Lempäälä (Finnish: [ˈlempæːlæ] is a municipality in the Pirkanmaa region of Finland with 24,703 inhabitants (31 December 2023).[2] Lempäälä is located south of the city of Tampere. The municipality covers an area of 307.06 square kilometres (118.56 sq mi) of which 37.51 km2 (14.48 sq mi) is water.[1] The population density is 91.64 inhabitants per square kilometre (237.3/sq mi).

Lempäälä
Municipality
Lempäälän kunta
Lempäälä kommun
Aerial view of Lempäälä
Aerial view of Lempäälä
Coat of arms of Lempäälä
Location of Lempäälä in Finland
Location of Lempäälä in Finland
Coordinates: 61°19′N 023°45′E / 61.317°N 23.750°E / 61.317; 23.750
Country Finland
RegionPirkanmaa
Sub-regionTampere sub-region
Charter1866
Government
 • Municipality managerHeidi Rämö
Area
 (2018-01-01)[1]
 • Total307.06 km2 (118.56 sq mi)
 • Land269.58 km2 (104.09 sq mi)
 • Water37.51 km2 (14.48 sq mi)
 • Rank241st largest in Finland
Population
 (2023-12-31)[2]
 • Total24,703
 • Rank42nd largest in Finland
 • Density91.64/km2 (237.3/sq mi)
Population by native language
 • Finnish96.8% (official)
 • Swedish0.3%
 • Others2.9%
Population by age
 • 0 to 1422.3%
 • 15 to 6460.8%
 • 65 or older16.9%
Time zoneUTC+02:00 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Websitewww.lempaala.fi

The municipality center of Lempäälä is situated on an isthmus between the lakes Vanajavesi and Pyhäjärvi which are connected by the Kuokkalankoski rapids and the canal of Lempäälä that was built during the 1870s and is still in use.

The first written account of the parish of Lempäälä is from 1430. The oldest building of the town is a medieval church named after Saint Birgitta and was built in 1504.[6] The only remaining article from medieval times in the church is a wooden crucifix carved out of birch.

Finnish novelist Yrjö Kokko lived in Lempäälä, and is buried in the graveyard.

Ideapark, the second largest shopping mall in Nordic countries, is located in Lempäälä along the HelsinkiTampere motorway (E12).

Kuokkala edit

Kuokkala is a neighbourhood to the north of Lempäälä town which houses a ’museoraitti’ (museum trail). Several buildings now house collections of historical items, including a shop museum (also a shop and information office), hairdressers & barbers, cobblers, WW2 memorabilia, household equipment, blacksmiths, carpenters, a 19th-century Finnish dwelling, and a special exhibit relating to the ex-Finnish region of Sakkola.[7]

Politics edit

In the 2023 parliamentary elections, Lempäälä voted as such:[8]

International relations edit

Twin towns — Sister cities edit

Lempäälä is twinned with:

Villages edit

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Area of Finnish Municipalities 1.1.2018" (PDF). National Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Immigration record high in Finland in 2023". StatFin. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  3. ^ "Demographic Structure by area as of 31 December 2022". Statistics Finland's PX-Web databases. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  4. ^ "Population according to age (1-year) and sex by area and the regional division of each statistical reference year, 2003–2020". StatFin. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Luettelo kuntien ja seurakuntien tuloveroprosenteista vuonna 2023". Tax Administration of Finland. 14 November 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  6. ^ Pyhä Birgitta määräsi kirkon paikan – Lempäälän kunta Archived 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ Leaflet about Kuokkalan museoraitti published by museum.
  8. ^ "Lempäälä | Tulospalvelu | Eduskuntavaalit 2023 | yle.fi". vaalit.yle.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 2023-10-20.

External links edit

  Media related to Lempäälä at Wikimedia Commons