Virrat (; sv, Virdois) 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 part of the

Pirkanmaa Pirkanmaa (; sv, Birkaland; la, Birkaria, link=no), also known as ''Tampere Region'' in government documents, is a region of Finland. It borders the regions of Satakunta, South Ostrobothnia, Central Finland, Päijät-Häme, Kanta-Häme and Sou ...

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 ...

, and it is located north 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 ...

and west of

Jyväskylä Jyväskylä () is a city and municipality in Finland in the western part of the Finnish Lakeland. It is located about 150 km north-east from Tampere, the third largest city in Finland; and about 270 km north from Helsinki, the capital of ...

. The distance between Virrat and

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 ...

is . The town 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 Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

. The town grew rapidly in the middle years of the twentieth century, and by 1950 the population reached more than 12,000. Virrat acquired town status in 1977, although it had received the right to hold markets three years earlier, in 1974. More recently the population level has been adversely impacted by the drift of employment opportunities and people to the larger towns. Apart from the town of Virrat itself, the administratively defined municipality is largely rural, and includes the villages of Äijänneva, Härkönen Jäähdyspohja, Killinkoski, Koro, Kotala, Kurjenkylä, Liedenpohja, Ohtola, Vaskuu, and Vaskivesi. Major lakes in the area are Lake Toisvesi, beside which the town of Virrat is located, and Lake Tarjanne at the border of the municipalities of Virrat,

Mänttä-Vilppula Mänttä-Vilppula ( sv, Mänttä-Vilppula, also ) is a town and municipality of Finland. The municipalities of Mänttä and Vilppula were consolidated into a single municipality on January 1, 2009. It is located in the Pirkanmaa region. The town h ...

, and

Ruovesi Ruovesi is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Pirkanmaa region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbouring municipalities are Juupajoki, Mänttä-Vilpp ...

Virrat crater Virrat is an impact crater on Mars, approximately in diameter. It is located at 31.1°S, 103°W, southwest of the crater Dinorwic (crater), Dinorwic and northeast of Clantas Fossae. Several Virrat crater radii to the north are the craters Koga ( ...

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...

is named after it.

Notable people

* Seppo Hovinen (born 1951), a Finnish

javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's decathlon and the ...

er *

I. K. Inha I. K. Inha (''Into Konrad'', born Konrad into Nyström, November 12, 1865 Virrat – April 3, 1930, Helsinki) was a Finnish photographer, author, translator, and journalist. Inha is considered to be one of the grand masters of Finnish photograph ...

(1865–1930), a Finnish photographer, author, translator, and journalist * Antti Lieroinen (?–1643), a famous Finnish

cunning man Cunning may refer to: * Cunning (owarai), a Japanese comedy group * Cunning folk, a type of folk magic user * Cunning (surname), a list of people with Cunning as a surname See also

* Cunningham * * * Sneak (disambiguation) * Sly (disambigu ...

and death-sentenced for

witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...

Vesa Rantanen Vesa Rantanen (born 2 December 1975 in Jalasjärvi) is a retired Finnish pole vaulter. He competed at the World Championships in 1997 and 1999, the 2002 European Championships and the 2004 Olympic Games without ever reaching the final. His pers ...

(born 1975), a Finnish

pole vault Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the Myc ...

er * Tom Sukanen (1873–1943), a Finnish-born

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

sailor and farmer

Gallery

File:Virrat Kaupungintalo.jpg, Virrat Town Hall File:Virrat kirkko2.jpg, Virrat Church File:Virtain kirjasto (15013995461).jpg, Virrat Library File:Virrat - beach 2.jpg, A beach at the Kalettomanlahti Bay in Virrat

References

External links

Town of Virrat
– Official site Cities and towns in Finland Populated places established in 1868 {{WesternFinland-geo-stub