Pirkkala (; sv, Birkala) is a municipality of Finland. It is located some south-west from Tampere in the Pirkanmaaregion. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is , which makes it the most densely populated municipality in Finland that does not use the title of town or city. Pirkkala is also currently the fastest-growing municipality in the Pirkanmaa region. The municipality is unilingually Finnish.
Tampere-Pirkkala Airport is located in southwest Pirkkala. The most significant main road in Pirkkala is
Tampere Ring Road
The Tampere Ring Road (Finnish language, Finnish: ''Tampereen kehätie'') or former Finnish National Road 60 (Finnish: ''Kantatie 60'') is a ring road in Tampere sub-region, Finland. It leads (from west to east) from Ylöjärvi to Tampere, passing ...
.
History
Great Pirkkala
The former parish of Suur-Pirkkala (Great Pirkkala) is mentioned in historical writings from the 14th century. It occupied over half of Pirkanmaa, a region nowadays populated by about 526,000 inhabitants. Suur-Pirkkala began to split when new parishes and municipalities were founded and wanted independence.
South and North Pirkkala
In 1922 the Pirkkala was split into Pohjois- (Northern) and Etelä-Pirkkala (Southern Pirkkala) due to a movement in Southern Pirkkala led by agronomist Hannes Palmroth of the Partola Estate to gain independence from the more industrial North.
Pirkkala
In 1938 the name of Northern Pirkkala was changed to Nokia and after an appeal to the
President of Finland
The president of the Republic of Finland ( fi, Suomen tasavallan presidentti; sv, Republiken Finlands president) is the head of state of Finland. Under the Constitution of Finland, executive power is vested in the Finnish Government and the p ...
Kyösti Kallio in 1939, Southern Pirkkala reverted to its original name Pirkkala. The present-day province of Pirkanmaa that was founded in the 1950s is named after Pirkkala as it was in the center of the region that was more or less the same area as the historic Great Pirkkala
Sights
Pirkkala has been inhabited by the
Stone Age
The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with t ...
and Iron Age, and many ancient finds have been made in the area.
The red-brick old church was designed by Ilmari Launis in 1921, and it is known that it was built on the site of the old Pirkkala parish church. The white new church from 1994, designed by Simo Paavilainen and Käpy Paavilainen, is located near the current town center,
Naistenmatka
Naistenmatka is the town and at the same time the administrative center of the municipality of Pirkkala in Pirkanmaa, Finland. Its population was 800 people in 1997, or about 15% of Pirkkala's population. The first buildings in the village of Nai ...
. In its year of completion, the church, which has a modern appearance, was chosen as the most beautiful new building in Finland.
The Sculpture Park has been formed near the municipal center from the works of art of the international cast iron symposia of 2001 and 2003. It consists of sculptures of contemporary art, which are mostly placed around Lake Vähäjärvi. The idea of the cast iron symposiums is Villu Jaaniso, an artist from Pirkkala who moved from Estonia to Finland. Other materials were used in the 2003 event. Perhaps the most prominent of the sights is the Jaaniso's ''Peruspirkkalalainen'' statue on the edge of the Suupantori
market square
The market square (or sometimes, the market place) is a Town square, square meant for trading, in which a market is held. It is an important feature of many towns and cities around the world.Pirkkalan kunta: Peruspirkkalalainen (in Finnish)
File:Pirkkala municipal office 2018.jpg, Pirkkala Municipal Ofiice
File:Kauppakeskus Veska 20180625.jpg, Veska Shopping Centre
File:Bauhaus Tampere 20180625.jpg, Baushaus store in Pirkkala
File:Pirkkala Library C IMG 8186.JPG, Pirkkala Public Library
File:Vanha Kirkko Pirkkala - panoramio.jpg, Old Church of Pirkkala
File:Suuppa Pirkkala.jpg,
Naistenmatka
Naistenmatka is the town and at the same time the administrative center of the municipality of Pirkkala in Pirkanmaa, Finland. Its population was 800 people in 1997, or about 15% of Pirkkala's population. The first buildings in the village of Nai ...