoki basins and flows westwards from there through the ...

is situated in the area of the former municipality of Luopioinen. In the western part of Pälkäne, Roine and Mallasvesi are separated by the rather large island of Hausalo. The Kostianvirta River, which belongs part to the

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

of the

Kokemäki River Kokemäki (; ) is a town and municipality in the Satakunta Region of Finland. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Finland is constitutionally bi-lingual with a Swedish speakin ...

, flows between Lake Pälkänevesi and Lake Mallasvesi. As the average water level of both lakes is about 84 meters above sea level, the flow direction of Kostianvirta sometimes changes, especially due to the spring

meltwater Meltwater (or melt water) is water released by the melting of snow or ice, including glaciers, glacial ice, tabular icebergs and ice shelf, ice shelves over oceans. Meltwater is often found during early spring (season), spring when snow packs a ...

Villages

* Äimälä *

Aitoo Aitoo is a village of the Pälkäne municipality in Pirkanmaa, Finland. At the end of 2020, the village had 2,569 inhabitants. Aitoo is located east of Onkkaala, the municipal center of Pälkäne, along the regional road 322. There is one groce ...

* Ämmätsä * Epaala * Evinsalo * Haltia * Harhala * Huhtioinen * Huntila * Kaitamo * Kajantila * Kankahainen * Kantokylä * Kantola * Kärväntälä * Karviala * Kaukkala * Kinnala * Kirpu * Kollola * Kotila * Kouvala * Kuisema * Kukkola * Kuohijoki * Kuuliala * Kyynärö * Laitikkala * Lemmettylä * Lovensalo * Luikala * Luopioinen * Mälkilä * Mällinoja * Miemola * Mustilahti * Myttäälä * Okerla * Oksala *

* Padankoski * Pappila * Pitkäjärvi * Pohjalahti * Puutikkala * Rautajärvi * Ruokola * Ruotsila * Sairiala * Salmentaka * Sappee * Säynäjärvi * Seitsye * Tauriala * Tausti * Tommola * Töyräniemi * Vahdermetsä * Vuolijoki

Culture

Food

In the 1980s, Pälkäne's traditional parish dishes were called local sweetened potato casserole called ''tuuvinki'', salted

bream Bream (, ) are species of freshwater fish belonging to a variety of genera including '' Abramis'' (e.g., ''A. brama'', the common bream), '' Ballerus'', '' Blicca'', '' Brama'', '' Chilotilapia'', '' Etelis'', '' Lepomis'', '' Gymnocranius'', ...

, slowly

smoked meat Smoked meat is the result of a method of preparing red meat, white meat, and seafood which originated in the Paleolithic, Paleolithic Era. Smoking adds Flavor (taste), flavor, improves the appearance of meat through the Maillard reaction, and ...

, Tavastian ''

limppu Bread is a staple food of Finland. It is served with almost every meal and many different types are produced domestically. In the Swedish-speaking Regions of Finland, region of Åland, there are other varieties of bread, the majority of which o ...

'' bread called ''varikoinen'', sweet

sahti Sahti is a Finnish type of farmhouse ale made from malted and unmalted grains including barley and rye. Traditionally the beer is flavored with juniper in addition to, or instead of, hops;

, and

plum A plum is a fruit of some species in Prunus subg. Prunus, ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus'.'' Dried plums are often called prunes, though in the United States they may be labeled as 'dried plums', especially during the 21st century. Plums are ...

kissel Kissel or kisel is a simple dish with the consistency of a thick gel, and made of sweet fruit, berry, grains (oatmeal, rye, wheat), peas, or from milk. It belongs to the group of cold- solidified desserts, although it can be served warm. Etymolo ...

.Jaakko Kolmonen: ''Kotomaamme ruoka-aitta: Suomen, Karjalan ja Petsamon pitäjäruoat'', p. 74. Helsinki: Patakolmonen Ky, 1988. (in Finnish)

People

Matti Helenius-Seppälä Matti Oskar Helenius-Seppälä (27 June 1870, Pälkäne – 18 October 1920) was a Finland, Finnish social scientist, temperance movement activist and politician. He was a member of the Parliament of Finland from 1908 to 1909, from 1911 to 1914, ...

(1870–1920) *

August Hyöki August Hyöki (10 December 1874 in Luopioinen – 7 October 1960) was a Finnish farmer and politician. He was a member of the Parliament of Finland from 1916 to 1917 and again from June 1918 to March 1919. He represented the Finnish Party un ...

(1874–1960) *

Eemil Linna Kustaa Eemil Linna (17 January 1876 – 10 January 1951) was a Finnish farmer and politician. He served as Minister of Agriculture from 22 December 1928 to 16 August 1929, Minister of Transport and Public Works from 14 December 1932 to 25 Sep ...

(1876–1951) *

Teemu Mäntysaari Teemu Mäntysaari (; born 7 January 1987) is a Finnish guitarist. He is known for playing for the heavy metal bands Wintersun, Imperanon, Induction, Smackbound, and Megadeth. Career In 2004, Mäntysaari joined the melodic death metal band Win ...

(born 1987) *

Väinö Sipilä Väinö Jeremias Sipilä (24 December 1897 – 12 September 1987) was a Finnish long-distance runner. Sipilä competed in the 1924 and 1928 Summer Olympics, placing fourth in the 10,000 metres and being part of Finland's winning cross-country tea ...

(1897–1987) *

Toivo Salonen Toivo Kostia Salonen (21 May 1933 – 28 October 2019) was a former speed skater from Finland. He was born in Pälkäne. Medals Toivo Salonen had most of his successes on a national level, becoming Finnish Allround Champion in 1954, 1956, ...

(born 1933) *

Mikko Leppilampi Mikko Johannes Leppilampi (born 22 September 1978) is a Finnish actor, musician, and TV host. He is the son of Jukka Leppilampi (born 1954), a Finnish gospel musician. Leppilampi is considered to be one of the most promising stars of Finland's ...

(born 1978) *

Riku Helenius Riku Helenius (born March 1, 1988) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender. Playing career Helenius was selected 15th overall in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning, partly on the strength of his silver medal-win ...

(born 1988)

References

External links

Municipality of Pälkäne
– Official website Populated places established in 1866 1860s establishments in Finland {{WesternFinland-geo-stub