Sastamala () is a town in Finland, located in the Pirkanmaa region. Sastamala lies on both sides of River Kokemäenjoki in the southwest corner of Pirkanmaa. The population of Sastamala is approximately , while the sub-region has a population of approximately . It is the most populous municipality in Finland. Sastamala has an area of of which is water, making it the largest municipality in the Pirkanmaa region in terms of area. The population density is . The municipality is unilingual in Finnish. Sastamala was created in 2009 when the municipalities of Vammala,

Äetsä Äetsä is a former municipality of southwestern Finland. The municipality was founded on 1981 when municipalities of Keikyä and Kiikka were consolidated to a single municipality. On 1 January 2009, it was consolidated with the municipalities ...

and

Mouhijärvi Mouhijärvi is a former municipality of Finland, located in the southwestern part of the country. It was an agricultural village since the 18th century. On 1 January in 2009 Mouhijärvi was consolidated with the municipalities of Vammala and Ä ...

were merged into a single town. Later, in 2013, Kiikoinen also joined Sastamala. Today, its neighbouring municipalities are Huittinen, Hämeenkyrö, Ikaalinen, Kankaanpää, Kokemäki, Lavia, Nokia, Punkalaidun, Ulvila, Urjala and Vesilahti. The city of Tampere is from Sastamala. The administrative centre of Sastamala is Vammala, which had a population of about 10,000 in the 2011 census. Two highways pass through Sastamala: Highway 11 between

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 ...

and Nokia, and

Highway 12 Route 12 or Highway 12 can refer to: For a list of roads named A12, see A12 roads. International * Asian Highway 12 * European route E12 * European route E012 Argentina * National Route 12 Australia NSW * Western Sydney Airport Motorway ( ...

between Rauma and Kouvola.

Heraldry

The coat of arms of Sastamala is the former coat of arms of the now defunct municipality of Karkku, originally approved by the Karkku municipal council on November 26, 1962, and approved for use by the Ministry of the Interior on February 12, 1963. The coat of arms refers to the 14th century St. Mary Church of Sastamala. The explanation of the coat of arms is “in the blue field, a golden

consecration cross Consecration crosses are crosses on the interior walls and exterior architecture of a Christian church or cathedral showing where the bishop has anointed the church with chrism or holy water in order to consecrate it. There is often a place for ...

with a crossed edge”. The coat of arms was designed by Lauri Ahlgrén.

History

The stone grave with its swords, dating to the 4th century in Ristimäki, Vammala, is reminiscent of the prosperous armed burials of the younger Roman Iron Age (200–400 AD) in coastal areas. It is also the only inland tomb corresponding to the coastal burial tradition at that time. During the Vendel Period, cemeteries became more common in the Sastamala area, which contributes to population growth and population density. The parish of Sastamala was the largest parish belonging to the

historical province of Satakunta Satakunta (, or ''Satagundia'') is a historical province of Finland. It borders the historical provinces of Finland Proper, Tavastia and Ostrobothnia, also the Gulf of Bothnia The Gulf of Bothnia (; fi, Pohjanlahti; sv, Bottniska vik ...

. The name Sastamala first appeared in the form ''Sastamall'' in a letter from King Birger Magnusson from 1300 or 1303.

Geography

Sastamala is located on both sides of the Kokemäki River's watershed in the southwest corner of Pirkanmaa. The municipality is divided by Kokemäki River, Lake Liekovesi, Lake Rautavesi and Lake Kulovesi. Other significant severe waters in the municipality are Lake Houha, Lake Ylinen, Lake Kiikoinen and Lake Mouhijärvi. There are a total of 161 villages in Sastamala, and two thirds of the municipality's population lives in rural areas and villages. The villages are organized into more than 40 village associations. The division of the village was created by the

Great Partition Great Partition ( sv, storskiftet fi, isojako) was an agricultural land reform in Swedish Empire. It was a reform supported by the government with the purpose of shifting the land of the village communities, from the ''solskifte'', where every ...

in the 18th century and thus does not fully correspond to the current situation; for example, Illo and Putaja are located on the lands of other villages and are not listed.

Economy

In 2015, the municipality had 8,426 jobs. Of these, 8,5% were in primary production ( agriculture, forestry and

fisheries Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life; or more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a. fishing ground). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farms, both ...

), 63% in services and 27% in processing. The share of the unemployed in the labor force was 12,3%. The largest corporate tax is paid by the building design company Partnos, the manufacturer of rubber and plastic products Teknikum and the manufacturer of district heating reed valves.

Culture

Sastamala has a long tradition in literature. One of the biggest themed events is the Old Literature Days (''Vanhan kirjallisuuden päivät'') in the town center during the summer. In July 2011, the Finnish Book Museum Pukstaavi was also opened in Sastamala, which promotes Finnish book culture and reading. Pukstaavi is a national museum that tells the popular story of a Finnish book on cultural history and social significance. At the beginning of 2013, the town of Sastamala was declared the "book capital of Finland".Sastamala julistautui Suomen kirjapääkaupungiksi – Alueviesti
(in Finnish)

Sights and happenings

* Vanhan kirjallisuuden päivät, book festival *

Sastamala Gregoriana Sastamala Gregoriana is an annual early music festival that takes place in late July in the city of Sastamala, Finland. The festival combines an international concert programme of early music from the medieval, renaissance and baroque periods, old l ...

, early music festival * Skicenter Ellivuori * Pirunvuori (" Devil's Mountain") * St. Olaf's Church * Herra Hakkaraisen talo * Culturehouse Jaatsi * Lakeside Golf Vammala * Sarkia museum * Keikyä museum * Kokemäki River

Sports

VaLePa Vammalan Lentopallo — Valepa is a volleyball team in southwest Finland founded in 1978. It is based in the Vammala district of the town of Sastamala, in the Pirkanmaa Region. Valepa plays in the highest level in Finland. History Vammalan Len ...

(or ''Vammalan Lentopallo'') is a volleyball club founded in 1978 in Vammala, Sastamala, whose representative team plays in the Finland Volleyball League. The six Finnish championships won by VaLePa will take place in 2012, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021. VaLePa has won the Finnish Championship silver in 2011 and 2016 and the Fourth Championship bronze in 1992, 2008, 2013 and 2015.

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Sastamala is

twinned Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to: * In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so; * Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning * Twinning inst ...

with: * Skövde, Sweden * Ringsted, Denmark * Halden, Norway * Kashin, Russia * Kuressaare, Estonia * Vásárosnamény, Hungary

Sources

Literature

References

External links

Town of Sastamala
– Official website {{authority control Cities and towns in Finland Populated places established in 2009