Seinäjoki

Seinäjoki is a city located in South Ostrobothnia, Finland. Seinäjoki originated around the Östermyra bruk iron and gunpowder factories founded in 1798. Seinäjoki became a municipality in 1868, market town in 1931 and town in 1960. In 2005, the municipality of Peräseinäjoki was merged into Seinäjoki, and in the beginning of 2009, the neighbouring municipalities of Nurmo and Ylistaro were consolidated with Seinäjoki.

Seinäjoki
City
Seinäjoen kaupunki
Seinäjoki stad
Top: Panorama view of Seinäjoki from the Jouppilanvuori hill, 2nd: Torikeskus Street and Koulukatu area, 3rd left: Lakeuden Risti Church, 3rd upper right: Aalto Center (Aaltokeskus), 3rd lower right: Lakeuden Risti Park, Bottom: View of downtown Seinäjoki from Alvar Aalto Tower
Coat of arms
Location of Seinäjoki in Finland
Coordinates: 62°47.5′N 022°50.5′E
Country Finland
RegionSouth Ostrobothnia
Sub-regionSeinäjoki sub-region
Charter1868
Market town1931
Town1960
Government
 • City managerJorma Rasinmäki
Area
 (2018-01-01)[1]
 • City1,469.23 km2 (567.27 sq mi)
 • Land1,431.64 km2 (552.76 sq mi)
 • Water37.59 km2 (14.51 sq mi)
 • Urban
52.78 km2 (20.38 sq mi)
Area rank48th largest in Finland
Population
 (2019-01-31)[2]
 • City63,366
 • Rank17th largest in Finland
 • Density44.26/km2 (114.6/sq mi)
 • Urban
46,639
 • Urban density883.6/km2 (2,289/sq mi)
Population by native language
 • Finnish98.7% (official)
 • Swedish0.2%
 • Others1.1%
Population by age
 • 0 to 1418.3%
 • 15 to 6466.8%
 • 65 or older15%
Time zoneUTC+02:00 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Municipal tax rate[5]19.25%
Websitewww.seinajoki.fi

The Town library, Lakeuden Risti Church and central administrative buildings are designed by Alvar Aalto.

The asteroid 1521 Seinäjoki bears the town's name.

Seinäjoki was historically called Östermyra in Swedish. Today this name, which never was official, is very seldom used even among the Swedish speakers. Literal translation for Seinäjoki is "Wallriver".

Seinäjoki Airport is located in the neighbouring municipality of Ilmajoki, 11 kilometres (10 mi) south of the Seinäjoki city centre. Seinäjoki railway station in city center was opened in 1883 and until 1897 it carried the name Östermyra station.

Seinäjoki is home to SJK Seinäjoki, a professional football team that competes in the Finnish Veikkausliiga. SJK is one of the top football teams in Finland.

History

The settlement spread in the area of the present Seinäjoki during the first half of the 16th century. During the 1550s, there is said to have been three houses in Seinäjoki: the houses of Marttila, Jouppi and Uppa. The house of Jouppila, which separated from the house of Jouppi, was established during the same century. All of the houses were located on the shore of the river.

Seinäjoki belonged to the church parish of Ilmajoki like Kurikka, Kauhajoki, Jalasjärvi and Alavus. However, in the 18th century the roads from Seinäjoki to the Church of Ilmajoki were generally in poor condition. Therefore, the inhabitants of Seinäjoki and the neighbouring Nurmo built a new chapel together in 1725, which in 1765 led to the formation of the chapel town of Nurmo. Seinäjoki, which was called Alaseinäjoki since the Greater Wrath, became a part of the chapel town. The chapel parish of Peräseinäjoki was founded in 1798, and the village of Alaseinäjoki began to be called Seinäjoki again. The very same year, the Östermyra steel mill was founded on the shore of the Seinäjoki river.

In the 1850s, actions were taken to separate Seinäjoki from the church parish of Nurmo. Ilmajoki wanted to connect Seinäjoki back to its own parish. In spite of strong objections from the inhabitants of Nurmo, the Senate of Finland accepted the petition from the inhabitants of Seinäjoki in 1863, to form a chapel congregation of their own. Seinäjoki got an independent local government in 1868. In 1900, Seinäjoki became an independent municipality.

Seinäjoki has grown around a few important railroad crossings. The Tampere – Vaasa railway, which passes through Seinäjoki, was inaugurated in 1883. The track, along with the Kokkola track that was opened for rail service in 1885, and the Kristiinankaupunki track which had been completed in 1913, raised Seinäjoki as an important railway crossing section in Finland. In the early 1970s, a direct railway between Tampere and Seinäjoki was opened, and the services of Seinäjoki improved further.

After the Winter War and Continuation War, some refugees from Jaakkima and Lumivaara were resettled to Seinäjoki.

Culture
Lakeuden Risti Church

There are many kinds of cultural events in Seinäjoki nowadays. For example, Seinäjoki is known for hosting three large summer events: Tangomarkkinat, which is a tango festival typically attracting more than 100,000 visitors annually, Vauhtiajot, which is a motor racing event/music festival, and Provinssirock, which is one of the largest and oldest rock festivals in Finland. Rytmikorjaamo is a popular rock club, wherein almost every weekend some Finnish or international artists perform. In Seinäjoki there are also several other bars and clubs offering live music and other entertainment. The city theatre of Seinäjoki has a wide, quality program throughout the year, offering plays for everyone. The city orchestra of Seinäjoki performs many concerts in the area and has had many tours in Finland and abroad. Seinäjoki is also home to a big number of sports clubs. SJK plays in the top tier of Finnish football. It plays in the brand new OmaSp Stadion.

Sights

Other points of interest

Notable people

Statistics
  • Population: 31,696 (2003), 35,918 (2005 after consolidation with Peräseinäjoki) and 56,229 (2009 after consolidation with Nurmo and Ylistaro).
  • Annual growth: 624

Economy

Nordic Regional Airlines has its financial office in Seinäjoki.[6] Its predecessor, Finncomm Airlines, had its head office on the grounds of Seinäjoki Airport in nearby Ilmajoki.[7]

Also Seinäjoki has a nationally and internationally significant food production and R&D industry. Headquartered in Seinäjoki food company Atria Corporation's net sales in 2009 were EUR 1316 million and it employed an average of 6,214 persons in several countries.

Seinäjoki also is well known for having a large number of SME's and a big number of shops for its size.

Education

Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences (SeAMK) is the local higher education institution, that also pursues an international profile.

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

Twin towns — Sister cities

Seinäjoki is twinned with:[8]

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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. "About Us." Nordic Regional Airlines. Retrieved on October 25, 2016.
  7. "Contact Information." Finncomm Airlines. Retrieved on 25 February 2010.
  8. "Ystävyyskaupungit" (in Finnish). City of Seinäjoki. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
Panorama image of Seinäjoki, Finland

Media related to Seinäjoki at Wikimedia Commons

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