Ikaalinen

Ikaalinen
Town
Ikaalisten kaupunki

Ikaalinen Church

Coat of arms

Location of Ikaalinen in Finland
Coordinates: 61°46′N 023°04′E / 61.767°N 23.067°E / 61.767; 23.067Coordinates: 61°46′N 023°04′E / 61.767°N 23.067°E / 61.767; 23.067
Country  Finland
Region Pirkanmaa
Sub-region North-western Pirkanmaa sub-region
Charter 1858
City rights 1977
Government
 • Town manager Tero Nissinen
Area (2016-01-01)[1]
 • Total 750.37 km2 (289.72 sq mi)
 • Land 750.30 km2 (289.69 sq mi)
 • Water 93.16 km2 (35.97 sq mi)
Area rank 111th largest in Finland
Population (2016-03-31)[2]
 • Total 7,166
 • Rank 136th largest in Finland
 • Density 9.55/km2 (24.7/sq mi)
Population by native language[3]
 • Finnish 99% (official)
 • Swedish 0.1%
 • Others 0.8%
Population by age[4]
 • 0 to 14 14.2%
 • 15 to 64 63.5%
 • 65 or older 22.3%
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
 • Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)
Municipal tax rate[5] 19.75%
Website www.ikaalinen.fi

Ikaalinen (Swedish: Ikalis) is a town and municipality of Finland.

It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Pirkanmaa region. The town has a population of 7,166 (31 March 2016)[2] and covers an area of 750.37 square kilometres (289.72 sq mi) of which 93.16 km2 (35.97 sq mi) is water.[1] The population density is 9.55 inhabitants per square kilometre (24.7/sq mi).

The municipalities next to it are Hämeenkyrö, Jämijärvi, Kankaanpää, Parkano, Sastamala and Ylöjärvi.

The municipality is unilingually Finnish.

The Seitseminen national park is partly located in the municipality.

Ikaalinen is an old tourist attraction in Finland. Its spa tradition dates back to the last century and folk music, especially accordion music is one of its traditions. Its beautiful landscape has always fascinated visitors.

During the last decades Ikaalinen developed into a versatile service centre with good business, educational and recreational facilities. Today about 55% of the population earns its living from the service sector and 15% from agriculture, which has always provided an important source of income.

S. Albert Kivinen, the associate professor of philosophy of the University of Helsinki, is the most famous living native of Ikaalinen, due to his tongue-in-the-cheek horror stories written in Lovecraftian style. His most famous fictional work, Keskiyön Mato Ikaalisissa ("The Midnight Worm in Ikaalinen"), is a Lovecraftian story set in his childhood surroundings in Ikaalinen.

Ikaalinen became an independent municipality in 1641. The associated market town was founded in 1858. The market town and the municipality were united in 1972 and Ikaalinen became a town in 1977.

The centre of Ikaalinen is on the beautiful lake Kyrösjärvi nearby the highway 3 (E12).

The biggest industrial plants are Finlayson, Upofloor, Georgia Pacific Paper, Amerplast, Honkarakenne, Keskus-Sähkö, H&H Siporex and Katsa.

References

  1. 1 2 "Population density by area 1.1.2016". Statistics Finland. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  2. 1 2 "Ennakkoväkiluku sukupuolen mukaan alueittain, maaliskuu.2016" (in Finnish). Statistics Finland. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
  3. ↑ "Population according to language and the number of foreigners and land area km2 by area as of 31 December 2008". Statistics Finland's PX-Web databases. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
  4. ↑ "Population according to age and gender by area as of 31 December 2008". Statistics Finland's PX-Web databases. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 28 April 2009.
  5. ↑ "List of municipal and parish tax rates in 2011". Tax Administration of Finland. 29 November 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.

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