( and
Pyhäjärvi . Since the two lakes differ in level by 18 metres, the
Tammerkoski rapids linking them have been an important power source throughout history, most recently for generating electricity.
Tampere, with about 200,000 inhabitants in the city itself, and more than 300,000 including the neighbouring municipalities, is the second most important urban centre in Finland after the
Helsinki region and the biggest inland city in the
Nordic Countries .
In terms of population, Tampere is the third largest city in Finland, and the only city in the top four outside the
Greater Helsinki area.
Tampere was founded as a market place around
Tammerkoski river in
1775 by
Gustav III Of Sweden and four years later,
1779 , it was granted a full township status. At this time Tampere was rather small town, consisting of only a few square kilometers of land around
Tammerkoski rapids.
Tampere grew as a major market place and industrial centre in the
19th Century . During the latter half of 19th century Tampere had almost half of Finland's industrial labour. The town's industrial nature in the 19th and
20th Centuries gave it the nickname '
Manchester of the North', ''Manse'' for short.
Tampere was the centre of many important political events of Finland in the early 20th century. On
1 November 1905 the famous ''
Red Declaration '' was given during the general strike on Keskustori, the central square of Tampere, subsequently leading to
Universal Suffrage in Finland and the
Tsar of Russia granting larger freedoms to Finns. In
1918 , when Finland had recently gained independence, Tampere also played a major role, being one of the strategically important scenes during the
Civil War In Finland (
January 28 -
May 15 1918 ).
White Forces captured Tampere seizing about 10.000
Red prisoners on
April 6 . Prevalent in Tampere's post-
World War II municipal politics has been the so called Brothers-in-Arms Axis (''aseveliakseli''), the alliance of political parties from both the left and right. During this era some of the most renowned mayors of Tampere have been
Erkki Napoleon Lindfors (who was responsible for many ambitious construction projects such as the
Näsinneula Tower and the foundation of the suburb of
Hervanta , Tampere's "daughter town"),
Pekka Paavola (who gained some notoriety in
Corruption scandals) and
Jarmo Rantanen .
After World War II Tampere was enlarged by joining some neighbouring areas.
Messukylä was incorporated in
1947 , Lielahti
1950 , Aitolahti in
1966 and finally Teisko in
1972 . Tampere was known for its textile and metal industry, but these have been largely replaced by
Information Technology and
Telecommunications industry during the
1990s . Technology centre
Hermia in
Hervanta is home to many companies in these industries.
]]
As Of 2003 Tampere has a little over 200,000 inhabitants and is the third biggest city in Finland. Tampere's appeal is much brought about by the two universities,
University Of Tampere (UTA) and
Tampere University Of Technology (TUT), located in
Hervanta . Each university has some 10,000 students.
Tampere is part of
Pirkanmaa Region and is surrounded by the
Municipalities of
Kangasala ,
Kuru ,
Lempäälä ,
Nokia ,
Orivesi ,
Pirkkala ,
Ruovesi and
Ylöjärvi .
During the 2000’s Tampere has situated very well in many imago, popularity and city-attractiveness-queries. It has always been, if not the best, near the top among the Finnish cities.
Tampere is known for its active cultural life. Some of the most popular writers in Finland, such as
Väinö Linna ,
Kalle Päätalo or
Hannu Salama hail from Tampere. These are all known as writers depicting the lives of working class people. Also from working class background was the famous poet
Lauri Viita of Pispala district (which is the original home of Hannu Salama too). Tampere also has old theater traditions, with such established institutions as Tampereen Työväenteatteri and Tampereen Teatteri: Tampereen Teatterikesä is an international theater festival held in Tampere every August.
Tampere Film Festival , the international
Short Film festival is held every March. Tammerfest is Tampere's urban rock festival held in every July.
Tampere is home to the television channel
YLE TV2 , with its studios at the
Tohloppi district, known among all for such popular TV comedies as ''Tankki täyteen'', ''Reinikainen'' and ''
Kummeli ''.
Tampere's sporting scene is driven by the two
Ice Hockey teams
Tappara and
Ilves . They both have had great impact on the Finnish ice hockey culture and are the most successful teams in Finland. Tampere is known as the hometown on finnish hockey. Finnish ice hockey museum is also located in Tampere. The first ice hockey arena in Finland was the Tampere Hakametsä hall.
Football is also raising its head in the city with
Tampere United winning the 2001 Finnish championship.
by
Reima Pietilä ]]
The main tourist attraction is the
Särkänniemi Amusement Park , which includes a
Dolphinarium and the landmark
Näsinneula Tower , topped by a
Revolving Restaurant . Other sites of interests are Tampere City Library ''Metso'' ("wood grouse"), Kaleva Church (both designed by
Reima Pietilä ), the Tampere Hall for conferences and the Tampere Market Hall.
Tampere is also the home to one of the, if not the last museum in the world dedicated to
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin . Lenin moved to Tampere in August
1905 and during a subsequent
Bolshevik conference in the city, met
Joseph Stalin for the first time. Lenin eventually fled Tampere (for Sweden) in November
1907 when being pursued by the Russian
Okhrana . Lenin would not return to any part of the
Russian Empire until 10 years later during the start of the
Russian Revolution Of 1917 .
Pispala is a ridge located between lake
Näsijärvi and lake
Pyhäjärvi . It used to house the majority of industrial labour in late 19th and early 20th century. Currently it is a popular residential area and together with neighbouring
Pyynikki it forms an important historical area of Tampere.
There are many museums and galleries, including:
- The Vapriikki Museum Centre which includes the ''Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame'' and the ''Shoe Museum''
- Tampere Art Museum
- Tampere Lenin Museum
- The Muumilaakso Museum , all about Moomin s
- The Amuri museum of Workers' Housing
- The Museum of Minerals
- The Sara Hildén Art Museum (within Särkäniemi themepark)
- The Museum of Dolls and Costumes
- The Spy Museum
- The Arboretum
- The Central Museum of Labour in Finland
:Population 200 980
:Founded
1779
:To Helsinki 173 km
:Area 690,6 km&
2
:Max temp °C +29,8
:Min temp °C -26,4
:Pop. density 378/km&
2
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