Sastamala () is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

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. Sastamala lies on both sides of River

Kokemäenjoki The Kokemäenjoki (" Kokemäki River", ) is a river in southwestern Finland. Geography The river originates at Lake Liekovesi in the Pirkanmaa region, and flows to the Gulf of Bothnia at Pori in the Satakunta region. Primary tributaries of the ...

in the southwest corner of Pirkanmaa. The population of Sastamala is approximately , while the

sub-region A subregion is a part of a larger geographical region or continent. Cardinal directions are commonly used to define subregions. There are many criteria for creating systems of subregions; this article is focusing on the United Nations geoscheme ...

has a population of approximately . It is the most populous

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' ...

in Finland. Sastamala has an area of of which is water, making it the largest municipality in the Pirkanmaa region in terms of area. 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 . The municipality is unilingual in Finnish. Sastamala was created in 2009 when the municipalities of

Vammala Vammala is a former town and municipality of southwestern Finland, chartered in 1907. On 1 January 2009, Vammala was consolidated with the municipalities of Mouhijärvi and Äetsä, to form a new city named Sastamala. Geography Vammala was locat ...

Äetsä Äetsä is a List of former municipalities of Finland, former municipality of southwestern Finland. The municipality was founded on 1981 when municipalities of Keikyä and Kiikka were consolidated to a single municipality. On 1 January 2009, i ...

and

Mouhijärvi Mouhijärvi is a List of former municipalities of Finland, former municipality of Finland, located in the southwestern part of the country. It was an agricultural village since the 18th century. On 1 January in 2009 Mouhijärvi was consolidated ...

were merged into a single town. Later, in 2013,

Kiikoinen Kiikoinen (, also ) is a former municipality of Finland. It was located in the province of Western Finland and was part of the Satakunta region. The municipality had a population of (31 December 2012) and covered an area of of which is water. T ...

also joined Sastamala. Today, its neighbouring municipalities are

Huittinen Huittinen () is a town and municipality in Finland. It is located in the Satakunta region, southeast of Pori and southwest of Tampere. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The ...

Hämeenkyrö Hämeenkyrö (; ) is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is part of the Pirkanmaa regions of Finland, region, and is located from Tampere. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. Th ...

Ikaalinen Ikaalinen (; ) is a city 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 municipalities ...

Kankaanpää Kankaanpää () is a List of cities and towns in Finland, town and Municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. Kankaanpää was founded in 1865, became a township in 1967 and finally a town in 1972. It is located in the crossroads of Häm ...

Kokemäki 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 ...

, Lavia,

Nokia Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications industry, telecommunications, technology company, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation, originally established as a pulp mill in 1 ...

Punkalaidun Punkalaidun (, also ) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Pirkanmaa region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density ...

Ulvila Ulvila (; ) is a List of cities and towns in Finland, town and municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is one of the six medieval cities of Finland, as well as the third oldest city in the country. Ulvila was granted charter as a ...

Urjala Urjala (; , also ) is a municipality of Finland. It is part of the Pirkanmaa region, near the town of Forssa. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density Population density (in ...

and

Vesilahti Vesilahti (, also ) is a municipality in Finland, located in the Pirkanmaa region. It lies to the southwest of the regional capital, Tampere. The population of Vesilahti is approximately , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximat ...

. The city of Tampere is from Sastamala. The administrative centre of Sastamala is Vammala, which had a population of about 10,000 in the 2011 census. Two highways pass through Sastamala:

Highway 11 Route 11, or Highway 11 can refer to routes in the following countries: International * AH11, Asian Highway 11 * European route E11 * European route E011 Argentina * Provincial Route 11 (Buenos Aires), Buenos Aires Provincial Route 11 Austr ...

between

Pori Pori (; ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Satakunta. It is located on the west coast of the country, on the Gulf of Bothnia. The population of Pori is approximately , while the Pori sub-region, sub-region has a population of a ...

and Nokia, and

Highway 12 A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or ...

between

Rauma Rauma may refer to: Places * Rauma, Finland, a town and municipality in the Satakunta region of western Finland * Rauma Municipality, a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway * Rauma (river), a river in the Romsdalen valley in Møre og Ro ...

and

Kouvola Kouvola () is a city in Finland and the administrative capital of Kymenlaakso. It is located in the southeastern interior of the country. The population of Kouvola is approximately . It is the most populous municipality in Finland, and the 17th m ...

Heraldry

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

of Sastamala is the former coat of arms of the now defunct municipality of Karkku, originally approved by the Karkku municipal council on November 26, 1962, and approved for use by the

Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the ...

on February 12, 1963. The coat of arms refers to the 14th century St. Mary Church of Sastamala. The explanation of the coat of arms is “in the blue field, a golden

consecration cross Consecration crosses are crosses on the interior walls and exterior architecture of a Christianity, Christian church (building), church or cathedral showing where the bishop has anointed the church with chrism or holy water in order to Consecrati ...

with a crossed edge”. The coat of arms was designed by Lauri Ahlgrén.

History

The stone grave with its swords, dating to the 4th century in Ristimäki, Vammala, is reminiscent of the prosperous armed burials of the younger

Roman Iron Age The archaeology of Northern Europe studies the prehistory of Scandinavian Peninsula, Scandinavia and the adjacent North European Plain, roughly corresponding to the territories of modern Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Northern Germany, Poland, the Net ...

(200–400 AD) in coastal areas. It is also the only inland tomb corresponding to the coastal burial tradition at that time. During the

Vendel Period In Scandinavian prehistory, sometimes specifically Swedish prehistory, the Vendel Period, or Vendel Age (; ) appears between the Migration Period and the Viking Age. The name is taken from the rich boat inhumation cemetery at Vendel parish ...

, cemeteries became more common in the Sastamala area, which contributes to population growth and population density. The parish of Sastamala was the largest parish belonging to the historical province of Satakunta. The name Sastamala first appeared in the form ''Sastamall'' in a letter from King Birger Magnusson from 1300 or 1303.

Geography

Sastamala is located on both sides 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 ...

's watershed in the southwest corner of Pirkanmaa. The municipality is divided by Kokemäki River,

Lake Liekovesi 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 ...

, Lake Rautavesi and Lake Kulovesi. Other significant severe waters in the municipality are Lake Houha, Lake Ylinen, Lake Kiikoinen and Lake Mouhijärvi. There are a total of 161

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

s in Sastamala, and two thirds of the municipality's population lives in

rural area In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically desc ...

s and villages. The villages are organized into more than 40 village associations. The division of the village was created by the

Great Partition Great Partition ( ) was an agricultural land reform in Swedish Empire. It was a reform supported by the government with the purpose of shifting the land of the village communities, from the ''solskifte'', where every farmer owned several pieces ...

in the 18th century and thus does not fully correspond to the current situation; for example, Illo and Putaja are located on the lands of other villages and are not listed.

Economy

In 2015, the municipality had 8,426 jobs. Of these, 8,5% were in primary production (

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

and

fisheries Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life or, more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a., fishing grounds). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farm ...

), 63% in services and 27% in processing. The share of the unemployed in the labor force was 12,3%. The largest corporate tax is paid by the building design company Partnos, the manufacturer of

rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Types of polyisoprene ...

and

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic polymers, synthetic or Semisynthesis, semisynthetic materials composed primarily of Polymer, polymers. Their defining characteristic, Plasticity (physics), plasticity, allows them to be Injection moulding ...

products Teknikum and the manufacturer of

district heating District heating (also known as heat networks) is a system for distributing heat generated in a centralized location through a system of insulated pipes for residential and commercial heating requirements such as space heater, space heating and w ...

reed valve Reed valves are a type of check valve which restrict the flow of fluids to a single direction, opening and closing under changing pressure on each face. Modern versions often consist of flexible metal or composite materials (fiberglass or carbo ...

Culture

Sastamala has a long tradition in

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

. One of the biggest themed events is the Old Literature Days (''Vanhan kirjallisuuden päivät'') in the town center during the summer. In July 2011, the Finnish Book Museum Pukstaavi was also opened in Sastamala, which promotes Finnish book culture and reading. Pukstaavi is a national museum that tells the popular story of a Finnish book on cultural history and social significance. At the beginning of 2013, the town of Sastamala was declared the "book capital of Finland".Sastamala julistautui Suomen kirjapääkaupungiksi – Alueviesti
(in Finnish)

Sights and happenings

* Vanhan kirjallisuuden päivät, book festival * Sastamala Gregoriana, early music festival * Skicenter Ellivuori * Pirunvuori ("

Devil A devil is the mythical personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conce ...

's Mountain") * St. Olaf's Church * Herra Hakkaraisen talo * Culturehouse Jaatsi * Lakeside Golf Vammala * Sarkia museum * Keikyä museum *

Sports

VaLePa (or ''Vammalan Lentopallo'') is a volleyball club founded in 1978 in

, Sastamala, whose representative team plays in the

Finland Volleyball League The Finland Volleyball League () is highest level of men's volleyball in Finland. There are 10 teams in the league. History The Finland Volleyball League has founded 1994. Before then, teams play league in the Champion League. In 2010, the l ...

. The six Finnish championships won by VaLePa will take place in 2012, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021. VaLePa has won the Finnish Championship silver in 2011 and 2016 and the Fourth Championship bronze in 1992, 2008, 2013 and 2015.

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Sastamala is twinned with: *

Skövde Skövde () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and urban centre in Skövde Municipality and Västra Götaland County, in the Västergötland, Västergötland (Western Gothland region) in central southern Sweden. Skövde is situated around 150 k ...

, Sweden *

Ringsted Ringsted is a city located centrally in the Danish island of Zealand. It is the seat of a municipality of the same name. Ringsted is situated approximately from Copenhagen. History Ringsted was the site of ''Sjællands Landsting'' (lit. ''Z ...

, Denmark *

Halden Halden (), between 1665 and 1928 known as Fredrikshald, is both a List of cities in Norway, town and a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Østfold Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The municipality borders Sarpsborg to the northwest, R ...

, Norway * Kashin, Russia *

Kuressaare Kuressaare () is a populated places in Estonia, town on the island of Saaremaa in Estonia. It is the administrative centre of Saaremaa Municipality and the seat of Saare County. Kuressaare is the westernmost town in Estonia. The recorded popul ...

, Estonia *

Vásárosnamény Vásárosnamény is a small town in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county, in the Northern Great Plain region of eastern Hungary. It also includes Vitka since 1969, and in 1939 Gergelyi and Ugornya formed by uniting Gergelyiugornya. Postal history Pri ...

, Hungary *

Dunboyne Dunboyne () is a town in County Meath, Ireland, north-west of Dublin city centre. It is a commuter town for Dublin. In the 20 years between the 1996 and 2016 censuses, the population of Dunboyne more than doubled from 3,080 to 7,272 inhabitan ...

, Ireland

Sources

Literature

References

External links

Town of Sastamala
– Official website {{authority control Cities and towns in Finland Populated places established in 2009