Tampere
—  City  —
Tampereen kaupunki
View towards Tampere City Centre
Coat of arms
Nickname(s): Manchester of the North, Manse (in Finnish)
Location of Tampere in Finland
Coordinates: 61°30′N 023°46′E / 61.5°N 23.767°E / 61.5; 23.767Coordinates: 61°30′N 023°46′E / 61.5°N 23.767°E / 61.5; 23.767
Country	Finland
Region	Pirkanmaa
Sub-region	Tampere
Government
• Mayor	Timo P. Nieminen
Area(2011-01-01)[1]
• City	689.59 km2 (266.25 sq mi)
• Land	525.03 km2 (202.72 sq mi)
• Water	164.56 km2 (63.54 sq mi)
Area rank	180th largest in Finland
Population (2012-01-31)[2]
• City	215,315
• Rank	3rd largest in Finland
• Density	410.1/km2 (1,062/sq mi)
• Metro	340,000
Population by native language[3]
• Finnish	94.9% (official)
• Swedish	0.5%
• Others	4.5%
Population by age[4]
• 0 to 14	13.8%
• 15 to 64	70.6%
• 65 or older	15.7%
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Municipal tax rate[5]	19%
Urbanisation	96.9%
Unemployment rate	10.1%
Website	[www.tampere.fi]

Tampere (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈtɑmpere] ( listen); Swedish: Tammerfors [tamərˈfɔrs] or [tamərˈfɔʂ]) is a city in southern Finland. It is the most populous inland city in any of the Nordic countries. The city has a population of 215,315,^[2] growing to approximately 300,000 people in the conurbation and over 340,000 in the metropolitan area.^[6] Tampere is the third most-populous municipality in Finland, after the Greater Helsinki municipalities of Helsinki and Espoo. In 2007, the entire Pirkanmaa region had around 470,000 residents, of which 230,000 were employed, and a turnover of 25 billion euros.^[7]

Tampere is located between two lakes, Näsijärvi and Pyhäjärvi. Since the two lakes differ in level by 18 metres (59 ft), the rapids linking them, Tammerkoski, have been an important power source throughout history, most recently for generating electricity. Tampere is dubbed the "Manchester of Finland" for its industrial past as the former center of Finnish industry, and this has given rise to its Finnish nickname "Manse" and terms such as "Manserock".^[6][7][8]

Helsinki can be reached in 1.5 hours by train and 2 hours by car. The distance to Turku is approximately the same. Tampere Airport is the third-busiest airport in Finland, with 800,000 passengers annually.^[7]

History[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

Tammerkoski in summer.

The old Finlayson works.

The Renaissance Revival Raatihuone (City Hall), 1890; from its balcony was read the "red manifesto" in 1905.

Tampere was founded as a market place on the banks of the Tammerkoski channel in 1775 by Gustav III of Sweden and four years later, 1 October 1779,^[9] Tampere was granted full city rights. At this time, it was a rather small town, consisting of only a few square kilometres of land around the Tammerkoski.

A bridge in Tampere near Koskikeskus shopping centre

Tampere grew as a major market town and industrial centre in the 19th century. During the latter half of 19th century Tampere had almost half of Finland's industrial labour. The town's industrial nature in the 19th and 20th centuries gave it the nickname "Manchester of the North", Manse for short (in Finnish).

Tampere was the centre of many important political events of Finland in the early 20th century. On 1 November 1905, during the general strike, the famous Red Declaration was proclaimed on the Keskustori, the central square of Tampere, subsequently leading to universal suffrage in Finland and the Tsar of Russia granting larger freedoms to Finns. In 1918, when Finland had recently gained independence, Tampere also played a major role, being one of the strategically important scenes during the Civil War in Finland (28 January–15 May 1918). Tampere was a red stronghold during the war, with Hugo Salmela in command. White forces captured Tampere, seizing about 10,000 Red prisoners on 6 April.

Prevalent in Tampere's post-World War II municipal politics was the so called Brothers-in-Arms Axis (aseveliakseli), the alliance of conservatives and social democrats against the communists and Agrarian party. During this era some of the most renowned city managers of Tampere were Erkki Napoleon Lindfors (who was responsible for many ambitious construction projects such as the Näsinneula tower and the construction of the suburb of Hervanta, Tampere's "daughter town"), Pekka Paavola (who gained some notoriety in corruption scandals) and Jarmo Rantanen. From 2007 on, Tampere switched to a new model of having a mayor and four deputy mayors, chosen for a periods of two years. Timo P. Nieminen was elected as the first mayor of Tampere for the years 2007–09.

After World War II, Tampere was enlarged by joining some neighbouring areas. Messukylä was incorporated in 1947, Lielahti in 1950, Aitolahti in 1966 and finally Teisko in 1972. Tampere was known for its textile and metal industries, but these have been largely replaced by information technology and telecommunications during the 1990s. The technology centre Hermia in Hervanta is home to many companies in these fields.

Name[link]

There have been many debates on the origin of the name Tampere. One theory is that it comes from the Swedish word damber, meaning "milldam". Another speculation is that the name originates from the ancient Scandinavian words þambr ("thick bellied") and þambion ("swollen belly"), referring to the rapids, and according to researchers, these kinds of references were given to name giving instances by ancient Scandinavian hunters. Other suggestions have been the Swedish tamper-dagar, fasting days, and also the Finnish word tammi. meaning "oak".^[10] Although the name Tampere or its Swedish counterpart's Tammer- part cannot be completely confirmed, it is clear that the fors part in the Swedish name means "rapids".

Geography[link]

Tampere, from the Näsinneula tower

This section requires expansion.

Tampere is part of the Pirkanmaa region and is surrounded by the municipalities of Kangasala, Lempäälä, Nokia, Orivesi, Pirkkala, Ruovesi and Ylöjärvi.

Climate[link]

Tampere has a subarctic climate (Köppen Dfc), although it's close to humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb). Winters aren't especially cold, the average January temperature is -6.4°C, but summers are mild. On average, the snow season lasts 4 – 5 months: from late November to early April.

Economy[link]

A Finnish steam locomotive, Hv1 class number 575, preserved in front of Metso Lokomo Steels in Hatanpää, Tampere. This was the first locomotive manufactured by Lokomo (company founded circa 1915) and entered service in 1920

The Tampere region, or Pirkanmaa, which includes outlying municipalities, has around 0.47 million residents, 0.23 million employed, and 25 billion euro turnover as of 2007.^[7] According to the Tampere International Business Office, the area is strong in mechanical engineering and automation, information and communication technologies, and health and biotechnology, as well as pulp and paper industry education. The Tampere region has two universities and three polytechnics totaling 40,000 students. The unemployment rate is around 10%.

Education[link]

There are four institutions of higher education in the Tampere area: two universities and two polytechnics (Finnish: ammattikorkeakoulu). The universities are University of Tampere (UTA), (more than 16,000 students) which is located right next to the city center, and Tampere University of Technology (more than 12,000 students), located in Hervanta. The regional polytechnic is Tampereen ammattikorkeakoulu (the term "polytechnic" used by Finnish Ministry of Education), which calls itself in English "Tampere University of Applied Sciences" (ca 10,000 students).^[12] The Police College of Finland, serving the whole of Finland in its field of specialization, is the other polytechnic located in Tampere.

Culture[link]

The Tampere Theatre.

Tampere is known for its active cultural life. Some of the most popular writers in Finland, such as Väinö Linna, Kalle Päätalo and Hannu Salama, hail from Tampere. These are all known as writers depicting the lives of working class people. Also from a working class background was the famous poet Lauri Viita of the Pispala district (which is the original home of Hannu Salama too). Tampere also has old theatre traditions, with such established institutions as Tampereen Työväen Teatteri, Tampereen Teatteri and Pyynikin Kesäteatteri, which is an open-air theatre with the oldest revolving auditorium in Europe. Tampereen Teatterikesä or Tampere Theatre Festival is an international theatre festival held in Tampere every August.

Tampere is also known for its Tampere Art Museum, Tampere, Finland which featured American artist Richard Humann in 2004, for his exhibition entitled, Delicate Monster.

Tampere Film Festival, an international short film festival, is held every March. Tammerfest is Tampere's urban rock festival held every July.

Tampere is home to Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra. Tampere Music Festivals organises three international music events: Tampere Jazz Happening each November, and in alternate years Tampere Vocal Music Festival and Tampere Biennale.

Tampere is home to the television channel YLE TV2, with its studios in the Tohloppi district, known among all for such popular TV comedies as Tankki täyteen, Reinikainen and Kummeli.

A local food speciality is mustamakkara, which resembles black pudding of northern England.

Religion[link]

Most Finnish citizens belong to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. Tampere has also a variety of other religious services spanning from traditional to charismatic. There are also some English speaking services. Tampere English Service is an international community affiliated with the Tampere Pentecostal Church. English services of the International Congregation of Christ the King (ICCK)] are organized by the Anglican Church in Finland and the Lutheran Parishes of Tampere. The Catholic parish of the Holy Cross ^[13] also offers services in Finnish, Polish and English. Other churches may also have English speaking ministries. Tampere is the center of a LDS stake (diocese). Other churches in Tampere are Nokia Revival, Finnish Orthodox Church, Evangelical Free Church, and Baptist Church.

Sports[link]

Tampere's sporting scene is driven by two sports, ice hockey and football. The first Finnish ice hockey match was played in Tampere, on the ice of Näsijärvi. Tampere is nicknamed the hometown of Finnish hockey. Two notably exceptional ice hockey teams exist in Tampere—Ilves and Tappara. They both have had a great impact on Finnish ice hockey culture and are among the most successful teams in Finland. The Finnish ice hockey museum, and the first ice hockey arena to be built in Finland, the Hakametsä arena, are both located in Tampere. Association Football is also a popular sport in Tampere. Ilves alone has over 4,000 players in its football teams, while Tampere boasts over 100 football teams. Tampere also hosted some of the preliminaries for the 1952 Summer Olympics. The city also hosted two canoe sprint world championships, in 1973 and 1983. In 1977, Tampere hosted the Junior World Rowing Championships. Also basketball is popular in Tampere. The city has three basketball teams with big junior activity and one of them, Tampereen Pyrintö, plays the highest level and is a Finnish Champion 2010.

Tampere was the host of the 10th European Youth Olympic Festival from 17 to 25 July 2009.

Tampere hosted the 2010 World Ringette Championships from 1 to 6 November at Hakametsä arena.

Rivalry between cities[link]

Tampere ostensibly has a long-standing mutual feud with the city of Turku, the first capital of Finland. This hostility is largely expressed in jokes in one city about the other; prominent targets are the traditional Tampere food, mustamakkara, the state of the Aura River in Turku, and the regional accents. Students at Tampere have organized the Non-Turkuan Nation (Ei-Turkulainen Osakunta),^[14] which since 1997 has made annual excursions to Turku to jump on the market square, doing their part to undo the post-glacial rebound and push the city back under the sea.^[15]

Popular music[link]

There is a lot of musical activity in Tampere, especially in the realm of black metal, heavy metal and rock. Some of the more popular bands based in Tampere include Horna, Behexen, Negative, Sargeist, Circle of Ouroborus, Prevalent Resistance, Uniklubi, Lovex and Puk, with some of the local black metal bands garnering a worldwide following. Tampere also has an active electronic music scene, notably in the genres of electro, drum and bass and dubstep. Tampere has been described as the "jungle capital" of Finland.

Manserock[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

Manserock is a general term for rock music from Tampere. In the local slang, Manse means Tampere. "Manse" comes from "Manchester", as Tampere was one of the first industrial towns in Finland, and thus was similar to Manchester.

Although there was some earlier development of a rock scene in Tampere, Manserock is considered to have started in August 1969 when the famous musical Hair was performed for the first time in a local theatre. Reijo Paukku brought the musical to Tampere from the USA. Several local musicians participated in the show. The show received a lot of publicity in Tampere and in the whole of Finland.

The 1970s can be considered the golden age of Manserock and the word Manserock was introduced in the early 70's. Several local rock bands were popular in Finland and the reputation of Tampere as a rock city grew. The biggest name from that age is Juice Leskinen. Some other noteworthy names are Virtanen, Kontra and Kaseva. All of these bands played rock music with Finnish lyrics.

In 1977 Poko Records was founded. This was the first record company in Tampere and it played an important role in the support of Manserock.

In the late 70's Tampere was known for several new wave bands although other styles of rock also existed. Bands like Eppu Normaali, Popeda and Karanteeni spread knowledge of Manserock in Finland.

In the 1980s many new bands were formed. However, some of the older bands continued and increased in popularity. Juice Leskinen, Eppu Normaali and Popeda even released new recordings in the early 2000s.

Sites of interest[link]

The Old Church (Vanha kirkko) on the edge of the Tampere Central Square.

Cathedral of Tampere

The main tourist attraction is the Särkänniemi amusement park, which includes a dolphinarium and the landmark Näsinneula tower, topped by a revolving restaurant. Other sites of interest are Tampere Cathedral, Tampere City Library Metso ("wood grouse"), Kaleva Church (both designed by Reima Pietilä), the Tampere Hall for conferences and the Tampere Market Hall.

Tampere is also home to one of the last museums in the world dedicated to Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. Lenin moved to Tampere in August 1905 and during a subsequent Bolshevik conference in the city met Joseph Stalin for the first time. Lenin eventually fled Tampere (for Sweden) in November 1907 when being pursued by the Russian Okhrana. Lenin would not return to any part of the Russian Empire until ten years later, when he heard of the start of the Russian Revolution of 1917.

There are many museums and galleries, including:

• The Vapriikki Museum Centre ^[16] which includes the Natural History Museum of Tampere, Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame and the Shoe Museum
• Tampere Art Museum ^[17]
• Tampere Lenin Museum ^[18]
• The Muumilaakso Museum,^[19] about Moomins
• Spy Museum in Siperia ^[20]
• Workers' housing museum in Amuri.^[21]
• Finland's largest glass sculpture, owned by the City of Tampere, "Pack Ice / The Mirror of the Sea" by the renowned artist Timo Sarpaneva, is installed in the entrance lobby of the downtown shopping mall, KoskiKeskus.

Pispala[link]

Pispala is a ridge located between the two lakes, Näsijärvi and Pyhäjärvi. It used to house the majority of industrial labour in the late 19th and early 20th century, when it was part of Suur-Pirkkala and its follower Pohjois-Pirkkala. It was a free area to be built upon by the working class people working in Tampere factories. It was joined to Tampere in 1937. Currently it is a popular residential area and together with neighbouring Pyynikki it forms an important historical area of Tampere.

Transport[link]

The public transport network within Tampere consists exclusively of a bus network. Between 1948 and 1976 the city also had an extensive trolleybus network, which was also the largest trolleybus system in Finland.^[22] As of 2009 plans are being made for construction a light rail system in the city to replace some of the most popular bus lines (see Tampere light rail), as well as initiating commuter rail service on the railroad lines connecting Tampere to the neighbouring cities of Nokia and Lempäälä.^[23]

Notable persons[link]

For a more complete list, see Category:People from Tampere.

International relations[link]

Twin towns — sister cities[link]

Tampere is twinned with:

References[link]

Notes[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tampere

• City of Tampere – Official website
• Map of Tampere
• Virtual City ​​Guide: VirtualTampere.com
• 1952 Summer Olympics official report pp. 62–3.
• Tammerkoski Heritage – Town's Industrial Heritage Portal
• CSSA Tampere Ry
• Lunch restaurants in Tampere
• Tampere travel guide from Wikitravel
•  Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Tammerfors". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

v t e Municipalities of Pirkanmaa Municipalities Akaa Hämeenkyrö Ikaalinen Juupajoki Kangasala Kihniö Lempäälä Mänttä-Vilppula Nokia Orivesi Pälkäne Parkano Pirkkala Punkalaidun Ruovesi Sastamala Tampere Urjala Valkeakoski Vesilahti Virrat Ylöjärvi Former municipalities Äetsä Aitolahti Akaa Eräjärvi Ikaalisten maalaiskunta Karkku Kiikka Kuhmalahti Kuorevesi Kuru Kylmäkoski Längelmäki Luopioinen Mänttä Messukylä Mouhijärvi Pohjaslahti Sääksmäki Sahalahti Suodenniemi Suoniemi Teisko Toijala Tottijärvi Tyrvää Vammala Viiala Viljakkala Vilppula Pirkanmaa Finland

v t e 50 most populous urban areas in the Nordic countries  Denmark  Finland  Iceland  Norway  Sweden 1.  Stockholm 1,372,565 2.  Copenhagen 1,199,224 3.  Helsinki 1,061,798 4.  Oslo 907,288 5.  Gothenburg 549,839 6.  Malmö 280,415 7.  Turku 253,332 8.  Aarhus 252,107 9.  Bergen 234,800 10.  Stavanger 221,616 11.  Tampere 215,337 12.  Reykjavik 195,000 13.  Odense 167,615 14.  Trondheim 160,072 15.  Oulu 144,114 16.  Uppsala 140,454 17.  Jyväskylä 132,115 18.  Fredrikstad 126,971 19.  Aalborg 124,921 20.  Västerås 110,877 21.  Örebro 107,038 22.  Linköping 104,232 23.  Lahti 102,383 24.  Drammen 100,023 25.  Kuopio 97,610 26.  Helsingborg 97,122 27.  Jönköping 89,396 28.  Kouvola 87,548 29.  Norrköping 87,247 30.  Skien 86,923 31.  Pori 83,156 32.  Lund 82,800 33.  Umeå 79,594 34.  Joensuu 73,807 35.  Lappeenranta 72,156 36.  Esbjerg 71,576 37.  Gävle 71,033 38.  Kristiansand 67,547 39.  Hämeenlinna 67,293 40.  Tromsø 66,669 41.  Borås 66,273 42.  Eskilstuna 64,679 43.  Södertälje 64,619 44.  Karlstad 61,685 45.  Täby 61,272 46.  Rovaniemi 60,699 47.  Randers 60,656 48.  Vaasa 60,491 49.  Seinäjoki 58,836 50.  Halmstad 58,577

v t e Olympic venues in football 1900: Vélodrome de Vincennes · 1904: Francis Field · 1908: White City Stadium · 1912: Råsunda Stadium, Stockholm Olympic Stadium (final), Traneberg · 1920: Jules Ottenstadion, Olympisch Stadion (final), Stade Joseph Marien, Stadion Broodstraat · 1924: Stade Bergeyre, Stade de Colombes (final), Stade de Paris, Stade Pershing · 1928: Monnikenhuize, Olympic Stadium (final), Sparta Stadion Het Kasteel · 1936: Hertha-BSC Field, Mommsenstadion, Olympic Stadium (final), Poststadion · 1948: Arsenal Stadium, Champion Hill, Craven Cottage, Cricklefield Stadium, Empire Stadium (medal matches), Green Pond Road, Griffin Park, Selhurst Park, White Hart Lane · 1952: Helsinki Football Grounds, Kotka, Lahti, Olympic Stadium (final), Tampere, Turku · 1956: Melbourne Cricket Ground (final), Olympic Park Stadium · 1960: Florence Communal Stadium, Grosseto Communal Stadium, L'Aquila Communal Stadium, Livorno Ardenza Stadium, Naples Saint Paul's Stadium, Pescara Adriatic Stadium, Stadio Flaminio (final) · 1964: Komazawa Olympic Park Stadium, Mitsuzawa Football Field, Nagai Stadium, Tokyo National Stadium (final), Nishikyogoku Athletic Stadium, Ōmiya Football Field, Prince Chichiba Memorial Football Field · 1968: Estadio Azteca (final), Estadio Cuauhtémoc, Estadio Nou Camp, Jalisco Stadium · 1972: Drei Flüsse Stadion, ESV-Stadion, Jahnstadion, Olympiastadion (final), Rosenaustadion, Urban Stadium · 1976: Lansdowne Park, Olympic Stadium (final), Sherbrooke Stadium, Varsity Stadium · 1980: Dynama Stadium, Dynamo Central Stadium, Grand Arena, Grand Arena (final), Kirov Stadium, Republican Stadium · 1984: Harvard Stadium, Navy – Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Rose Bowl (final), Stanford Stadium · 1988: Buson Stadium, Daegu Stadium, Daejeon Stadium, Dongdaemun Stadium, Olympic Stadium (final) · 1992: Estadi de la Nova Creu Alta, Estadi del FC Barcelona (final), Estadio Luís Casanova, La Romareda, RCD Espanyol Stadium · 1996: Florida Citrus Bowl, Legion Field, Orange Bowl, RFK Memorial Stadium, Sanford Stadium (final) · 2000: Brisbane Cricket Ground, Bruce Stadium, Hindmarsh Stadium, Melbourne Cricket Ground, Olympic Stadium (men's final), Sydney Football Stadium (women's final) · 2004: Kaftanzoglio Stadium, Karaiskakis Stadium, Olympic Stadium (final), Pampeloponnisiako Stadium, Pankritio Stadium, Panthessaliko Stadium · 2008: Beijing National Stadium (final), Qinhuangdao Olympic Sports Center Stadium, Shanghai Stadium, Shenyang Olympic Sports Center Stadium, Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium, Workers Stadium · 2012: City of Coventry Stadium, Hampden Park, Millennium Stadium, St James' Park, Wembley Stadium (final) · 2016: Estádio Nacional de Brasília, Arena Fonte Nova, Estádio do Maracanã, Mineirão, Estádio do Morumbi