Varkaus

Varkaus
Town
Varkauden kaupunki
Varkaus in July 2006

Coat of arms

Location of Varkaus in Finland
Coordinates: 62°19′N 027°53.5′E / 62.317°N 27.8917°E / 62.317; 27.8917Coordinates: 62°19′N 027°53.5′E / 62.317°N 27.8917°E / 62.317; 27.8917
Country  Finland
Region Northern Savonia
Sub-region Varkaus sub-region
Market town 1929
City rights 1961
Government
 • Town manager Hannu Tsupari
Area (2018-01-01)[1]
 • Total 524.48 km2 (202.50 sq mi)
 • Land 386.04 km2 (149.05 sq mi)
 • Water 138.45 km2 (53.46 sq mi)
Area rank 206th largest in Finland
Population (2018-08-31)[2]
 • Total 20,956
 • Rank 51st largest in Finland
 • Density 54.28/km2 (140.6/sq mi)
Population by native language[3]
 • Finnish 98.2% (official)
 • Swedish 0.2%
 • Others 1.6%
Population by age[4]
 • 0 to 14 14.8%
 • 15 to 64 64.7%
 • 65 or older 20.5%
Time zone UTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+3 (EEST)
Municipal tax rate[5] 20%
Website www.varkaus.fi

Varkaus (before year 1929 Warkaus) is a Middle-Savonian industrial town and municipality of Finland.

It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Northern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of 20,956 (31 August 2018)[2] and covers an area of 524.48 square kilometres (202.50 sq mi) of which 138.45 km2 (53.46 sq mi) is water.[1] The population density is 54.28 inhabitants per square kilometre (140.6/sq mi).

The municipality is unilingually Finnish. Oddly enough, 'Varkaus' translates to 'theft', even though it is not the reason for giving that name to the city. In old Finnish the same word also meant strait, and this city is located in the lake district on straits between two parts of Lake Saimaa. An extension of the Saimaa Canal passes through the town.

History

Varkaus was born in the late 19th Century as an industrial community of the A. Ahlström paper mills. It was a part of the municipalities of Leppävirta and Joroinen until 1929 when Varkaus became a market town. During the Finnish Civil War in 1918 the town was taken over by the Reds, but because of its isolated location in rural Finland, it was soon taken by the Whites on the Battle of Varkaus 19–21 February. The whites proceeded to execute every tenth Red soldier.

The municipality of Kangaslampi was consolidated to Varkaus on 1 January 2005.

Sport

The football team Warkauden Pallo-35, or just WP-35, plays in the highest division, Bandyliiga, and has become Finnish champions 16 times.

Parts of the town of Varkaus

  • Kaura-aho
  • Käpykangas
  • Kuoppakangas
  • Kosulanniemi
  • Lehtoniemi
  • Puurtila
  • Taipale
  • Luttila
  • Könönpelto
  • Kangaslampi
  • Kurola
  • Hasinmäki
  • Häyrilä
  • Päiviönsaari
  • Peltola

Twin towns — sister cities

Varkaus is twinned with:

References

  1. 1 2 "Area of Finnish Municipalities 1.1.2018" (PDF). National Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  2. 1 2 "Ennakkoväkiluku kuukausittain sukupuolen mukaan alueittain, elokuu 2018" (in Finnish). Statistics Finland. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
  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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