Kempele

Kempele is a municipality just south of the city of Oulu in Northern Finland. Historically it was in the province of Oulu, but today it is in the region of Northern Ostrobothnia. The population of Kempele is 17,946 (31 January 2019) and the municipality covers an area of 110.32 square kilometres (42.59 sq mi) (excluding sea), of which 0.21 square kilometres (0.081 sq mi) is inland waters (2018-01-01). The population density is 163 inhabitants per square kilometre (420/sq mi) (31 January 2019). The municipality of Kempele was founded in 1867.

Kempele
Municipality
Kempeleen kunta
Kempele kommun
Holy Trinity Church, Kempele
Coat of arms
Location of Kempele in Finland
Coordinates: 64°54′45″N 025°30′30″E
Country Finland
RegionNorthern Ostrobothnia
Sub-regionOulu sub-region
Charter1867
Government
 • Municipality managerTuomas Lohi
Area
 (2018-01-01)[1]
 • Total110.34 km2 (42.60 sq mi)
 • Land110.12 km2 (42.52 sq mi)
 • Water0.23 km2 (0.09 sq mi)
Area rank294th largest in Finland
Population
 (2019-01-31)[2]
 • Total17,946
 • Rank67th largest in Finland
 • Density162.97/km2 (422.1/sq mi)
Population by native language
 • Finnish99% (official)
 • Swedish0.1%
 • Others0.8%
Population by age
 • 0 to 1425.8%
 • 15 to 6464.8%
 • 65 or older9.4%
Time zoneUTC+02:00 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Postal code
90440, 90450
Municipal tax rate[5]19.5%
Websitewww.kempele.fi

Kempele is the birthplace of NHL goaltender Pekka Rinne.

The neighbouring municipalities are Liminka, Oulu and Tyrnävä.

History

Kempele was first permanently settled about 500 years ago, at a time when the coastline was closer than it is today. Kempele was considered part of Greater Liminka and consisted of only three houses in 1568, when it was called Kempele for the first time in official records. In 1774 full church privileges were granted to Kempele, which meant separation from Liminka and establishment as an autonomous parish. The municipal government was established in 1867.

Sights
The old wooden church of Kempele was built between 1688 and 1691.

The old church of Kempele, which was built between 1688 and 1691, is one of the oldest wooden churches in Finland. Kempele was granted the right to build a prayer room in 1688, but parishioners decided to construct a church with a steeple. Given the custom of burying local notables under the church, there are about 150 graves in the crypt, the last of them dating from 1796. The church includes decorations by the noted Finnish painter Mikael Toppelius.

The old church ceased to be in active use after a new church was built next to it in the 1990s, but some events are still held in it from time to time.

Kempele may be best known for being the headquarters of the world-famous heart rate monitor corporation Polar Electro, which first brought the device to market in 1978.

International relations
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Finland

Twin towns — Sister cities

References
  1. "Area of Finnish Municipalities 1.1.2018" (PDF). National Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  2. "Suomen virallinen tilasto (SVT): Väestön ennakkotilasto [verkkojulkaisu]. Tammikuu 2019" (in Finnish). Statistics Finland. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  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.
  6. "Välissuhted" (in Estonian). Elva linn. Archived from the original on 18 December 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
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