Valkeakoski (; lit. "white rapids") is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. It is located south of

Tampere Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...

, north of

Hämeenlinna Hämeenlinna (; sv, Tavastehus; krl, Hämienlinna; la, Tavastum or ''Croneburgum'') is a city and municipality of about inhabitants in the heart of the historical province of Tavastia and the modern province of Kanta-Häme in the south of F ...

and north of

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

in the Pirkanmaa

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

is . The municipality is unilingually Finnish. Valkeakoski is best known for its paper industry and domestically highly successful

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

team,

FC Haka FC Haka is a Finnish football club based in the industry town of Valkeakoski. It is currently competing in Finland's premier division of football, Veikkausliiga. It is one of the most successful clubs in Finland, with nine Finnish championships a ...

. 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 The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

. 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 Sääksmäki is a village and a former municipality, currently part of Valkeakoski in the Pirkanmaa region of Western Finland. A past president of Finland, Pehr Evind Svinhufvud, the Finnish film producer and director Veikko Aaltonen, eminent Finn ...

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.History of Valkeakoski
/ref>

Districts, neighborhoods and villages

Countryside and villages

The entire countryside of Valkeakoski consists mainly of the former

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

Sports

Valkeakoski is notable for the football team

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.

International relations

Twin towns — sister cities

Valkeakoski is twinned with: *

Gotland Gotland (, ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a province, county, municipality, and diocese. The province includes the islands of Fårö and Gotska Sandön to the ...

, Sweden *

Kragerø Kragerø () is a List of cities in Norway, town and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold og Telemark Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional regions of Grenland and the smaller Vestmar. ...

, Norway (1954) *

Sokol The Sokol movement (, ''falcon'') is an all-age gymnastics organization first founded in Prague in the Czech region of Austria-Hungary in 1862 by Miroslav Tyrš and Jindřich Fügner. It was based upon the principle of " a strong mind in a so ...

, Russia (1971) *

Vechelde Vechelde is a municipality in the district of Peine, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 12 km southeast of Peine, and 10 km west of Braunschweig. Municipal subdivisions Twinned cities Vechelde is twinned with: ...

, Germany (1976) * Jelenia Góra, Poland (1979) * Nanchang, China (1997) *

Mariehamn Mariehamn ( , ; fi, Maarianhamina ; la, Portus Mariae) is the capital city, capital of Åland, an autonomous territory under Finland, Finnish sovereignty. Mariehamn is the seat of the Government of Åland, Government and Parliament of Åland, ...

, Åland Islands, Finland (1999)

Notable persons from Valkeakoski

Veikko Hakulinen Veikko Johannes Hakulinen (4 January 1925 – 24 October 2003) was a Finnish cross-country skier, triple champion in both the Olympics and World Championships. He also competed in biathlon, orienteering, ski-orienteering, cross-country running, ...

* Mika Kallio * Pentti Linkola *

Iris Sihvonen Iris Hellin Sihvonen (née Jokinen; 22 April 1940 – 29 May 2010) was a Finnish speed skater. She represented Finland at the Olympic Winter Games of 1960 in Squaw Valley, Placer County, California and made seven consecutive appearances at th ...

* Emil Wikström * Juhani Peltonen *

Alpo Suhonen Alpo Suhonen (born 17 June 1948) is a Finnish former ice hockey coach. He and Ivan Hlinka of the Pittsburgh Penguins were the first European-born NHL head coaches in 52 years. Coaching career Suhonen worked for the Finnish ice hockey federati ...

Antti Muurinen Antti Muurinen (born March 4, 1954) is a Finnish football coach. Muurinen is probably best known as the head coach of the Finnish national team. He led Finland in qualifying campaigns for the 2002 World Cup, Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup, fai ...

Notable places and events

* National Football Museum * Työväen Musiikkitapahtuma music festival (freely translated as Workers' Music Event) *

Tehtaan kenttä Tehtaan kenttä ( sv, Fabriksplan) is a 1934 opened football (soccer) stadium in the 1st district of Valkeakoski, Finland, and the home of FC Haka. The stadium holds an attendance capacity of 3,516. The record for attendance is 6,401 and was set in ...

References

Gallery

File:Tehtaan kenttä valkeakoski Finland.jpg, Tehtaan kenttä – the football stadium in Valkeakoski, Finland, home of the football team FC Haka Valkeakoski File:Valkeakosken keskusta1b.JPG, Valtakatu, the main shopping street of Valkeakoski File:Valkeakosken keskusta3..jpg, Downtown Valkeakoski File:ValkeakoskiFabrik.jpeg, Factories in Valkeakoski

External links

Town of Valkeakoski
– Official site {{Authority control Populated places established in 1923 1923 establishments in Finland