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Pirkkala Birkala | |
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Municipality | |
| Pirkkalan kunta Birkala kommun | |
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 Coat of arms | |
 Location of Pirkkala in Finland | |
| Coordinates:61°28′N023°39′E / 61.467°N 23.650°E /61.467; 23.650 | |
| Country |  Finland |
| Region | Pirkanmaa |
| Sub-region | Tampere |
| Metropolitan area | Tampere |
| Charter | 1922 |
| Seat | Naistenmatka |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Marko Jarva[1] |
| Area (2018-01-01)[2] | |
• Total | 104.04 km2 (40.17 sq mi) |
| • Land | 81.42 km2 (31.44 sq mi) |
| • Water | 22.66 km2 (8.75 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 304th largest in Finland |
| Population (2024-12-31)[3] | |
• Total | 21,034 |
| • Rank | 48th largest in Finland |
| • Density | 258.34/km2 (669.1/sq mi) |
| Population by native language | |
| • Finnish | 95% (official) |
| • Swedish | 0.4% |
| • Others | 4.6% |
| Population by age | |
| • 0 to 14 | 19.9% |
| • 15 to 64 | 61.8% |
| • 65 or older | 18.3% |
| Time zone | UTC+02:00 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+03:00 (EEST) |
| Website | www |
Pirkkala (Finnish:[ˈpirkːɑlɑ];Swedish:Birkala) is amunicipality inFinland, located in thePirkanmaa region. It lies to the southwest of the regional capital,Tampere. The population of Pirkkala is approximately 21,000, while themetropolitan area has a population of approximately 423,000. It is the 48th most populousmunicipality in Finland.
Pirkkala has an area of 104.04 square kilometres (40.17 sq mi) of which 22.66 km2 (8.75 sq mi) is water.[2] Thepopulation density is 258.34 inhabitants per square kilometre (669.1/sq mi), which makes it the most densely populated municipality in Finland that does not use the title of town or city. Pirkkala is also currently the fastest-growing municipality in the Pirkanmaa region.[7] The municipality is unilinguallyFinnish.
Tampere-Pirkkala Airport is located in southwest Pirkkala. The most significant main road in Pirkkala isTampere Ring Road.
The former parish of Suur-Pirkkala (Great Pirkkala) is mentioned in historical writings from the 14th century. It occupied over half of Pirkanmaa, a region nowadays populated by about 526,000 inhabitants. Suur-Pirkkala began to split when new parishes and municipalities were founded and wanted independence.[8]
In 1922 the Pirkkala was split into Pohjois- (Northern) and Etelä-Pirkkala (Southern Pirkkala) due to a movement in Southern Pirkkala led by agronomist Hannes Palmroth of the Partola Estate to gain independence from the more industrial North.[9]
In 1938 the name of Northern Pirkkala was changed toNokia and after an appeal to thePresident of FinlandKyösti Kallio in 1939, Southern Pirkkala reverted to its original name Pirkkala. The present-day province ofPirkanmaa that was founded in the 1950s is named after Pirkkala as it was in the center of the region that was more or less the same area as the historic Great Pirkkala
Pirkkala has been inhabited by theStone Age andIron Age, and many ancient finds have been made in the area.[10]
The red-brick old church was designed byIlmari Launis in 1921, and it is known that it was built on the site of the old Pirkkala parish church.[11] The white new church from 1994, designed bySimo Paavilainen and Käpy Paavilainen, is located near the current town center,Naistenmatka. In its year of completion, the church, which has a modern appearance, was chosen as the most beautiful new building in Finland.
The Sculpture Park has been formed near the municipal center from the works of art of the international cast iron symposia of 2001 and 2003. It consists of sculptures of contemporary art, which are mostly placed around Lake Vähäjärvi. The idea of the cast iron symposiums is Villu Jaanisoo, an artist from Pirkkala who moved fromEstonia to Finland. Other materials were used in the 2003 event.[12] Perhaps the most prominent of the sights is the Jaaniso'sPeruspirkkalalainen statue on the edge of the Suupantorimarket square in the town center, or theValte statue according to its model.[13]
Pirkkala istwinned with:
Media related toPirkkala at Wikimedia Commons
Pirkkala travel guide from Wikivoyage
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