Varkaus is a Middle-Savonian

Savonia (historical province)

Savonia is a historical province in the east of Finland. It borders to Uusimaa, Tavastia, Ostrobothnia, and Karelia. Largest cities in Savo by population are Kuopio, Mikkeli, Savonlinna and Varkaus.-Administration:...

 industrial town and municipality of Finland

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

.

It is located in the province

Provinces of Finland

The state of Finland consisted of six provinces between the years 1997 and 2009. The provincial authority was part of the central government's executive branch, not directly elected. The system was created in 1634, and its makeup was changed drastically in 1997, when the number of the provinces...

 of Eastern Finland

Eastern Finland

Eastern Finland was a province of Finland from 1997 to 2010. It bordered the provinces of Oulu, Western Finland and Southern Finland. It also bordered Russia.- History :...

 and is part of the Northern Savonia

Northern Savonia

Northern Savonia is a region in eastern Finland. Kuopio is the largest city in the region.- Historical provinces :For history, geography and culture see: Savonia- Municipalities :Northern Savonia includes 21 municipalities.Seven of them are cities....

 region

Regions of Finland

Finland consists of 19 regions called in Finnish and in Swedish. The regions are governed by regional councils, which serve as forums of cooperation for the municipalities of a region. The main tasks of the regions are regional planning and development of enterprise and education. In addition,...

. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of km2 of which km2 is water. The population density

Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 is PD/km2.

The municipality is unilingually Finnish

Finnish language

Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...

. 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.

The town is located on straits between two parts of Lake Saimaa. An extension of the Saimaa Canal

Saimaa Canal

The Saimaa Canal is a transportation canal that connects lake Saimaa with the Gulf of Finland near Vyborg, Russia. The canal was built from 1845 to 1856 and opened on 7 September 1856 .It was overhauled and widened in 1963–1968....

 passes through the town. The town became an industrial center in the end of the 19th century with the A. Ahlström paper mill

Paper mill

A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags and other ingredients using a Fourdrinier machine or other type of paper machine.- History :...

s. During the Finnish Civil War

Finnish Civil War

The Finnish Civil War was a part of the national, political and social turmoil caused by World War I in Europe. The Civil War concerned control and leadership of The Grand Duchy of Finland as it achieved independence from Russia after the October Revolution in Petrograd...

 in 1918 the town was taken over by the "Reds

Red Guards (Finland)

The Red Guards formed the army of Red Finland during the Finnish Civil War in 1918. The combined strength of the Red Guard was about 30,000 at the beginning of the Civil War, and peaked at 90,000-120,000 during the course of the conflict....

", but because of its isolated location in rural Finland, it was soon taken by the "Whites

White Guard (Finland)

The White Guard was a voluntary militia that emerged victorious over the socialist Red Guard as part of the Whites in the Finnish Civil War of 1918...

". The whites proceeded to mercilessly execute every tenth Red soldier.

The municipality of Kangaslampi

Kangaslampi

Kangaslampi is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated to Varkaus on 1 January 2005.It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Northern Savonia region. The municipality had a population of 1,611 and covered an area of 412.93 km² of which 114.12 km²...

 was consolidated to Varkaus on 1 January 2005.

Warkauden Pallo-35, or just WP-35, plays in the highest bandy

Bandy

Bandy is a team winter sport played on ice, in which skaters use sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal.The rules of the game have many similarities to those of association football: the game is played on a rectangle of ice the same size as a football field. Each team has 11 players,...

 division and has become Finnish champions 16 times.

Parts of the town of Varkaus

Käpykangas,

Kuoppakangas,

Lehtoniemi,

Puurtila,

Taipale,

Luttila,

Könönpelto,

Kangaslampi

Kangaslampi

Kangaslampi is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated to Varkaus on 1 January 2005.It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Northern Savonia region. The municipality had a population of 1,611 and covered an area of 412.93 km² of which 114.12 km²...

,

Kurola,

Häyrilä,

Päiviönsaari,

Peltola

Twin towns — Sister cities

Varkaus is twinned

Town twinning

Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...

 with:

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Petrozavodsk Petrozavodsk Petrozavodsk is the capital city of the Republic of Karelia, Russia. It stretches along the western shore of the Lake Onega for some . The city is served by Petrozavodsk Airport. Municipally, it is incorporated as Petrozavodsky Urban Okrug . Population:... , Russia Russia Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...  Rüsselsheim Rüsselsheim Rüsselsheim is the largest town in the Groß-Gerau district in the Rhein-Main region of Germany. It is one of seven special status towns in Hesse and is located on the Main, only a few kilometres from its mouth in Mainz. The suburbs of Bauschheim and Königstädten are included in Rüsselsheim... , Germany Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...  Pirna Pirna Pirna is a town in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, capital of the administrative district Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge. The town's population is over 40,000. Pirna is located near Dresden and is an important district town as well as a Große Kreisstadt... , Germany Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...  Zalaegerszeg Zalaegerszeg In 2001 Zalaegerszeg had 61,654 inhabitants . The distribution of religions were, 71.1% Roman Catholic, 3.8% Calvinist, 1.6% Lutheran, 11.6% Atheist .-Notable people:* Lajos Botfy , mayor... , Hungary Hungary Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

External links

• Town of Varkaus – Official website