Valkeakoski
Town
Coordinates61°16′N 024°02′E
CountryFinland
RegionPirkanmaa
Sub-regionSouthern Pirkanmaa
Town managerJukka Varonen
Charter1923
Time zoneEET (UTC+02:00)
Time zone (DST)EEST (UTC+03:00)
Websitewww.valkeakoski.fi/en

Valkeakoski (ˈʋɑlkeɑˌkoski; lit. "white rapids") is a town and municipality in Finland. It is located 35 kilometres (22 mi) south of Tampere, 45 km (28 mi) north of Hämeenlinna and 150 km (93 mi) north of Helsinki in the Pirkanmaa region. The municipality has a population of ()[1] and covers an area of km2 of which km2 is water.[2] The population density is PD/km2.

The municipality is unilingually Finnish.

Valkeakoski is best known for its paper industry and domestically highly successful football team, FC Haka.

The town and the paper industry have both grown by the Valkeakoski rapids between the lake Mallasvesi in the north and the lake Vanajavesi in the south.

History

The Valkeakoski area is known to have been inhabited since the Iron Age. More than a thousand years ago, the ridges on the area served as a foundation of the Rapola fort. In the following Middle Ages, the mill town Sääksmäki was the center of the area. However, industrialization towards the end of the 19th century increased the importance of what became the contemporary town of Valkeakoski. The channel of Valkeakoski was opened in 1869, and the first paper mill was completed in 1873, marking the beginning of a continuing tradition of the forest industry. The municipality of Sääksmäki, from which the town of Valkeakoski was detached in 1923 was consolidated with Valkeakoski in 1973.[3]

Districts, neighborhoods and villages

Countryside and villages

The entire countryside of Valkeakoski consists mainly of the former Sääksmäki municipality areas.

    • Sääksmäki (consists of Huittula and Ritvala, Kemmola, Mälkiäinen, Haukila, Uskila, Tykölä, Viranmaa, Kasuri / Koivuniemi / Raija, Metsäkansa, Ylenjoki, Konho, Nikkarinhanko / Muti, Rantoo, Yli-Nissi, Kärjenniemi, Vedentaka, Kaapelinkulma, Kannistonmäki, Viuha, Mattila, Vuorentaka, Valto, Paino, Tarttila, Pyörönmaa and Vanhakylä)

Districts

There are 25 districts in what is considered the urban area of Valkeaskoki. These districts are further divided into neighborhoods. The districts and neighborhoods of Valkeakoski are:[4]

  1. 1st district
    • Tervasaari, Myllysaari, Tietola and Tehtaankatu
  2. 2nd district
    • Ydinkeskusta, Tallinmäki and Kerhomaja
  3. 3rd district
    • Kauppilanmäki, Yrjölä and Heikkilä
  4. 4th district
    • Jyräänmäki, Haka-alue, Kaskela, Laiska, Lumikorpi, Naakanrinne, Naakka and Pässinmäki
  5. Antinniemi
  6. Roukko
  7. 7th district
    • Matinmäki, Mäntylä, Roukonperä and Vääräkoivu
  8. Lintula
  9. Kirjasniemi
  10. Ulvajanniemi
  11. 11th district
    • Pohjankorpi and Tyry
  12. 12th district
    • Juhannusvuori, Kokkola, Naakka, Raikas and Sassi
  13. Jätevedenpuhdistamo
  14. 14th district
    • Raija and Koivuniemi
  15. Sointula
  16. Eerola
  17. Pispantalli
  18. 18th district
    • Holmi and Varsanhäntä
  19. Kärjenniemi
  20. Irjala
  21. Kemmola
  22. Juusonranta
  23. Valto
  24. Mahlianmaa
  25. Länsi-Lintula

In addition, outside of but in the vicinity of these districts lay Vanhakylä and Viuha.

Sports

Valkeakoski is notable for the football team FC Haka and also other Haka sections, especially the cross-country skiing section. The "skiing Haka" is one of the most successful skiing teams in Finland. The other major local sports organization Koskenpojat has also been really successful, winning many national championships in aerobic gymnastics.

Twin towns – sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Finland

Valkeakoski is twinned with:[5]

Notable persons from Valkeakoski

Notable places and events

References

  1. ^ population_count
  2. ^ total_area
  3. ^ "History of Valkeakoski". Archived from the original on 2017-12-05. Retrieved 2010-11-13.
  4. ^ "Kaupunginosat" (in Finnish). valkeakoski.fi. Valkeakoski. Archived from the original on 2009-11-28. Retrieved 2019-12-30.
  5. ^ "Ystävyyskaupungit" (in Finnish). valkeakoski.fi. Valkeakoski. Archived from the original on 2015-10-04. Retrieved 2019-12-07.