Lempäälä (; Swedish also ) is a

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 ...

in the Pirkanmaa region of

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 Bot ...

with inhabitants (). Lempäälä is located south of the city 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 ...

. The municipality 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 RosenberPopu ...

is . The municipality center of Lempäälä is situated on an isthmus between the lakes Vanajavesi and Pyhäjärvi which are connected by the Kuokkalankoski rapids and the canal of Lempäälä that was built during the 1870s and is still in use. The first written account of the parish of Lempäälä is from 1430. The oldest building of the town is a medieval church named after

Saint Birgitta Bridget of Sweden (c. 1303 – 23 July 1373) born as Birgitta Birgersdotter, also Birgitta of Vadstena, or Saint Birgitta ( sv, heliga Birgitta), was a mystic and a saint, and she was also the founder of the Bridgettines nuns and monks aft ...

and was built in 1504. The only remaining article from medieval times in the church is a wooden

crucifix A crucifix (from Latin ''cruci fixus'' meaning "(one) fixed to a cross") is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the ''corpus'' (La ...

carved out of

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' cont ...

. Finnish novelist

Yrjö Kokko Yrjö Olavi Samuli Kokko (16 October 1903 in Sortavala – 6 September 1977 in Helsinki) was a Finnish writer and veterinarian. He wrote more than 20 books, among them ''Pessi and Illusia'' (''Pessi ja Illusia'', 1944), ''Singing Swan of fate Bir ...

lived in Lempäälä, and is buried in the graveyard. Ideapark, the second largest

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually Anchor tenant, anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant pedestrian zone, a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that ...

in Nordic countries, is located in Lempäälä along the

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 ...

–

motorway ( E12).

Kuokkala

Kuokkala is a neighbourhood to the north of Lempäälä town which houses a ’museoraitti’ (museum trail). Several buildings now house collections of historical items, including a shop museum (also a shop and information office), hairdressers & barbers, cobblers, WW2 memorabilia, household equipment, blacksmiths, carpenters, a 19th-century Finnish dwelling, and a special exhibit relating to the ex-Finnish region of Sakkola.Leaflet about Kuokkalan museoraitti published by museum.

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Lempäälä is twinned with: * Ulricehamn, Sweden * Øvre Eiker, Norway * Kerteminde, Denmark *

Tapolca Tapolca (; german: Toppoltz) is a town in Veszprém County, Hungary, close to Lake Balaton. It is located at around . The town has an outer suburb, Tapolca-Diszel, approximately 5 km to the East. Etymology The origin of ''Tapolca'' is ...

, Hungary

References

External links

Municipality of Lempäälä
– Official site {{DEFAULTSORT:Lempaala Populated places established in 1866 1866 establishments in the Russian Empire

Kuokkala

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

See also

References

External links