Pispala

Pispala is a city area 2.5 km from the centre of Tampere, Finland. It is located on the northern slope of Pispalanharju, the highest esker in Finland.

Together with Pyynikki, Pispala is widely considered the most beautiful area of Tampere and tourists are often guided there for the view and the unique urban design features of the area. A monument to the Finnish poet Lauri Viita is located near the highest point of the ridge and there is a famous landmark in the area called the Shot tower (Finnish: Pispalan haulitorni.).

Pispala is named after the House of Pispa, which had the obligation to house the bishops during their travel. Pispala was all farming land until as recently as 1869. As Tampere was industrialised Pispala grew without a unified local development plan, resulting in unique building styles and solutions.

Specifically factory and construction workers resided there with most of them being originally from Tampere or the nearby areas such as ostrobothnia. The area was joined to the City of Tampere 1937.

It is a periurban area or urban village and many of the features of the place echo this aspect.

Many well-known Finnish artists and celebrities have lived and live in Pispala. These include Lauri Viita, Olavi Virta, Mikko Alatalo, Hannu Salama, Seela Sella, Keith Armstrong, Aaro Hellaakoski.

The only Finnish writer awarded with the Nobel Prize in Literature, F. E. Sillanpää located his novel Hiltu ja Ragnar (1923) − which the author considered his best work, in Pispala.

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Wikipedia