Lempäälä
Lempäälä (Finnish: [ˈlempæːlæ] is a municipality in the Pirkanmaa region of Finland with 24,703 inhabitants (31 December 2023). Lempäälä is located south of the city of Tampere. The municipality covers an area of 307.06 square kilometres (118.56 sq mi) of which 37.51 km2 (14.48 sq mi) is water. The population density is 91.64 inhabitants per square kilometre (237.3/sq mi).
Lempäälä | |
|---|---|
Municipality | |
| Lempäälän kunta Lempäälä kommun | |
Aerial view of Lempäälä | |
|
Coat of arms | |
Location of Lempäälä in Finland | |
| Coordinates: 61°19′N 023°45′E | |
| Country | Finland |
| Region | Pirkanmaa |
| Sub-region | Tampere sub-region |
| Charter | 1866 |
| Government | |
| • Municipality manager | Heidi Rämö |
| Area (2018-01-01) | |
| • Total | 307.06 km2 (118.56 sq mi) |
| • Land | 269.58 km2 (104.09 sq mi) |
| • Water | 37.51 km2 (14.48 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 241st largest in Finland |
| Population (2023-12-31) | |
| • Total | 24,703 |
| • Rank | 42nd largest in Finland |
| • Density | 91.64/km2 (237.3/sq mi) |
| Population by native language | |
| • Finnish | 96.8% (official) |
| • Swedish | 0.3% |
| • Others | 2.9% |
| Population by age | |
| • 0 to 14 | 22.3% |
| • 15 to 64 | 60.8% |
| • 65 or older | 16.9% |
| Time zone | UTC+02:00 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+03:00 (EEST) |
| Website | www.lempaala.fi |
The municipality center of Lempäälä is situated on an isthmus between the lakes Vanajavesi and Pyhäjärvi which are connected by the Kuokkalankoski rapids and the canal of Lempäälä that was built during the 1870s and is still in use.
The first written account of the parish of Lempäälä is from 1430. The oldest building of the town is a medieval church named after Saint Birgitta and was built in 1504. The only remaining article from medieval times in the church is a wooden crucifix carved out of birch.
Finnish novelist Yrjö Kokko lived in Lempäälä, and is buried in the graveyard.
Ideapark, the second largest shopping mall in Nordic countries, is located in Lempäälä along the Helsinki–Tampere motorway (E12).