Varkaus

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, between city of Kuopio and town of Savonlinna.

Varkaus
Town
Varkauden kaupunki
Varkaus stad
Varkaus in July 2006
Coat of arms
Location of Varkaus in Finland
Coordinates: 62°19′N 027°53.5′E
Country Finland
RegionNorthern Savonia
Sub-regionVarkaus sub-region
Market town1929
City rights1961
Government
 • Town managerHannu Tsupari
Area
 (2018-01-01)[1]
 • Total524.48 km2 (202.50 sq mi)
 • Land386.04 km2 (149.05 sq mi)
 • Water138.45 km2 (53.46 sq mi)
Area rank206th largest in Finland
Population
 (2020-07-31)[2]
 • Total20,393
 • Rank54th largest in Finland
 • Density52.83/km2 (136.8/sq mi)
Population by native language
 • Finnish98.2% (official)
 • Swedish0.2%
 • Others1.6%
Population by age
 • 0 to 1414.8%
 • 15 to 6464.7%
 • 65 or older20.5%
Time zoneUTC+02:00 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Municipal tax rate[5]20%
Websitewww.varkaus.fi

The municipality has a population of 20,393 (31 July 2020)[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 52.83 inhabitants per square kilometre (136.8/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 bandy team Warkauden Pallo-35, or just WP-35, plays in the highest division, Bandyliiga, and has become Finnish champions 16 times.

Notable people

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. "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]. Heinäkuu 2020" (in Finnish). Statistics Finland. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  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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