Sastamala
Sastamala (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈsɑstɑˌmɑlɑ]) is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the Pirkanmaa region. The town has a population of 23,514 (31 December 2023) and covers an area of 1,531.75 square kilometres (591.41 sq mi) of which 96.14 km2 (37.12 sq mi) is water, making it the largest municipality in the Pirkanmaa region in terms of area. The population density is 16.45 inhabitants per square kilometre (42.6/sq mi). The municipality is unilingually Finnish.
Sastamala | |
|---|---|
Town | |
| Sastamalan kaupunki Sastamala stad | |
Onkiniemenkatu in Vammala, an administrative centre of Sastamala. | |
|
Coat of arms | |
| Nickname: Book Capital of Finland | |
Location of Sastamala in Finland | |
| Coordinates: 61°20.5′N 022°54.5′E | |
| Country | Finland |
| Region | Pirkanmaa |
| Sub-region | South Western Pirkanmaa sub-region |
| Charter | 2009 |
| Seat | Vammala |
| Government | |
| • Town manager | Jarkko Malmberg |
| Area (2018-01-01) | |
| • Total | 1,531.75 km2 (591.41 sq mi) |
| • Land | 1,429.12 km2 (551.79 sq mi) |
| • Water | 96.14 km2 (37.12 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 49th largest in Finland |
| Population (2023-12-31) | |
| • Total | 23,514 |
| • Rank | 44th largest in Finland |
| • Density | 16.45/km2 (42.6/sq mi) |
| Population by native language | |
| • Finnish | 96.9% (official) |
| • Swedish | 0.2% |
| • Others | 2.9% |
| Population by age | |
| • 0 to 14 | 14.3% |
| • 15 to 64 | 55.5% |
| • 65 or older | 30.2% |
| Time zone | UTC+02:00 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+03:00 (EEST) |
| Website | www.sastamala.fi |
Sastamala was created on January 1, 2009, when the municipalities of Vammala, Äetsä and Mouhijärvi were consolidated into a single town. Later, Kiikoinen also joined Sastamala in 2013. Today, its neighbouring municipalities are Huittinen, Hämeenkyrö, Ikaalinen, Kankaanpää, Kokemäki, Lavia, Nokia, Punkalaidun, Ulvila, Urjala and Vesilahti. The city of Tampere is located 51 kilometres (32 mi) from Sastamala. Sastamala's administrative center is Vammala, which was home to about 10,000 inhabitants in the 2011 population survey.
There are two highways through Sastamala: Highway 11 between Pori and Nokia, and Highway 12 between Rauma and Kouvola.