Nokia () is a town and a municipality on the banks of the

Nokianvirta Nokianvirta is a river of Finland. It flows from the lake Pyhäjärvi near Tampere to the lake Kulovesi, which is a part of a lake system from which the Kokemäki River begins its course towards the Gulf of Bothnia. Nokianvirta flows through Nok ...

River (part of the Kokemäki River) in the region of Pirkanmaa, some west of Tampere in Finland. The distance to Tampere Airport from Nokia is using road connections when circling Lake Pyhäjärvi. Its neighboring municipalities are

Hämeenkyrö Hämeenkyrö (; sv, Tavastkyro) is a municipality of Finland. It is part of the Pirkanmaa region, and is located from Tampere. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The ne ...

, Pirkkala,

Sastamala Sastamala () is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the Pirkanmaa region. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water, making it the largest municipality in the Pirkanmaa region in terms of area. The ...

, Tampere, Vesilahti and Ylöjärvi. As of it has a population of and it is one of the fastest-growing cities in the area; today, Nokia is the largest municipality of Finland by population, and the second largest municipality in Pirkanmaa after Tampere.

Etymology and heraldry

The origin of the name ''Nokia'' is obscure. In modern Finnish, ''noki'' means soot and ''nokia'' is its inflected plural, although this form of the word is rarely if ever used. The most common theory claims the name actually originates from the archaic Finnish word ''nois'' (

pl. PL, P.L., Pl, or .pl may refer to: Businesses and organizations Government and political * Partit Laburista, a Maltese political party * Liberal Party (Brazil, 2006), a Brazilian political party * Liberal Party (Moldova), a Moldovan political p ...

''nokia'') or ''nokinäätä'' ("soot marten"), meaning

sable The sable (''Martes zibellina'') is a species of marten, a small omnivorous mammal primarily inhabiting the forest environments of Russia, from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, and northern Mongolia. Its habitat also borders eastern Kaza ...

. After the sable was hunted to extinction in Finland, the word was applied to any dark-coated fur animal, such as the

marten A marten is a weasel-like mammal in the genus ''Martes'' within the subfamily Guloninae, in the family Mustelidae. They have bushy tails and large paws with partially retractile claws. The fur varies from yellowish to dark brown, depending on t ...

, which are found in the area to this day. The sable is enshrined on the Nokia coat of arms. However, later research has appeared to indicate that sables never inhabited Finland in the first place, and the name ''nois'' may actually refer to the

beaver Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers ar ...

. The coat of arms was designed by

Gustaf von Numers Gustaf von Numers (31 July 1912 – 21 May 1978) was a Swedish-speaking Finnish civil servant and leading heraldic artist. Life Gustaf von Numers studied heraldry in the 1930s under Arvid Berghman and was considered one of the leading Fin ...

and was confirmed on October 25, 1951.

History

The first literary reference to Nokia is in a 1505 document, which mentions two farms ''Stoora och Lilla Nokia'', Swedish for "Big and Little Nokia". The Nokia manor was formed out of these two farms. The area was a part of the Pirkkala parish. Nokia was the setting of one of the largest battles in the

Club War The Cudgel War (also Club War, fi, Nuijasota, links=no, sv, Klubbekriget, links=no) was a 1596–1597 peasant uprising in Finland, which was then part of the Kingdom of Sweden. The name of the uprising derives from the fact that the peasants ar ...

, a 1596 peasant uprising against feudal lords. The peasants, armed with clubs, took up residence in Nokia Manor and won several skirmishes against the feudal cavalry, but were decisively defeated by

Klaus Fleming Baron Klaus Eriksson Fleming ( sv, Clas Eriksson Fleming; 1535 in Pargas – 13 April 1597 in Pohja) was a Finnish-born member of the Swedish nobility and admiral, who played an important role in Finnish and Swedish history during the rise of S ...

on 1–2 January 1597. Thousands of clubmen were slain and their leader Jaakko Ilkka, who had fled, was captured a few weeks later and executed. The Club War was the last major peasant revolt in Finland, and it permanently consolidated the hold of the nation state. Much later, in the Finnish Civil War (1918), Nokia (along with neighboring Tampere) was a stronghold for the Red Guards and saw some combat. In 1922, Suur-Pirkkala was split into Pohjois- and Etelä-Pirkkala (Northern and Southern). Nokia used to reach out to the current heart of Tampere, as the

Pispala Pispala is a city area 2.5 km from the centre of Tampere, Finland. It is located on the northern slope of Pispalanharju, the highest esker in Finland. Together with Pyynikki, Pispala is widely considered the most beautiful area of Tampere ...

area was part of Nokia (Pohjois-Pirkkala) until 1937. In 1938 Pohjois-Pirkkala was renamed to Nokia while Etelä-Pirkkala became simply Pirkkala. Two municipalities have been consolidated with Nokia:

Suoniemi Suoniemi may refer to: * Suoniemi, Finland, village and former municipality * Kalevi Suoniemi Kalevi Ensio Suoniemi (14 July 1931 – 17 June 2010) was a Finnish gymnast. He competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics in all artistic gymnastics events ...

in 1973 and

Tottijärvi Tottijärvi is a village and a former municipality in Nokia, Finland. It is located by the lake Pyhäjärvi, about 30 kilometres southwest of the city of Tampere. The population of Tottijärvi is 717 (2008). History The history of Tottijärvi da ...

in 1976. Nokia was designated as a city in 1977.

Industrial history

The eponymous telecommunications giant Nokia was founded by Fredrik Idestam in 1865 as a

pulp mill A pulp mill is a manufacturing facility that converts wood chips or other plant fiber sources into a thick fiber board which can be shipped to a paper mill for further processing. Pulp can be manufactured using mechanical, semi-chemical, or ful ...

. The Finnish Rubber Works Ltd (''Suomen Gummitehdas Oy'') (founded 1898) set up a factory in Nokia in 1904. These two companies and the Cable Company Ltd (''Kaapelitehdas Oy'') amalgamated in 1967 forming Nokia Corporation. Different branches of this

conglomerate Conglomerate or conglomeration may refer to: * Conglomerate (company) * Conglomerate (geology) * Conglomerate (mathematics) In popular culture: * The Conglomerate (American group), a production crew and musical group founded by Busta Rhymes ** Co ...

were split into several companies or sold off around 1990. The rubber works still operates in Nokia as

Nokian Tyres Nokian Tyres plc ( fi, Nokian Renkaat Oyj), headquartered in Nokia, Finland, produces tyres for cars, trucks, buses, and heavy-duty equipment. Known for its winter tyres, Nokian is the only tyre manufacturer in the world with its own permane ...

and the paper mill as Essity. See

History of Nokia Nokia is a Finnish multinational corporation founded on 12 May 1865 as a single paper mill operation. Through the 19th century the company expanded, branching into several different products. In 1967, the Nokia corporation was formed. In the late ...

for further details. The telecommunication company Nokia no longer has any operations in the city of Nokia. Despite the company having been founded in Nokia, the headquarters were moved to Espoo, and the main factories are in

Salo Salo or Salò may refer to: Places Finland *Salo, Finland, a town in Western Finland **Salo sub-region, a subdivision of Finland Proper and one of the Sub-regions of Finland since 2009 *An old name of Saloinen, a former municipality in Ostroboth ...

, both nearly 200 kilometres south of Nokia. The only current presence of the company in the city is the Nokia mansion, which is sometimes used for private parties for the company's executive staff. The city has repeatedly been asked to commemorate the company it gave birth to, but it has always declined, on the grounds that mobile phones were never produced there. Nokia does have engineering and design facilities 15 kilometers away in nearby Tampere.

Present

Today's Nokia is famous for its spa, factory shops, waterways, and events. Nokia also enjoys good road and air connections. The largest companies are

AGCO Power AGCO Power (previously AGCO Sisu Power and Sisu Diesel) is a Finnish company and a subsidiary of US-based AGCO Corporation. The company, situated in Linnavuori, Nokia, Finland, manufactures diesel engines for various applications, such as agricul ...

, Purso,

Patria Aviation Patria Plc ( fi, Patria Oyj, sv, Patria Abp) is a Finnish provider of Defense (military), defence, security and aviation life-cycle support services. Patria is owned 50.1% by the Government of Finland, Finnish government and 49.9% by Norway, No ...

and Essity paper mill. From a religious perspective, Nokia is best known for the charismatic

Nokia Revival Nokia Revival (also known as Nokia Missio) is a Charismatic movement, charismatic Christianity, Christian movement originating in Finland in the town of Nokia, Finland, Nokia. The starting point of the movement was in 1991, when Markku Koivisto, t ...

which began in 1990. Nokia is also known for its own fast food cuisine,

Kuuma koira is a fast food dish created in the 1960s in the Finnish city of Nokia. The term is Finnish for " Hot dog", but the ingredients differ so much that is a completely different dish. The dish is not well known outside the Pirkanmaa region, but ...

. and as a home town of Nokian Brewery. Due to the closeness of Tampere studio facilities, Nokia has been also used as a filming location. For example, Eric Sykes' The Big Freeze and Finnish TV production Korpelan Kujanjuoksu have been prominently filmed there.

Demographics

The following graph shows the population development of the town since 1964.

Notable natives and residents

* Markku Aro – singer *

Marko Asell Marko Asell (born 8 May 1970 in Ylöjärvi) is a Finnish wrestler and Olympic medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling. He was also a politician and member of Finnish Parliament in 2007–2011. Olympics Asell competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in A ...

– olympic wrestler * Kikka – pop singer * Toivo Kärki – composer, musician, producer and arranger was born in Pirkkala, in an area which is now Nokia *

Jari Niemi Jari Niemi (born 2 February 1977 in Nokia) is a retired Finnish footballer. He has played for R.A.E.C. Mons, Standard Liège and K. Sint-Truidense V.V. in Belgium. In the Finnish Veikkausliiga Niemi has also played for TPV Tampere, FC Haka an ...

– football player * Kari Peitsamo – musician *

Tapio Rautavaara Kaj Tapio Rautavaara (8 March 1915 – 25 September 1979) was a Finnish singer (bass-baritone), athlete and film actor. Life Early years Tapio Rautavaara was born in the municipality of Pirkkala (now Nokia), a suburb of the industrial city o ...

– athlete, musician, actor was born in Pirkkala, in an area which is now Nokia *

Elsa Rautee Elsa Elina Rautee (February 7, 1897 Tottijärvi – February 15, 1987 Nokia) was a Finnish poet of the labor movement who wrote the lyrics in the 1930s to the song "Brother Sister (Veli Sisko)". The song is an anti-war song written after the Span ...

– poet *

Anssi Salmela Anssi Salmela (born 13 August 1984) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently playing with EHC Biel of the National League (NL). Playing career Undrafted, Salmela's professional career started in the 2003–04 season wit ...

– ice hockey player *

Sami Sandell Sami Sandell (born March 1, 1987) from Nokia, Finland is a Finnish professional ice hockey player who is currently playing for HC Davos of the National League (NL). He previously played for Ilves Tampere Ilves (; Finnish for " Lynx") is a Finni ...

– ice hockey player * Juuso Välimäki – ice hockey player *

Sami Välimäki Sami Välimäki (born 16 July 1998) is a Finnish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour. On his 6th European Tour start he won the 2020 Oman Open. Amateur career During 2018 Välimäki was selected for the Europe team in the Bonal ...

– professional golfer

Statistics

Distances to the other cities and towns

* Tampere – *

– * Hämeenlinna – *

Pori ) , website www.pori.fi Pori (; sv, Björneborg ) is a city and municipality on the west coast of Finland. The city is located some from the Gulf of Bothnia, on the estuary of the Kokemäki River, west of Tampere, north of Turku and north-w ...

– * Rauma – * Turku – * Helsinki – * Vaasa –

Twin towns – sister cities

Nokia is twinned with: * Karlstad Municipality, Sweden *

Moss Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hor ...

, Norway * Horsens Municipality, Denmark *

Blönduós Blönduós () is a town and former municipality in the north of Iceland with a population of 895 in 2018. Like many towns and villages around Iceland, Blönduós did not emerge as a village until the late 19th century. The town is situated on Ro ...

, Iceland

Gallery

File:Pyhäjärven_luusua.jpg, Lake Pyhäjärvi seen from Nokia File:Siuronkosken_pato.JPG, Siuronkoski dam File:Viholan_venesatama.JPG, Vihola

marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...

File:Nokian_kirkko_2014_2.JPG, Nokia church File:Nokian_lukio.jpg,

Nokian lukio Nokian lukio (Nokia Senior High School) is a school located in the town of Nokia, Finland. There are about 415 students and 30 teachers. The principal of the school is Juha Sainio. The school was founded in Ladoga Karelia in the year 1919 as the ...

(high school) File:Murhasaaren_silta.jpg,

Finnish national road 11 Finnish national road 11 ( fi, valtatie 11, sv, riksväg 11) is an east–west highway from Nokia of Pirkanmaa to Pori of Satakunta. The road is relatively short, only 101 kilometers, in addition to which the road as a whole is two-lane. Noneth ...

Notes

References

External links

Town of Nokia
– Official Website * {{authority control Cities and towns in Finland Populated places established in 1922