Varkaus, before 1929 known as Warkaus, is a Middle-
Savonian industrial
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 ...
and
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' ...
of
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 located in the
province
A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
of
Eastern Finland and is part of the
Northern Savonia 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 ...
, between the city of
Kuopio and the town of
Savonlinna
Savonlinna (, , ; ) is a town in Finland, located in the eastern interior of the country. It lies in the Finnish Lakeland, the South Savo region. The population of Savonlinna is approximately , while the Savonlinna sub-region, sub-region has a pop ...
.
The municipality has a population of ()
and covers 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 .
The municipality is unilingually
Finnish. In old Finnish 'Varkaus' meant strait, and this city is located in the lake district on straits between two parts of
Lake Saimaa. An extension of the
Saimaa Canal passes through the town.
History
Varkaus was born in the late 19th century as an industrial community of the
A. Ahlström paper mills. It was a part of the municipalities of
Leppävirta and
Joroinen
Joroinen is a municipality in the North Savo region of Finland. It is located in the province of Eastern Finland Province, Eastern Finland and is part of the Northern Savonia sub-region. The municipality has a population of approximately 4,626 peop ...
until 1929 when Varkaus became a
market town
A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...
. During the
Finnish Civil War
The Finnish Civil War was a civil war in Finland in 1918 fought for the leadership and control of the country between Whites (Finland), White Finland and the Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic (Red Finland) during the country's transition fr ...
in 1918 the town was taken over by the
Reds, but because of its isolated location in rural Finland, it was soon taken by the
Whites on the
Battle of Varkaus 19–21 February. The whites proceeded to execute every tenth Red soldier.
The municipality of
Kangaslampi was consolidated to Varkaus on 1 January 2005.
Sport
The bandy team
Warkauden Pallo-35, or just WP-35, plays in the highest division,
Bandyliiga, and has become Finnish champions 16 times.
Varkaus Speedway Stadion is a
motorcycle speedway
Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four clockwise, anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that ...
on the northern outskirts of the town off the Tykkitie road, adjacent to the motorcycle racing and karting facilities. The Speedway circuit is one of the oldest in Finland and held the final of the
Finnish Individual Speedway Championship three times.
Notable people
*
Onni Hiltunen (1895–1971), politician
*
Jukka Keskisalo (born 1981), steeplechaser
*
Antti Kupiainen (born 1954), mathematical physicist
*
Esa Pakarinen (1911–1989), actor and musician
*
Esa Pakarinen Junior (born 1947), actor
*
Piia Pantsu (born 1971), equestrian rider
*
Lassi Parkkinen (1917–1994), speed skater
*
Erkki Pulliainen (born 1938), biologist and politician
*
Pekka Siitoin (1944–2003), occultist and neo-Nazi
*
Petri Varis (born 1969), ice hockey forward
Parts of the town of Varkaus
*Kaura-aho
*Käpykangas
*Kuoppakangas
*Kosulanniemi
*
Lehtoniemi
*Puurtila
*Taipale
*Luttila
*Könönpelto
*
Kangaslampi
*Kurola
*Hasinmäki
*Häyrilä
*Päiviönsaari
*Peltola
Twin towns — sister cities
Varkaus is
twinned with:
See also
*
Soisalo
References
External links
*
*
Town of Varkaus– Official website
Cities and towns in Finland
Populated places established in 1929
{{EasternFinland-geo-stub