Valkeakoski
| Valkeakoski | ||
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| Town | ||
| Valkeakosken kaupunki | ||
Sääksmäki Church in Valkeakoski
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 Location of Valkeakoski in Finland |
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| Coordinates: 61°16′N 024°02′E / 61.267°N 24.033°ECoordinates: 61°16′N 024°02′E / 61.267°N 24.033°E | ||
| Country |
 Finland
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| Region | Pirkanmaa | |
| Sub-region | Southern Pirkanmaa sub-region | |
| Charter | 1923 | |
| Government | ||
| • Town manager | Jukka Varonen | |
| Area (2016-01-01) | ||
| • Total | 271.92 km2 (104.99 sq mi) | |
| • Land | 271.98 km2 (105.01 sq mi) | |
| • Water | 100.06 km2 (38.63 sq mi) | |
| Area rank | 240th largest in Finland | |
| Population (2016-03-31) | ||
| • Total | 21,305 | |
| • Rank | 53rd largest in Finland | |
| • Density | 78.33/km2 (202.9/sq mi) | |
| Population by native language | ||
| • Finnish | 98.1% (official) | |
| • Swedish | 0.2% | |
| • Others | 1.6% | |
| Population by age | ||
| • 0 to 14 | 16% | |
| • 15 to 64 | 64.4% | |
| • 65 or older | 19.6% | |
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) | |
| • Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) | |
| Municipal tax rate | 18.75% | |
| Website | www.valkeakoski.fi | |
Valkeakoski (lit. white rapids) is a town and municipality in Finland.
Valkeakoski is located 35 kilometres (22 mi) south of Tampere and 150 km (93 mi) north of Helsinki in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Pirkanmaa region. The municipality has a population of 21,305 (31 March 2016) and covers an area of 271.92 square kilometres (104.99 sq mi) of which 100.06 km2 (38.63 sq mi) is water. The population density is 78.33 inhabitants per square kilometre (202.9/sq mi).
The municipality is unilingually Finnish.
Valkeakoski is best known for its paper industry and domestically highly successful football team, FC Haka.
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.
The Valkeakoski area is known to have been inhabited since the iron age. 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 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 forest industry. The municipality of Sääksmäki, from which the town of Valkeakoski was detached in 1923 was consolidated with Valkeakoski in 1973.
Valkeakoski is notable for the football team FC Haka 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.
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Wikipedia